2520 clearance 3 point

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Great, $600 bucks plus to fix what was wrong when they let it out the door. Just what I need, more $ out the window.

Anyone know how go about running it up the flag pole high enough to get them to make it right?

I know I'm most likely tilting against the wrong silo here but that just frosts my butt. 600 bucks....

Tom

[dfkrug]

Originally Posted by dodgzman

It was hard to believe that John Deere let a tractor be released with a clearance problem on the the 3 point hitch.

The Kioti CK20 has this problem, too.

I fixed it the way JD approached it, less the hundreds of dollars.

Leaving the lift arms on the tractor, I looped a chain around the middle
of them, about where the lift links attach. Then I took my 4-ton "porta-
power" hydraulic cylinder and placed it between the 2 swivel eyes on the
ends of the lift arms. I then bent the arms outward about 1-2 inches.

Works great, now. You can get a "porta-power" like this from Harbor Freight
for under $100.

[bz1]

All right, if I understand dfkrug's suggestion bending the arms out will make this worse. They need to be bent inward. I just took delivery of a new 2008 2520 in April and I'm going to insist my dealer get me this fix for nothing. I'll let you all know how I make out. I'm on the line with him right now as we speak (on hold). I'll be darned if I'm paying $600 more dollars to fix this.

BTW, I would think that wheel spacers would be no big deal for those of us without a back hoe and who never carry really heavy implements on the back. The axles and bearings must be designed to take some very heavy loads to account for all the stuff tractor users can sometimes hang off the back. The axles are at least 8 inches long already and I can't believe 20% increase in moment would take anything over the limit. But then again I can't believe that JD would design a tractor that can't hook up many Cat 1 implements either.

[hemiguy]

I'll have to see what my dealer says. But..., why on earth would Deere make customers PAY for something that is obviously an engineering screw up. And, like mine, nearly every 2520 out there should still be under 2yr, 2000hr warranty. While the warranty actually says it covers only defective material and workmanship (doesn't say bogus engineering) for them to argue about this would be splitting hairs. Come on this is a CAT1 3 point. It's supposed to be a standard, universal interface. I sure hope none of you guys actually pay money for the new (correct) arms. If the doors on your new car never closed right, would you expect your car dealer to ask for money to fix it?

I still have to call my dealer back to ask about a replacement for my messed up owners manual, but I'm also going to ask about the new lower arms. They're only a couple miles from work, so if I have to, I take in my current arms with the paint all rubbed off to show them. My dealer is usually pretty good, but if they tell me I need to pay them for this, they and JD Corporate will be getting a nasty letter from this guy. I kinda think that is how the rest of you guys should be handling this too, not opening your wallets.

As always though, just my opinion.

[bz1]

hemiguy, I agree 100%. I just got hold of the owner of my dealership and he says that no bulletins have come out from Deere indicating there is a fix for this problem. In his opinion this may mean that JD is not offering this as a free fix. Or it could mean that they just haven't had a chance to release a bulletin yet. He's going to find out. I made it very clear to my dealer that I did not pay $17 grand for a tractor that I can't use and if JD refuses to provide the fix for free they can take my tractor back as defective and build me a new one that's done right. He kinda laughed. I told him I was serious. I still owe them $16K on the machine and I told him they wouldn't get the rest until this was fixed. Stay tuned.

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Just penned an email to my dealer. I'm calling him when I get out of work. Last week I asked him for a quote on about $3500 worth of implements and equipment, I'll remind him of that when I talk to him.

Tom

Text of letter:
===================================
Salesmans name,
According to the Deere parts page, they have released the replacement arms to solve the tire clearance issue on the 2520. Please see if they are available and how long to get them. I have included a pdf of the parts page.

I'm going to state my position up front, I feel that these should be either covered under warrantee as a defective part or as a product recall replacement. I have set my tires to the recommended wide position and used an I-match and still have clearance issues. To me, the product was delivered from the factory with limited functionality because of the defective design of the lower 3pt arms which the factory has subsequently redesigned and released a replacement part to alleviate the defect.

Please see what you can do to make this happen. I'll be quite honest with you; how JD handles this will directly impact my future purchase decisions regarding JD products.
=========================

[dfkrug]

Originally Posted by bz1

All right, if I understand dfkrug's suggestion bending the arms out will make this worse. They need to be bent inward.

The real world is a harsh critic. It works.

[TimS]

Ahem - if you follow the procedure, the ends of the arms get bent outwards. Then when you hook them up to an implement, the midpoint of the arms are inwards of where they used to be.

You could also hold the ends apart, and squeeze the midpoints together if you think it would make a difference...

Tim

[hollygrove]

I finally got to play with my 2520 yesterday and thought that I must have not adjusted something right, (since I had not read the manuals before deciding to work/play) I certainly hope that John Deere will at least provide the parts to fix the problem at $0.00 cost. The reason I bought a John Deere in lieu of other brands is because of when problems like this arise, I would think John Deere would stand behind their equipment.

Kevin

Richmond, Virginia

[bz1]

dfkrug, now I understand, sorry. How did you make sure that each one bent the same amount so they stay symetric?