Don't bend your telescoping links!!

[CVHoss]

Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Unless you want to buy another complete set. After multiple attempts at removing, heating, pounding straight, and trying to retemper, the right telescoping drag link that I had previously bent, I decided to give up. It just won't stay straight. Even pushing dirt with the box blade will bend it again. So, I head to the J.D. dealer to buy a new one. Only hitch, is J.D. doesn't sell one single side, or even any of the parts to repair one. If any part becomes damaged, you have to buy a whole new set at the bargain basement price of $210.00. Oh well, live and learn. New set should be here in about a week. Anyone need to buy a left side telescoping link?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Thomas]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Maybe if one straighten than welded 1/4 plate steel on both sides also top and bottom..like a collar that might get them out of a jam.

Yep..we all learn and we all share.

 

[DDT]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

CV, I wish I had your old set to play with! I like a welder challange

 

[Mike_S]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Am curious as to how it was possible to bend them--sounds like a good story and a use that the rest of us shoud avoid. Mike S.

 

[john4nh]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

I dont have telescoping links, but I bent one of mine then later the other one. I welded 1/4 or 3/8 plate on them and havent had a another problem. I believe they bent cause I caught the load at an angle pushing backwards. Good luck..

 

[CVHoss]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Mike,
I had posted the story when it originally happened. You can see it <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=jdown&Number=78484&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>here</A>. The picture above is a thumbnail, the full size is attached to this reply. Like John4nh, I'm pretty sure the reason this happened was two fold. 1. I hit the stump with the right hand corner of the box blade. At the time, I was thinking that would be the strongest area of the box blade and I really wasn't thinking about the link bending. 2. I honestly believe the metal in this link just wasn't quite right. When I hit this little stump, it popped right out of the ground. I've backed into trees accidentally with the left side of the box blade with the telescoping links and when the original links were on the tractor, sometimes with much more force than what was involved with this instance, and there has never been any bending of the other links. I just don't think this link had quite the temper that it should have.

I guess the point of my post wasn't so much my disappointment with the link bending, stuff happens, but my disappointment that Deere doesn't sell parts for these links. The latch releases on these appear to be a piece of stamped steel. It is foreseeable that one of these latch releases could be damaged and need to be replaced. Sorry, you'll have to buy two complete new lower links. They sell no pieces or parts, or least none that my dealer and I could find broken done on their computer. No matter how many different ways we tried to come at it, it always came back with only the single part number for the complete set. No breakdown.

Hoss

 

[Hillbilly]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Hoss,
Welcome to the club.......I am waiting on a new set as well,2 new ones ordered and I only need one.I am going to see if the warranty will replace it.It did not take very much to bend mine,I was coming up on the edge of the black top and my blade caught on the black top and bent mine.On another note I had a piece on my adjustable part of the linkage ,where you adjust the angle of the blade(the threaded piece on the left facing the rear of the tractor broke on a seperate incident and the replaced it,recieved the part on Friday. If JD will replace the telescoping links it would be interesting if they would give you 2 new ones for 1 bent one since thats the way they sell them.

 

[rdln]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

$210.00 doesn't sound that bad considering what you get, I have broken 2 lower lift arm pins that bolt into to axle housing at $70 a piece.

 

[CVHoss]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Steve,
Can't speak for Hillbilly, but personally, the $210.00 price tag isn't what bothers me, it's that $105.00 of it is wasted. Suppose you damaged one front wheel on your tractor and they said they only sold them in sets of two. Same thing. Now, having a spare left link isn't all bad if I ever bend the one on there now. I won't have to wait while they order another one. But what happens if I manage to damage the right link again. Then I'll have two spare left links. It still doesn't make sense to me that you can have two separate pieces but can't buy only one to replace the one that has been damaged.

 

[rdln]

Re: Don\'t bend your telescoping links!!

Yeah, I see your point. One of top 10 rules of component design is to avoid right/left handed parts. It is always best to have one part used on either side, even it that means having a hole in the arm that is used by a part on one side but not being used on the other. At least then if Deere made you buy a pair you could use the second one on either side down the road.