Snow 54" front blade too fragile for snow removal with a 4115?

[mattinmason]

We bought a 54" front blade a few years ago to plow our driveway with our 4115. The first year it worked OK. At the end of the second winter, I slid on some ice at speed and slammed the right side of the plow into a frozen pile of snow and bent several pieces of it badly - the first piece on the tractor was fine, but the piece that mates to it (with the horizontal bar) was all twisted and wouldn't mate any more. The front part that mates with the blade and the mating surfaces on the back of the blade were also bent.

I brought it to my local dealer to see if it was repairable, and they managed to bend it back into shape (though that was a nightmare in and of itself - they never called me with an estimate and they initially wanted to charge me more than the cost of a new plow setup for the repair! Thankfully because of their error they dropped the price to only 2/3rd the new cost of the plow )

It worked OK for most of this past winter, except at the end of the season we broke one of the pins that holds the blade onto the main piece. I managed to get the broken piece out and replace it (luckily they're only $9).

This season, the blade kept falling off the front, I broke another pin, and now the central piece is bent badly and won't mate any more - but we haven't hit anything else.

Is this blade just too small for snow plowing with a 4115 or did I get the tissue paper model by accident?

 

[kennyd]

Welcome to TBN

There are lots of complaints about the 54" blade being to small for the current series of tractors (4100,4110, 2210,2305,2350,2520,2720) but ONLY in the width-not in "toughness". I have never heard of the troubles you are having, and there are A LOT of machines your size and bigger behind those blades.

I think all your troubles stem from the original accident you had where the frame was bent and twisted, and I doubt it will ever be 100% again after being bent back. There is just no way they got it factory perfect at your dealer.

I think your only solution is to find a new quick hitch for your tractor-or possibly a whole new(used) plow setup since everything is questionable at this point.

I found a used #380 plow locally and modified it to fit my 4110. It was for the older x55 series tractors, it weights about 400lbs, is 66" wide and is built like a TANK. Why JD did not use these blades on our machines or the new CUT's with even more horsepower is truely a mystery to all.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I had the 54" plow on my 4115 and never had a problem. The only complaint I had was the blade wasn't wide enough.

 

[cast_and_blast]

Blade isn't meant to move laterally - I don't think this can be blamed on the blade or the hitch.

I have the same hitch for my snowblower and it's extremely well built and heavy - must have taken a lot of force to bend that.

Good luck!

Scott

 

[Conservation]

I have to chime in on this one. I have one on my 445, which is a smaller tractor that what you are using it on. I have hit some ice pack very hard, hard enough to lift me out of the seat and the back tires off the ground. But on Christmas day, I had to go back out to clean up the mouth of the driveway after the plow came past. We live on a hill, and I usually plow early in the morning or late at night when I can see headllights coming. Well, a very young man came over the hill as I was just backing from the ditch across the road. He was probably going 45, and there was nothing but ice on the road. I couldn't get out of the way, and he couldn't stop or even avoid me completly. I bailed off on his side at the last minute, and just as my one leg came up, the tractor came out from under me. I just stood there on one leg watching the tractor spin after he hit just the front of the plow. It ripped the running board off of his truck, or at least peeled most of it away. There are NASCAR tire marks on the plow face. But virtually no damage to the plow. I couldn't bellive it. Heck, I couldn't belive I was alive. I was pretty impressed with the toughness. Now, put that plow on a bigger tractor, and things may have been worse for the plow.

 

[Nuru]

Same story here. I used a 54" blade on my former 4100 and slammed into ice, heavy wet snow over 2 fet in height and had no issues with flexing. Blade was just not wide enough. Now I got a 66" wide blade and I am thinking of buying those extensions on sale at Northern tool and other online companies.

 

[mattinmason]

Thanks for all the input everyone! I took it back to the dealer that did the first repair, and learned that the part on the quick hitch that's bent is the part they replaced, not something that was straightened. Replacing it again would cost over $500, and I decided not to put that much money into this plow - I can't explain why it keeps bending for me, but it seems clear that it's not going to work for my snow clearing.

I found someone nearby selling a rear mount blower for $1500 - it was new, but had been sitting in their yard for several years and was "weathered". For now, I just took my iMatch off and mounted it to the 3ph arms directly; I may get the bushings in the spring to set it up for the iMatch. I tried it out and it did a great job moving some snow that was piled up in my driveway - it's nice to be able to just turn around and use the FEL to clean up. I'll get to try it out for real tomorrow, they're calling for 4-8 inches.

 

[Gizmo2]

For what it is worth, I think the snow blades are light duty. This is one of the reasons I made my own.
I think JD still makes a dirt blade that is stronger.

 

[gunmaker]

I thought the 54" blade was a little small for the 2520, so I fab'd a mount to a Meyers 6' blade that matches up to the JD Quick-hitch.

 

[billyvan]

Same story here. I used a 54" blade on my former 4100 and slammed into ice, heavy wet snow over 2 fet in height and had no issues with flexing. Blade was just not wide enough. Now I got a 66" wide blade and I am thinking of buying those extensions on sale at Northern tool and other online companies.

Hi Nuru, I've got the same 66" as yours. How much are those extensions and how much wider and taller does it make your blade? Do you have to buy a new cutting edge with it that is the new length of the blade? I'm happy with the 66 pushing snow, just curious what the cost is to upgrade.