Top link extension on the tractor.

[BufordBoone]

This is the one I plan to copy:

It was mentioned that he chose not to have the 3rd hole as he thought it might interfere with his PTO cover.

I suspect that, were one to need the lower hole, this could simply be moved down, leaving the top hole uncovered.

I hope this works as well as I expect.

 

[skipperbrown]

Spray some paint on the new welds or they will quickly start rusting.

 

[bdhsfz6]

This is the one I plan to copy: View attachment 554898

The advantage in using this method is you can remove it if you need a shorter top link.

If it were me, I'd cut the bottom corners off the bracket to give more clearance for the PTO cover. I'd also paint it Kubota gray instead of orange.

 

[JWR]

No - I've had two tractors and no problems with the top link. I can see how it would be possible to get a "wrong top link" on one tractor. Something goes wrong when the unit is manufactured. But on two tractors - and you have them both. Sounds like something else is going on there.

I have to agree with oosik --- there is something else going on we don't know about. There are standards for 3pt hitch geometry and heaven knows ALL the manufacturers know those standards and it is really hard to imagine they do not comply. Maybe the tractor(s) did not come with lift arm extensions for ease of hook-up and you added some ? Maybe the tractors had been custom ordered for some particular application ? Maybe your implements are oddball or have links missing or modified? Just something missing in all this. Maybe you got both tractors from the same source and that dealer has a habit of supplying short top links -- seems far fetched.

As others mentioned you can definitely order hydraulic top links with a wide variety of stroke lengths, over all lengths, etc. I have not tried, but very little question you can buy top links with either more adjustment latitude or longer over all to start with, etc. And the homebrew adapters obviously will/do work to move the top link attachment point outward. So in that sense your problem is solved.

=============================================
However, for my 2 cents worth, I'd first find out what is not meeting the industry standards for 3pt hitch geometry.

The ISO standards are at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:730:ed-1:v1:en but somehow they think they can charge money for a full set oif stds. The Wiki at Three-point hitch - Wikipedia is informative. So is TractorData commentary at TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch .

There are rather extensive dimensions and parts listings for a variety of 3pt systems at http://www.ricksagparts.com/3-Point_Linkage.pdf

Strangely with 10-15 min spent on the web I cannot find the standard for the top link LENGTH. That might be because of assumptions that they will be both variable and available in a wide range lf lengths (?) Puzzling.

 

[3gunr]

I also put a pats quick hitch on my 2538 and found the top link needing to be all the way out. I didnt like that, went to rural king and picked up a longer one for 25 bucks.They had cat 1 and 2 in all different lenghts.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I have to agree with oosik --- there is something else going on we don't know about. There are standards for 3pt hitch geometry and heaven knows ALL the manufacturers know those standards and it is really hard to imagine they do not comply. Maybe the tractor(s) did not come with lift arm extensions for ease of hook-up and you added some ? Maybe the tractors had been custom ordered for some particular application ? Maybe your implements are oddball or have links missing or modified? Just something missing in all this. Maybe you got both tractors from the same source and that dealer has a habit of supplying short top links -- seems far fetched.

As others mentioned you can definitely order hydraulic top links with a wide variety of stroke lengths, over all lengths, etc. I have not tried, but very little question you can buy top links with either more adjustment latitude or longer over all to start with, etc. And the homebrew adapters obviously will/do work to move the top link attachment point outward. So in that sense your problem is solved.

=============================================
However, for my 2 cents worth, I'd first find out what is not meeting the industry standards for 3pt hitch geometry.

The ISO standards are at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:730:ed-1:v1:en but somehow they think they can charge money for a full set oif stds. The Wiki at Three-point hitch - Wikipedia is informative. So is TractorData commentary at TractorData.com - Three-Point Hitch .

There are rather extensive dimensions and parts listings for a variety of 3pt systems at http://www.ricksagparts.com/3-Point_Linkage.pdf

Strangely with 10-15 min spent on the web I cannot find the standard for the top link LENGTH. That might be because of assumptions that they will be both variable and available in a wide range lf lengths (?) Puzzling.

He has the std 3pt hitch Kubota uses for the cat 1-2 grand L models. His hydraulic top link is short simply because he has one that has a shorter working length than he should have purchased for that tractor.

THERE is no std geometry measurements used on any of the tractors so that the top links will all be the same working length. Kubota itself has 7 different working lengths that I can think of, maybe 8. Even the cat 1 Grand Ls are different than the cat 1-2 Grand Ls

There are other tractors of the same HP range made by others that only use a 6" stroke and have an overall working length of 17 1/4"- 23 1/4". That's a FAR distance from the 23 1/4"- 35 1/4" that we are talking about for the OP's tractors.

So again, there is no set std working length for all the different tractors that are made by all the different manufacturers. Right or wrong, that's just how it is.

 

[JWR]

As I said , strangely there is no standard I could find for the top link length, probably because of assumptions that they are not only variable but available in many lengths. Everything else about 3pt hitch geometry is standardized under ASME and ISO standards.

I agree as you said, He has the std 3pt hitch kubota uses for the cat 1-2 grand L models. His hydraulic top link is short simply because he has one that has a shorter working length than he should have purchased for that tractor.

 

[Oldoak]

I also put a pats quick hitch on my 2538 and found the top link needing to be all the way out. I didnt like that, went to rural king and picked up a longer one for 25 bucks.They had cat 1 and 2 in all different lenghts.

I don't have a quick hitch, but I didn't like extending my O.E.M. top link on my Kubota L4200 to it's maximum length when using my Land Pride Rototiller. I simply went to my Tractor Supply store and purchased a longer top link for about the same price. Done.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Yes OEM is too short......with pat's hitch.....tried 16" it was so-so.....went to local NH dealer and got a 20".....yipper..nice ....

catI is a heavy duty unit. won't fit into the lil piggie curl hook so have to use a bungee cord to hold it down.

at least this one should not snap off the top joint like the oem unit did. heh...

 

[MtnViewRanch]

As I said , strangely there is no standard I could find for the top link length, probably because of assumptions that they are not only variable but available in many lengths. Everything else about 3pt hitch geometry is standardized under ASME and ISO standards.

I agree as you said, He has the std 3pt hitch kubota uses for the cat 1-2 grand L models. His hydraulic top link is short simply because he has one that has a shorter working length than he should have purchased for that tractor.

Yes the dimensions of the actual hitch ends are standardized for pin sizes as well as spacing and attachment point widths, but the actual draft arm lengths as well as top link lengths are all up to the manufacturers.

All I'm getting at is that NONE of this stuff is a one size fits all application as it had seemed that some were thinking in earlier posts. (Maybe I simply mis understood what was being said??) It can vary from model size to model size and from manufacturer to manufacturer as to what the working length requirements may be.