Bent MMM Support Rods

[MikePA]

My dealer came out yesterday to perform the 50 hour service, plus take care of some other items (weld wooks, install a block heater, etc.) and when he was finished he called me out to tell me what all he had done.

For those of you with a MMM, if you look at the rear axle of the tractor, there are two brackets that hang down from the axle. Each bracket has a rod and spring assembly that goes forward to the deck. The mechanic noticed that each of these rods are bent, just in front of the bracket. He thinks the assembly was put on wrong and he was going to report it to the service manager for resolution.

Could one of you take a picture of this spring and rod assembly and post it so I can tell if mine is on wrong? The mechanic thought the block that the rod goes through was installed 'up' when it should have been installed 'down'.

When the mechanic went to reinstall the deck (he sharpened the blades), the MMM attachment brackets would not drop down to meet the deck because of the bent rods. He had to use a pry bar (it looked like a big screw driver with the blade bent at the tip) to get the holes to line up.

While I was waiting for this resolution I was thinking about taking the rods out and trying to straighten them with a hand sledge.

Spencer200 - Any reports of problems with the mounting kit for the 914A MMM?

 

[spencer200]

no sorry have heard of no problems on them.

 

[RuT]

I remember reading in the MMM user's guide that if the rear 3 pt hitch arms are not in line with each other then "severe" MMM linkage damage "will" occur.

The manual scared me enough that I went out right away and inserted a rod between both side arms and checked it with a level. A little cautious I would guess, but that manual pretty much stated that you will screw it up if the side arms are not level.

By the way...my MMM has a "hitch" to it when it raises. I have watched it go up and down and the right side usually catches and then pops up at the last minute. This happens about 75% of the time. The other times it is fine. Any suggestions? I can't find the source of the problem.

 

[MikePA]

RuT,

I spoke with the service manager this morning and they ordered the necessary parts last Friday and anticipate they will arrive this week. They will schedule a return visit to replace the bent parts. The service manager thought they would not be able to tell what caused them to bend until they get it all apart.

<font color=blue>By the way...my MMM has a "hitch" to it when it raises. I have watched it go up and down and the right side usually catches and then pops up at the last minute. This happens about 75% of the time. The other times it is fine. Any suggestions? I can't find the source of the problem.</font color=blue>

I don't want to upset you but....This is exactly what mine was doing. At first I thought it was the pins that hold the deck up when you use 3ph attachments. I took the pins out, same problem. So, I made a note to ask about it at the 50 hour service. That's when the mechanic discovered the bent rods.