Losing pins off the back of the tractor

   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #41  
Then what did you replace it with that wasn't "worthless"?

I put back what was there. Why?

A) It's cheap. Very cheap. I even bought an extra.
B) I have to look to see what else would work there in a manner that would make sense to me without being "expensive".
C) Failure / loss of that clip has no danger while the mower is in use or remaining under the tractor. The gauge wheel posts have two catches - the primary is a positive lock that holds the post in a fixed setting to allow the gauge wheels to actually function and this other clip that is sort of a last resort catch. That positive positional lock (attached to the mowing deck, non-removable) is always engaged unless I go to remove the deck (and you have to allow the gauge wheels to float all the way up since it's a drive-over deck).
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #42  
From what I've seen, we are disscussing three different kinds of pins which are all designed for different uses. If the hole is about 5/16 or 3/8 use a lynch pin installed from the top (or a 5/16 bolt with a nyloc nut) Use the black ones with a safety chain and keep them in good shape. Carry a spare in the toolbox.
If the hole is 1/8-1/4, then use either a small diameter lynch pin (of the correct size) or a "safety pin" that hooks back on itself, just like the name. For smaller holes use cotter pins or just wire them. These are found on things like axle bearing retainers. There are also some small holes where the "spring clips" will work if they are tucked up away from brush.
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #43  
Safety wire the pins closed or replace them with a bolt and nylock nut combo.

Back in the Navy working on F-8's we use to safety wire everything that didn't move.

Charlie
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #44  
Simpliest method is usually best. Use a lynch pin and some tie wire to safety wire it shut when using your tractor in overgrown brush. Keep some spare wire and wire nippers in your tractor to nip the safety wire off when unhooking and some plain old wire pliers to wire it tightly shut when installing. If you rip off the safety wire and the lynch pin, you are likely into something that you shouldnt be into in the first place.
The "safety chains" arent really safety chains at all. They just keep you from dropping them when hooking up and unhooking. As for use in the field, the chains just grab onto weeds etc and pull the pin open. Some tractors have little loops welded to the lift arms to snap the pins in when not in an implement. I find it easier to just get a set for each implement and leave them in the pins.
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #45  
When I first bought my tractor, I had one extra lynch pin. After about six months, I lost one and used the extra to replace it. The next time I was at the tractor dealer's, I bought ten of them, figuring I'd never have to buy another one again. Over the next six months I used six of them. No, they didn't fall off the tractor per se, I left them laying on the tractor or implement without re-installing them. Gravity then dispersed them around the property. After the remaining four are gone, I'm only going to buy one extra. It's cheaper.
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #46  
Simpliest method is usually best. Use a lynch pin and some tie wire to safety wire it shut when using your tractor in overgrown brush. Keep some spare wire and wire nippers in your tractor to nip the safety wire off when unhooking and some plain old wire pliers to wire it tightly shut when installing. If you rip off the safety wire and the lynch pin, you are likely into something that you shouldn't be into in the first place.
The "safety chains" arent really safety chains at all. They just keep you from dropping them when hooking up and unhooking. As for use in the field, the chains just grab onto weeds etc and pull the pin open. Some tractors have little loops welded to the lift arms to snap the pins in when not in an implement. I find it easier to just get a set for each implement and leave them in the pins.
I hear you but lynch pins or bolts are cheap and if you finally have the time to use your tractor as you wish and your stuck for the lack of a sixty cent pin your weekend is trashed. Have some means to get around this recurring problem at hand when ever you want to get some work done and sooner or later it will save the day for you.
The post is missing a handful of commas etc. but I never claimed to be an English major.
 
   / Losing pins off the back of the tractor #47  
be grateful you found the problem quickly. I had my sway bar retention pin come off, the sway bar swing wide, and snap the valve stem off of the rim giving me a flat tire and spilling 50 gallons of beet juice
 
 
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