3-Point Hitch 3-Point Width Adjustment?

[LouNY]

Your hookup looks fine possibly a bit more slack in the sway chains,
there should be slack in them to allow them to pull in towards each other.
Have you been making tight turns with the blower down and dragging?
When your blower is off the ground can you swing it side to side a few inches in all it's travel.
One thing you could try is to straighten the side plate and add some washers or spacers on the outside of the lift arm balls to keep them closer to the inner pull plates,I guess they are actually push plates.

 

[Kwehme09]

Your hookup looks fine possibly a bit more slack in the sway chains,
there should be slack in them to allow them to pull in towards each other.
Have you been making tight turns with the blower down and dragging?
When your blower is off the ground can you swing it side to side a few inches in all it's travel.
One thing you could try is to straighten the side plate and add some washers or spacers on the outside of the lift arm balls to keep them closer to the inner pull plates,I guess they are actually push plates.

Nice response, thank you. I do keep some slack, I just want them tight enough to keep the arms off the chains. I think some slack that allows the blower to jump sideways helps protect the entire setup a bit. I'm sure I've made some tight turns with the blower down. I do a lot of blowing with this thing. I don't baby it. I like the washer idea.

 

[Reb954]

Not a great picture, but its something. CAT 1 to Cat 1, don't notice it binding anywhere. MIGHT be able to put tension between the two arms and not interfere with the PTO, but that makes me a little nervous. I'm considering bolts, but that seems like a PIA, and I still feel like I'm missing something. I SHOULDN'T be needing to mod. this setup, but its becoming clear I might need to.

View attachment 630182

That picture makes the problem clear, you can't push with a chain and there are chain links at the ends of the turnbuckles so there isn't a chance they will hold the 3 point arms to the inside.

There are 4 options I can think of,
1. Use the bolts as previously described.
2. Find links that pin in place to replace the turnbuckles so you have a solid connection. Check with your tractor dealer or farm supply house.
3. Bend the flange back where it belongs and drill a lynch pin hole in the main pin so the lynch pin carries the load against the inner flange. Use at least a 1/2" lynch pin with a flat on one side so there is less chance of the load bending the lynch pin. The alternative to this is use washers on the main pin between the pin head and flange.
4. Beef up the outer flange so it can handle the side force.

 

[ruffdog]

This is a common issue when a cat 1 implement is installed on a small tractor trying to fit cat 1 specs. Because the tractor is small, the attachment point of the lift arms to the tractor is narrow to fit between the tires. That is why small cat 1 tractors have their lift arms splayed out at ridiculous angles. It is no wonder they further want to push out on a rear facing implement like the OP's blower. First, I would bend back the wimpy outer ear on the blower, then get a pin/spacers/washers that is the exact length needed (or bolt with nylock nut) so it can't be bent out again. OR, what if the OP uses pins long enough to hitch the lift arms to the inside? That would let his lift arms to be a bit straighter too.

 

[rScotty]

This is a common issue when a cat 1 implement is installed on a small tractor trying to fit cat 1 specs. Because the tractor is small, the attachment point of the lift arms to the tractor is narrow to fit between the tires. That is why small cat 1 tractors have their lift arms splayed out at ridiculous angles. It is no wonder they further want to push out on a rear facing implement like the OP's blower. First, I would bend back the wimpy outer ear on the blower, then get a pin/spacers/washers that is the exact length needed (or bolt with nylock nut) so it can't be bent out again. OR, what if the OP uses pins long enough to hitch the lift arms to the inside? That would let his lift arms to be a bit straighter too.

Yep, that's the problem. Using a telescoping rod instead of sway chains would sure help, but most compacts have the sway chains, and sway chains have more play in them than the telescoping rods.

About all the OP can do right now and do simply simply is to first disconnect the blower so he can straighten out the ears that he has.
And then hook it back up but also using something,,,washers, 3pt balls, big nuts....something.... to shim the lift arms so that lift arms are forced more towards each other. Holding them more towards the center of the tractor will mean that the force on them isn't always trying to splay the lift arms out so much. Of course after shimming he will have to lengthen the adjustment on the chains an inch or so, but that's why they are adjustable.
It's allowing the lift arms to splay out too much that is what is bending the ears. Yes, the ears do look a bit too light.

So basically we are trying to do the simplest fix first, and this one isn't helped at all by Woods having made such a long pin area between the ears on each side. I'll say it again: He needs to shim those arms to force the lift arm balls to stay more to the inside instead of letting them slide to the outside like in the photo. ..... or maybe even use longer pins through the implement ears so he can mount the lift arms inside the inner ears as you suggest.

Next Spring he can figure out a better system. Right now just make this one work.
rScotty

 

[WranglerX]

IF it were me, I would loosen turnbuckles (sway chains) and allow arms to be pulled more towards center, Straighten outer tab, cut a few spacers (1" pipe or huge stack of washers or ?) and insert between ball end and blower frame and use bolts to "snug" everything and depend on ball end to any needed motion.... The way both "ears" are working together to take strain...

Dale