Rotary Cutter Broke turnbuckle first time using bush hog

[Tomtint]

Exact same thing happened to me with my BX 22. I had it rewelded and never had another problem. Chitty design.

 

[TripleR]

Agree with DT86 that is a poor weld, those on our BX's never failed after years of hard use, but also agree wit James K0ua that it is a poor design and have replaced ours with those made by hodge at Stabilworks.

 

[k0ua]

Agree with DT86 that is a poor weld, those on our BX's never failed after years of hard use, but also agree wit James K0ua that it is a poor design and have replaced ours with those made by hodge at Stabilworks.

that looks much stronger, and undoubtedly is much easier to work with.

 

[TripleR]

that looks much stronger, and undoubtedly is much easier to work with.

We really like them and put them on our BX2200 and BX2660, darned turnbuckles were nothing but an aggravation.

 

[LD1]

Yea the turnbuckles arent the best thing on the market, but they do work. Never had issues with mine on my 3400, but they are a tad different and on the outside.

It does indeed look like a bad weld. And a combination of the un-even ground, possibly they were too loose and let the BH swing pretty hard one direction, or possibly when turning, the BH could have dug into the ground??

It really dont matter how it happened though, if the tractor is under warranty, your dealer should definataly replace for free unless you choose the aftermarket route...

 

[howie70]

I have sent Hodge an e-mail. His daughter replied that he is on a mission trip until Saturday. I like the looks of his set up, but my concern is price. Looks like I can order the parts from Kubota to do it for about $85. I saw in a thread somewhere that his set up runs about $130 with shipping? I could be wrong though. I am holding off ordering from Kubota until I hear back from Hodge since I have heard nothing but good things about him.

 

[howie70]

I will see what my dealer says regarding warranty replacement. I have only had the tractor 2 months. I did have one other issue. The right front tire had a slow leak. I took it off and took it to them. I figured I had ran over something, but they found nothing. No holes, no nothing. They put a tube in it and told me they didn’t know if warranty would cover it. Said they would submit it and call me if it was rejected. If they call me to pay that we are going to have a nice discussion. So I have my doubts on them replacing this turnbuckle with no hassle. We will see this evening.

 

[TripleR]

I will see what my dealer says regarding warranty replacement. I have only had the tractor 2 months. I did have one other issue. The right front tire had a slow leak. I took it off and took it to them. I figured I had ran over something, but they found nothing. No holes, no nothing. They put a tube in it and told me they didn’t know if warranty would cover it. Said they would submit it and call me if it was rejected. If they call me to pay that we are going to have a nice discussion. So I have my doubts on them replacing this turnbuckle with no hassle. We will see this evening.

I wouldn't think much of a dealer who didn't cover that. My dealer calls in advance of warranty expiration to make sure all issues are resolved.

I had a leak in my BX2660 front tire and they replaced it twice until I got a tire/wheel combo that held air, I did not want a tube.

Good luck, hope it all works out.

 

[oosik]

Wow! That turnbuckle arrangement is part of the three point hitch sway control? I would have thought the loop ends with the tack welded nut would have been a cast metal fixture. Small tractor or not that looks pretty weak to me. I think this needs a more substantial fixture.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Clearly a bad spot weld based on the rust showing from my view.