Plow fitment problem

countrybumpkin · Aug 21, 2009

I finally got a chance to try and hook up to the plow I bought A few weeks back and ran into a small problem. The support that holds the front colter on the plow is hitting the right lift arm, so what should I do??? I was going to see if I could move the bracket as far back as I could and then cut off the remaining part of the support but not sure if I really like that option. Here are some pics.

Opti-Mist · Aug 21, 2009

I'd be inclined to take a hard look at your hitch points. The top link attaching point and the lower link attaching pins should all be in the same vertical plane. In pic #3 the mast of the hitch appears to be tilted to the rear which suggests that the lower link hitch pins may be too far rearward. That could be the cause of your interferance and could be alleviated by repositioning the hitch pins forward so the mast can become vertical and all three hitch points end up in the same vertical plane. Take a look at any other 3-pt hitch implement that you may have and compare it to your plow regarding the relative position of each of the hitch points.

rambler · Aug 21, 2009

Your problem is the 3pt arms of these little tractors being somewhere in between a cat 0 and cat 1. Back when the plow was made, lower arms were all straight, and there was room for that bracket.

Cutting it off is going to hurt resale value, and I don't think you will be able to fit the front coulter in.

Any way to move the 3pt hitch forward on th eplow a bit?

Looks like the 1st plow bottom doesn't line up properly to the inside of your right rear wheel anyhow - might have to redrill some hols to shift the whole plow to the left a few inches. That might help you with the clearance issue. The plow was likely made for a Ford N, which is wider. Your narrower tractor without adjustable wheels, you'll have to shift the plow to the left some.

--->Paul

foggy1111 · Aug 22, 2009

The Pat's EZ Change would move the plow pins back about 2".....but I'm not sure if 2"would help.

countrybumpkin · Aug 22, 2009

Rambler , I didn't really pay that much attention to the side to side alignment of the bottoms to the tires yet, the plow isn't setting correct in the pics because of it hitting the lift arm I wasn't able to hook it up completely . I wasn't really trying to do much with it yesterday but hook up and move it out of the way when I found out the lift arms hit. I need to get the whole thing setting on a good flat surface and see how it lines up without trying to hook it up to the arms and then I think I may be able to adjust the hitch points over to the right (moving the plow to the left) if I can move it an inch or so would make a hugh difference in clearance, hadn't thought of that , Also if it doesn't need to move over that much The idel that Foggy1111 had would work , or even a combination of both may even be better. Thanks keep the thoughts coming.

rambler · Aug 22, 2009

I had thought of Pat's or a quick hitch too, that should do it, but didn't want to spend too much of your money.

--->Paul

foggy1111 · Aug 23, 2009

rambler said:
I had thought of Pat's or a quick hitch too, that should do it, but didn't want to spend too much of your money.

--->Paul

Spending OTHER peoples money is easy!

BUT....FWIW.....I do have the Pat's and have a Dearborn economy plow (see other post on this). I did get the plow installed onto the PAT's...but it just barely fit onto the plow. When I plowed with it I broke parts of my PAT's from the plow hitting the "attachment pins" on my PAT's. It's all still working....but I need to replace some parts that are bent and broke (mainly the big pin with a hole in the end on the left side).....not much expense....just the getting around to do it factor. Also, I had some problems in getting the plow off the PATs....but concurred that issue with a pry bar.

jinman · Aug 23, 2009

The implements lower linkpins look very short to me. I think I'd try to replace that right-hand pin with a new longer pin. Then, I'd put a bushing on the inside so the lift arm was spread at least 1" wider on the right side. It looks like you have plenty of clearance on that side between the stabilizer and the wheel. It could also shift the implement to the left a bit. The toplink is certainly out of normal position and geometry as Opti-Mist mentioned. That is certainly not the configuration of most Dearborn plows.

countrybumpkin · Aug 23, 2009

Thanks guys, The pin set up and top link are original , this is a 3214 Oliver plow, The top link holes and the lift pins line up perfectly on the vertical plain if you look at it straight on from the side. I think the biggest problem is the plow was designed for a larger frame Tractor with longer & wider lift arms, as someone stated above. I'll try to mess with it a little more and get some more pics and see if we can't figure something out.

Egon · Aug 23, 2009

You might consider making a new bottom bar for the plow that the lower arms attach to. Extend it forward so you get clearance on the tractor.

countrybumpkin · Aug 24, 2009

Egon , I had thought about that , and then I came up with a thought of just making extensions to my lift arms that bolt on, for when I use the plow. That way I dont have to mod the plow and I could use them on the two row cultivator i have that has the fertilizer hopper boxes mounted on it, Because I have to be very careful with it when I raise it so they dont hit my fenders. I'll look into both and decide.

flusher · Aug 24, 2009

countrybumpkin said:
I finally got a chance to try and hook up to the plow I bought A few weeks back and ran into a small problem. The support that holds the front colter on the plow is hitting the right lift arm, so what should I do??? I was going to see if I could move the bracket as far back as I could and then cut off the remaining part of the support but not sure if I really like that option. Here are some pics.

Is that a 2-14 plow?
Anyway, looking at it from the rear, it looks like the plow is set too far to the right. I'd try to use your telescoping sway links to shift it to the left a few inches and see if that helps. You may have to drill a pair of holes in the plow's drawbar to get it shifted enough to remove that interference problem.

Coincidentally, right now I'm going through the same thing as you are--trying to get my old JD 2-14 plow to hang correctly on my Mahindra 5525.

As you can see, that plow needs a lot of adjustment. Today I got out my big sockets and the long breaker bar and got a half-dozen of the rusted bolts loose so I can start the alignment process tomorrow.

It uses #217 Deere plowshares--need to get a new pair of those. The ones on the plow are pretty worn. I can't tell from your photos the condition of the shares on your plow. As you can see from my photos, the ground on my place is dry and hard as a brick after 2 months of triple digit temps. Need to load those rears with water/antifreeze mix to get more traction.

Egon · Aug 24, 2009

Those extensions are a much easier solution. Happy Furrows!

countrybumpkin · Aug 24, 2009

Yes it is a 2-14, I really need to set it up behind the tractor and line it up were it needs to be to see how the hitch needs to move for sure. For some reason I was thinking that sliding the draw bar over was not a option, but looking back at the photos it might just be. All i would need to do is re-drill a new hole for the bolt you see in the first pic sense the plow looks as if needs to move to the left any how.

Farmwithjunk · Aug 25, 2009

Heat and bend the bar that holds the coulter shank (plow frame...) . Bend it inboard far enough to clear the draft arm. THen simple pivot the coulter shank to where the coulter runs in the proper alignment. I've seen EXACTLY the same situation dealt with in this manner. Makes for a simple fix that allows the plow to operate in the manner for which it was designed.

Making radical adjustments on the plow itself will result in the plow running somewhere other than in the correctly centered on the line of draft. That will cause the plow to pull more on one side of the tractor, tending to cause the tractor to "steer" to one side. You want the plow to operate with the top link running in line with the tractor, NOT skewed to one side.

countrybumpkin · Aug 25, 2009

Thanks, Farmwithjunk I was wondering if that might be an option but wasn't sure. I'll see what that will do for me.

Ford850 · Aug 26, 2009

Here's a diagram of a Ford 101 plow frame and a picture of a plow with the bend FWJ was talking about. In this case it was designed into the plow and came that way. I'll admit when I was looking for a plow, I thought the beam was bent due to an accident on the first one I saw.

countrybumpkin · Aug 26, 2009

I would have thought the same thing, but that may be the way I go. As soon as I get these stitches out of my finger next week I'll see what will work best for me. I had to get a knot removed off my right index finger Monday and the doc has it all bandaged up so I can't really do anything this week. I'm about to go nuts already and this is only the second day.

flusher · Aug 26, 2009

countrybumpkin said:
I would have thought the same thing, but that may be the way I go. As soon as I get these stitches out of my finger next week I'll see what will work best for me. I had to get a knot removed off my right index finger Monday and the doc has it all bandaged up so I can't really do anything this week. I'm about to go nuts already and this is only the second day.

Bummer. Hope the surgery works out.

Here're a few photos I took this AM of the alignment effort on my old JD 2-14 plow.

I set the plow so it's aligned with the tractor, top link centered on the plow crossbeam and verified that the plow is sitting level side-to-side.

The centerline of the crossbeam is 25 inches give or take from the inner wall of the right rear tire per Ken Sweet's recommendations for 2-14 plows.

With the right lower arm of the 3pt hitch attached, the pins of the left lower arm are not in the proper position to keep the plow aligned. The previous owner had welded 1/2" plates on the ends of the crossbeams to relocate the pins.

Need to move the location of the left side pin on the plow about 2.25 inches forward. I'm heading for my steel supplier today to get a 3"x7" x 1/2" piece of bar stock to drill a new hole for the pin and weld onto the plow.

Still haven't ordered the #217 shares. Only price I've seen so far is $170 apiece. Pretty pricy considering I bought the plow for $200. I only have about 2 acres of hayfield to plow so I might just wait until the first rains soften the ground (hopefully in late Oct) and plow then.

countrybumpkin · Aug 26, 2009

Thanks it should all be good in a week or so, But I'm going to figure out a way to fish with it this way for sure. [

]

It's a shame they done that to your plow, but sense they did, might as well just redo some of their work to fit your needs, You may be able to find a new draw bar for it but even then you may still have a issue. Are those set up so you could rotate the draw bar to adjust the pin locations? Looks as if you are well on your way to having it set up for your needs, I'll have to measure on mine and see where the edge of the tire in relation the the front plow edge falls with the 25" measurement you mentioned, where did you come up with that?