Mowing Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing

   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #1  

MossflowerWoods

Super Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
5,419
Location
Fredericksburg, VA
Tractor
Kioti DK50SE HST w/FEL, Gravely 60" ZTR Mower. Stihl MS290 (selling), CS261, & FS190 + Echo CS400 & 2010 F-350 6.4 PSD snowplow truck
One of the lower three point hitch attachments I discovered the cotter pin had fallen out as I was backing under a fruit tree. I quickly shut everything down.

I got down, and managed to get the pin back in (with out the cotter pin) and I raised the bush hog and parked the tractor.

Does this happen often? Is there anything I can do to prevent it?

Clearly, I'm not going to use it again until I buy some spare cotter pins.

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
David
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #2  
You can use a piece of wire to "lock" the pin in place so that it can't fall out. They also sell aftermarket pins w/ strong springs to keep them from opening on their own.
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #3  
I use this type and have never lost any.

lynch_pin(t).jpg
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #4  
Use over-center spring lynch pins instead of cotter pins through the 3 pt pins. Occasionally they will pop off too but much less frequently. Another way is use 5/16" bolts with self locking nuts, will never fall off but then you have to mess with wrenches changing attachments.
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing
  • Thread Starter
#5  
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #6  
i've also used pins with a cotter pin hole in the end, then use a keychain ring thru the hole. easy to remove.. but almost never fall out.
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #7  
David as someone said, some of the lynch pins have much stronger spring action than others, try them in the store, you want the ones that will take a chunk out of your hide if it snaps back on your finger. Just open and close them deliberately without fumbling so as not to lose any fingers:) But they will do much better. the good news is I guess you caught it in time, and did not "tweak" you 3pt arm by yanking with just one arm sideways. I have lost a couple over the years. and learned to get good ones, and check them once in a while.

James K0UA
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #8  
I use this type and have never lost any.

lynch_pin(t).jpg

We use those lynch pins and have never had one come out even in some really rough brush.
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #9  
I bought a bag of lynch pins like the one pictured. About half of them had a weak spring action toward close. I found if I took the spring loop off and using a vise, bent the offset in the opposite direction, the new closing force was like a mouse trap. I stopped losing them after the modification. :thumbsup:
 
   / Cotter pin fell out on Bush Hog while mowing #10  
My equipment came with the loop style spring clips everyone is showing. I lost three the first day using the mower. I figured that was just the cost of mowing high brush and went out and bought a big box of them at HF. Strangely, I have not lost a single one since then.

I guess the spring tension was the deciding factor, but I did not think about them being different at the time.
 

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