3-Point Hitch broken anti-sway bar slot arms - what to do?

[jlukem]

Ok I've now managed to break both of my anti-sway bars on my lower 3pt arms.

What's happening is they are being pushed and then bend where the bar goes into the tubing. They eventually straighten and bend enough that the metal snaps at the first hole.

From what I've seen these bars are being used on Kubotas as well. I can't find the bar only but the "whole kit" with way more gear than what I need.

I'm thinking about switching to chains only.

I'll try to come up with some pics.

They are breaking when I am dragging a landscape rake and making corners under heavy load.

It's operator error of course but it kinda is a pain to be in this situation. Tractor is a 3016.
-Luke

 

[RickB]

All bar type stabilizers have strength in extension, not compression. You have to keep both pinned tight enough so the load is put on the stabilizer being extended, not the one being compressed.
And learn how to operate the rake without putting high loads on the rake while turning. Next might be a failure of something else.

 

[jlukem]

Indeed.. that's why I'm thinking chains instead of bars for the extension vs compression for the replacements.

I'm basically cleaning up about 12 acres of down Yaupon and pine debris left over after a botched timber harvest job.

We've tried using a dozer but they cost so much to operate and we've got time to let the roots rot a bit and just take pieces away at a time.

-Luke

 

[jlukem]

We also had a quote from a few of the mulcher places.. the one guy who had the equipment that could do the job and not a "hobby mulcher" on a skidsteer needed a little over $20k to clean up all mess. The hobby mulchers just didn't have the gear to take out the stumps and the large leftover logs.

The big machine was 400+hp and was capable. For less than that price we bought the tractor and have a way to mow and landscape. We're just not done with it yet.

We do have goats on the land now to keep the thicket from coming back up.

-Luke

 

[jlukem]

there's a pic of one of the broken bars.

Does anyone here have a source for replacing just the arms? Doesn't look to hard to fab myself, I will just cut each piece down and reweld I assume... ?

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/P12b1th6pNneuwy-COLnIw?feat=directlink

 

[GPintheMitten]

Weld it.

 

[DavesTractor]

Yep, just weld it and fill in that last hole. Easy to fix, but they are expensive if you have to buy them. Can almost buy a cheap welder for what two of them cost.

 

[AGGIE00]

I'd do a little fab work and convert that flatbar to square tubing like what is on my tractor. As far as this being operator error in what you are doing is retarded. If you can't expect a tractor to hold together under the load of a landscape rake something is wrong. It's a tractor not a lawnmower.

 

[Mike476]

I have to agree that there's no way the bar should break using a landscape rake. I understand the preference is for the bar to break to avoid excessive stresses to the mount / casting it is attached to but how much of a shock load can the tines of a landscape rake generate?

 

[RickB]

Its all about not requiring the bars to work in compression. Not rocket science, but a little physics is required to understand it.

There's no place here for accusations of retardation. If you can't express yourself better than that, keep quiet.

 

[DavesTractor]

Its all about not requiring the bars to work in compression. Not rocket science, but a little physics is required to understand it.

There's no place here for accusations of retardation. If you can't express yourself better than that, keep quiet.

Rick, you bring up a good point. Generally we see these break when guys are pushing backwards and making their box or rake behave like a dozer. But I had not thought of the fact that they can work in compression when going forward if you leave them too loose.

I do think that the last hole in the bar, through which they break, should not be there. It would strengthen that part substantially.

 

[brin]

" They are breaking when I am dragging a landscape rake and making corners under heavy load. "

I would suggest that you not turn corners with your ground engaging equipment on the ground. Instead...when you get to the end and are ready to make a turn - lift up on your 3 pt control and make your turn , then position yourself over the area you want to continue with and go forward...Turning with ground engaging equipment on the ground puts enormous stress on all of your 3 pt. apparatus.

 

[Mike476]

I took the comment to mean that to blame the break on operator error was retarded, just MHO.

Physics, metallurgy and engineering are involved without question, and if the designed tensile or shear strength limitations of the flat bars are designed to fail under this type of load I would be hesitant to do anything to make it stronger. Better to damage the flat bar than a mount or cast.

I'm not questioning the design or quality of your tractor, just that things are engineered to fail for a reason, the best advice might be to simply lift the rake prior to making turns rather than make the bar stronger and possibly risk more costly repairs. My 2 cents.

 

[AchingBack]

My 2615 came with anti-sway chains connected by a turnbuckle. I've never had a problem with them. I realize the anti-sway bars are quicker to adjust, but, but, but... Why change. If it isn't broken, whoops!

 

[RickB]

I took the comment to mean that to blame the break on operator error was retarded, just MHO.

I agree with you on the target of the 'retarded' comment, it was directed at me for suggesting that the bar failure was rooted in operator error. I did suggest that, and if I was misunderstood, let me make myself clear. I believe the stabilizer failure noted by the OP was operator failure. As a result of setting the stabilizer bars improperly, turning with a loaded landscape rake engaging the ground, or a combination of the two.

And that is an informed opinion, although opinion it certainly is.

 

[Mike476]

Roger that. I still find it hard to believe that stabilizer bars would be designed to have the malleability to bend as the OP described, not that I'm questioning his description of what happended, more that they would be that soft.

 

[AGGIE00]

I agree with you on the target of the 'retarded' comment, it was directed at me for suggesting that the bar failure was rooted in operator error. I did suggest that, and if I was misunderstood, let me make myself clear. I believe the stabilizer failure noted by the OP was operator failure. As a result of setting the stabilizer bars improperly, turning with a loaded landscape rake engaging the ground, or a combination of the two.

And that is an informed opinion, although opinion it certainly is.

Please excuse my use of the word retarded. I don't believe you are retarded, just wrong. One might expect to "walk on eggshells" with their tractor if it was shop built, but the stress of a landscape rake is hardly unreasonable for a tractor's sway bar to handle. Every manufacturer has poorly engineered parts and most are corrected in later models. My tractor is somewhere near 10,000 lbs with the loader and 4wd. I cratered my heavy duty gannon style box blade while pushing back and catching a stump. The stress on sway bars from this type of work so far exceeds a landscape rake it can't be compared and they held up fine. I guess I just have different expectations for these toys we pay 10's of thousands of dollars for.

 

[RickB]

Please excuse my use of the word retarded. I don't believe you are retarded, just wrong. One might expect to "walk on eggshells" with their tractor if it was shop built, but the stress of a landscape rake is hardly unreasonable for a tractor's sway bar to handle. Every manufacturer has poorly engineered parts and most are corrected in later models. My tractor is somewhere near 10,000 lbs with the loader and 4wd. I cratered my heavy duty gannon style box blade while pushing back and catching a stump. The stress on sway bars from this type of work so far exceeds a landscape rake it can't be compared and they held up fine. I guess I just have different expectations for these toys we pay 10's of thousands of dollars for.

Apology accepted. It's OK if you think I'm wrong, but I think you are mistaken. Let's leave it at that.

 

[jlukem]

I guess I could add a few pics of what I was doing... I was putting one of the stabilizers into excessive compression due to unbalanced load on the rake. I'm clearing Yaupon and timber harvesting debris and just dragging through it in long sweeping motions. As I get up to my windrows, I just power on over the top and when the hitch binds, I lift the rake.

I SHOULD have had both of the stabilizers tight to ensure one on tension would not put excessive compression on the other. After I broke the first one, I kept running with just the one stabilizer.. it was only a matter of time before I put the remaining one into extension/compression enough and the metal fatigued and failed.

It's been a good 15 years since I've run equipment for more than just a couple minutes at a time.

My plan is to cut the ends of the bars flat/square again and then weld them back together. This time I'll keep the tension high so there's little sway.

I'm actually liking my box blade with the scarifiers dropped down vs the rake.

-Luke

 

[jlukem]

Actually I think there's a problem in the 3pt geometry... I think they could have been getting compressed and bent due to being too short when the lift arms are all the way up.

I had the bars welded up today and put them back on and then worked with them a little while I had the box blade on the back. I'm going to cut them down again and re-weld OR switch to chains.

-Luke