New Holland 451 mower part question

DogT · Jun 1, 2016

I seem to have my mower cutting pretty good now, but the lift cable broke. I had used a 1/4" steel cable with the saddle clamps and it was always touch and go, plus this is the second one I've broken. I'm going to try a 3/8" cable, can someone tell me what size the cable actually is? I've replaced the pulley (it's a 3/8" and the heaviest one I could find at McMaster) because it was gone, but it's hard to tell from the cable ends what size cable should go on this thing and I never had the original, I don't want to wait and spend $125 for a 6' steel cable, especially since the mower has been repaired and I'm not sure the NH cable will work. I can buy the parts I need at the local stores and have it going again tomorrow.

jcummins · Jun 1, 2016

Mine is 5/16. I broke the original cable, put the bar in a bind in a creek, my fault. But I replaced with the size that was on there....5/16. I had to use several saddle clamps to keep it from slipping.

DogT · Jun 1, 2016

Thanks a lot. That makes some sense. The cable ends seem a bit small for 3/8", 5/16 should do the trick, but 1/4 didn't work but a season or 2 at most. I hit a rock and it broke away and when I tried to lift it it snapped today.

I wish I could find a crimper for real clamps, those saddle clamps seem sketchy at best. I used 3 on each side and it still slipped. There must be about 3 tons tension on that cable.

Thanks again.

Dave

Sawyer Rob · Jun 1, 2016

Properly sized, properly installed saddle clamps will not slip...

If you have slipping, I'd be looking for "why"...

SR

DogT · Jun 2, 2016

Right. I did read up on saddle clamps and found that the saddle part shouldn't be put on the free end of the cable. I had 3 of them alternated. I'll try it properly this time. But I wish I could find the crimp lugs, I could probably crimp them on better than the clamps. The other problem is the local stores only have the malleable ones, not the drop forged ones and I've had the nuts strip by overtightening. I'll have to see if I can order some drop forged ones or even crimp lugs. How to Use Wire Rope Clips

But also notice that it's not recommended to use the clips for overhead loads. I certainly wouldn't.

Sawyer Rob · Jun 2, 2016

Just remember, "you NEVER saddle a dead horse"!!

SR

DogT · Jun 2, 2016

I put it all together this afternoon and used 3 clamps like the directions, it seems fine so far. I did find some forged ones on ebay so I got them just in case.

I did notice that my old 1/4" cable had 5/16" clamps on it. Probably all I could find at the time, that's most likely why it didn't work, but I could tell the cable wasn't up to the job anyhow, strands kept breaking and it finally just broke in the middle. I even melted the ends of the new cable with the oxy/acet torch this time so it wouldn't keep fraying and I bought a spare.

One problem is the repair to the pulley bracket is not exactly lined up with one of the ends, so that doesn't help. We'll see, but it seems better than ever so far.

DogT · Jun 20, 2016

Thought I would report back in and say that the 5/16" cable has been working fine with the clamps installed the right way, everything is copacetic. I did knock off the end ledger plate the other day with the double section knife, but I had the dividers off and was mowing along the driveway which has a lot of junk that it can hit. but other than that it's been great. I keep 2 knife sections so I can change them if one gets bad and I don't have to spend half a day repairing, it's real handy. I'm thinking I need to fix this mower up a bit more.

powerscol · Jun 28, 2016

If you really want control, get the hydraulic lift kit and get rid of the cable and pullys. I put a kit on my IH 1300 and with the hydraulic top link can really dial my cutter in now.

jcummins · Jun 28, 2016

powerscol said:
If you really want control, get the hydraulic lift kit and get rid of the cable and pullys. I put a kit on my IH 1300 and with the hydraulic top link can really dial my cutter in now.

Been tempted to do that since I've had my NH451. I'm not a fan of the lift system at all. A lot of interference with other parts of my tractor.