Flail Mower Implement Hook-Up Difficulty

[vlcakc]

I run a 2000 New Hollland TC45D tractor here on my small farm (107+ acres) that I bought new along with a !7LA loader, New Holland 918H flail mower, 6' box blade, 6' tiller and 55 gallon sprayer. I have been very satisfied with the set up. I am getting on in years, turned 81 this summer, with some health issues that have made it difficult or impossible for me to switch implements. I installed a JD imatch quick hitch on the tractor last night along with the bushings on the mower and box blade. Hope to try some test hook-ups this evening to see how it may work. The biggest problem is hooking up the flail mower pto shaft. It was always a hassle and I no longer have the strength to lift and align the shaft and rotate the shaft to line up the splines. The pto shaft on the tractor is locked in place when not running, so I can't rotate it to align. This seems to be a common problem with some of the newer tractors. I have a pto overrunning clutch on order to see if that will help with the spline alignment problem.

While at the JD dealer picking up the quick hitch I asked the salesman about the imatch auto-hitch option. According to the on-line videos it allows the user to hook-up the hitch AND pto without leaving the tractor seat. The salesman said he had never sold one due to the cost and the need to use an adapter on each pto implement. Has anyone used one or at least seen a live demo? Looks a little complex. I would have to replace the tractor and mower, but I have a prospective buyer for them. Thoughts, anyone. Thanks, Vic

 

[k0ua]

Vic one thing that can help a bit is to suspend the pto shaft in mid air with a bungee cord/cords so the weight is off of your arms. This allows you to try to get the coupler on without all that weight on you, which causes you to hurry. i take it that you cannot move either the PTO stub shaft or the flail side of the PTO coupler?

 

[ovrszd]

Hmmmmm. Don't quite understand. Both my tractors lock the PTO shaft when engine is running. Release it when engine is shutoff.

 

[vlcakc]

James: In the past I have used a ratchet strap to suspend the PTO shaft which helped. A bungee cord would probably have worked better because of the "give" in the cord. Yes, unfortunately the PTO stub shaft is locked in position when the PTO is disengaged. The flail mower has a 70 hp gear box and a lot of inertia to resist rotation of the PTO shaft. I used to be able to use a large screw driver or piece of rebar through the u-joint to turn the PTO shaft enough to align the splines, but no longer have the strength to do so. Thanks, Vic

 

[dickfoster]

James: In the past I have used a ratchet strap to suspend the PTO shaft which helped. A bungee cord would probably have worked better because of the "give" in the cord. Yes, unfortunately the PTO stub shaft is locked in position when the PTO is disengaged. The flail mower has a 70 hp gear box and a lot of inertia to resist rotation of the PTO shaft. I used to be able to use a large screw driver or piece of rebar through the u-joint to turn the PTO shaft enough to align the splines, but no longer have the strength to do so. Thanks, Vic

Maybe a longer lever in place of the screwdriver or rebar would work for ya, Vic. Same idea as getting a bigger hammer.

 

[k0ua]

James: In the past I have used a ratchet strap to suspend the PTO shaft which helped. A bungee cord would probably have worked better because of the "give" in the cord. Yes, unfortunately the PTO stub shaft is locked in position when the PTO is disengaged. The flail mower has a 70 hp gear box and a lot of inertia to resist rotation of the PTO shaft. I used to be able to use a large screw driver or piece of rebar through the u-joint to turn the PTO shaft enough to align the splines, but no longer have the strength to do so. Thanks, Vic

You can't turn the flail gearbox even with the aid of a lever and with the flail picked up a couple of inches so that there is no drag from the vegetation/ground?. Can you try a little longer piece of rebar?. I hate to see you give up.

 

[murphy1244]

Also try picking the attachment off the ground then play with the PTO. Might be able to turn it over some.

Damm James you are quick.:laughing:

 

[52wej]

James, one question, does your tractor have a pto that is engaged by an electric clutch or does it have a two stage clutch. I hate to admit it but I have been known to take a large pipe wrench to a PTO shaft on a tractor with an electric clutch when the tractor is turned off. I usually could move it sufficiently to find alignment. The suggestions about the straps and bungee cords are excellent ideas. Do you have access to the pto shaft at the gearbox? You may be able to turn your flail mower there once the 3 point hitch is connected and it is lifted off the ground. I have a roto-tiller that has to be connected that way. W. Jones

 

[Cam-Saskatoon Canada]

James, I don't know anything about NH tractors, but on my JD, there is a lever that changes the pto from the rear to the middle. If you put it in the middle setting, you can spin the rear pto shaft easily regardless of the tractor is running or not. If your tractor has that, it might be the same.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Instead of an auto-hitch, you could convert to hydraulic driven impluments. Would probably still require a bigger tractor.

Another option might be a ToolCat instead of/in addition to a tractor.

Last suggestion (my favorite) is to have a second tractor or three.

 

[newbury]

Vic is the OP, James is k0ua.

Vic - do a search on TBN, here are some results. It reads like the autohitch is extremely limited and may not be compatible with your equipment.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/147754-anyone-use-auto-hitch.html
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-buying-pricing/115673-imatch-autohitch.html
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/198189-autohitch.html

 

[vlcakc]

Did some trial hook-ups this evening. The imatch bottom hooks lined up ok with the box blade and flail mower. The top hook as received from JD is set too low to engage the top link pins. The box blade looks to be an easy fix. The imatch I have has the adjustable top hook, so a couple of minutes with an air wrench to raise the hook to a higher position should fix that problem. The mower may not be so easy. The top link connection is quite a bit higher than the box blade, and I'm not sure there is enough adjustment to compensate. Also the mower top link connection is slotted horizontally to allow "float". I may be able to redrill two of the bracket frames to lower the link slot enough to engage. Need to do some more measuring and planning. I didn't try the tiller, but believe that it will work "as-is".

Thanks for the suggestions on the PTO shaft hook-up! I too am a believer in a "bigger hammer". :laughing: Unfortunately, I've already tried the longest "cheaters" to turn the shaft that will fit in the space available. The best way I've found recently is to have my neighbor align and insert the PTO shaft onto the PTO stub while I turn the mower rotor shaft slightly to align the splines. The neighbor has full time employment in town though and isn't always available. I still have hopes the PTO overrunning clutch will work well enough to solve the problem short term. Also. I think it will extend the PTO shaft enough to compensate for the additional shaft length needed to make up for the imatch hitch. I did recheck the PTO stub with the engine off and the PTO lever engaged/disengaged. No luck. The shaft locks solid with no movement at all. Hooking up the tiller PTO is no problem. The PTO shaft is much smaller/lighter and will turn easily as long as the tiller tines are off the ground. Thanks, Vic

 

[k0ua]

James, one question, does your tractor have a pto that is engaged by an electric clutch or does it have a two stage clutch. I hate to admit it but I have been known to take a large pipe wrench to a PTO shaft on a tractor with an electric clutch when the tractor is turned off. I usually could move it sufficiently to find alignment. The suggestions about the straps and bungee cords are excellent ideas. Do you have access to the pto shaft at the gearbox? You may be able to turn your flail mower there once the 3 point hitch is connected and it is lifted off the ground. I have a roto-tiller that has to be connected that way. W. Jones

yes, mine is electric/hydraulic. But I am not the one having the problem. vicakc is the poster having the issue. I have always been able to hook up my rotary cutter by applying rotational force with just my bare hands, but I am 61 and he is 81. So there is got to be some difference there.

 

[k0ua]

Did some trial hook-ups this evening. The imatch bottom hooks lined up ok with the box blade and flail mower. The top hook as received from JD is set too low to engage the top link pins. The box blade looks to be an easy fix. The imatch I have has the adjustable top hook, so a couple of minutes with an air wrench to raise the hook to a higher position should fix that problem. The mower may not be so easy. The top link connection is quite a bit higher than the box blade, and I'm not sure there is enough adjustment to compensate. Also the mower top link connection is slotted horizontally to allow "float". I may be able to redrill two of the bracket frames to lower the link slot enough to engage. Need to do some more measuring and planning. I didn't try the tiller, but believe that it will work "as-is".

Thanks for the suggestions on the PTO shaft hook-up! I too am a believer in a "bigger hammer". :laughing: Unfortunately, I've already tried the longest "cheaters" to turn the shaft that will fit in the space available. The best way I've found recently is to have my neighbor align and insert the PTO shaft onto the PTO stub while I turn the mower rotor shaft slightly to align the splines. The neighbor has full time employment in town though and isn't always available. I still have hopes the PTO overrunning clutch will work well enough to solve the problem short term. Also. I think it will extend the PTO shaft enough to compensate for the additional shaft length needed to make up for the imatch hitch. I did recheck the PTO stub with the engine off and the PTO lever engaged/disengaged. No luck. The shaft locks solid with no movement at all. Hooking up the tiller PTO is no problem. The PTO shaft is much smaller/lighter and will turn easily as long as the tiller tines are off the ground. Thanks, Vic

Well, you have answered several of my questions. Perhaps the overrunning clutch will solve it. I hope so.

 

[4570Man]

I'm not recommending you do it, but I find it much easier to hook up the PTO shafts with half of the guard removed. The PTO shaft on my tractor will turn while not engaged. I'm not sure if it will turn in both directions, but it will turn. I removed the front half of the guard. It still covers most of the shaft, but it makes it much easier to hook up.

 

[bilrus61]

Before you try to hook it up mark your driveline with bright nail polish where the lands are and then you can line them up with the grooves on the pto output stub of your tractor quickly and easily. Once you have the driveline started on the PTO output stub you can then get a rubber chord or even take the weight off with a board under the driveline. They badly need to invent a locking driveline connector that you can pull back and twist and lock open. Then once you have it all pushed on you could then twist it to release. Only thing I can think of is that all the implement designers are young strong healthy men with three arms and making it easier to hook up never enters their mind.
t

 

[vlcakc]

Still no joy!:thumbdown: Even in the highest posiition the imatch hitch top hook is still about an inch too low to work properly on the box blade. The hook would barely engage the top pin as it now is. My idea now is to drill additional mounting holes in the hook shank to raise the hook on up. There is quite a bit of straight shank on the hook below the lowest hole factory drilled. I should be able to raise the hook up at least 2" or more. I'll fire up the drill press later this afternoon and see what is possible. Thanks, for all the comments and feedback. Vic

 

[dickfoster]

Still no joy!:thumbdown: Even in the highest posiition the imatch hitch top hook is still about an inch too low to work properly on the box blade. The hook would barely engage the top pin as it now is. My idea now is to drill additional mounting holes in the hook shank to raise the hook on up. There is quite a bit of straight shank on the hook below the lowest hole factory drilled. I should be able to raise the hook up at least 2" or more. I'll fire up the drill press later this afternoon and see what is possible. Thanks, for all the comments and feedback. Vic

Can't you park the box blade on an old pallet or something? Or did I get it backwards and the box blade needs to be down in a hole or something?

 

[oldballs]

Maybe your local dealer personnel can recommend a good solution. I've found that my local dealer used to have parts people and service people that always had good ideas. I don't know about their current people however.

So charge on vic, you'll find a way.

There is some comfort in working the dirt from above, as to looking at the inside lid of a box from below.

 

[SPYDERLK]

yes, mine is electric/hydraulic. But I am not the one having the problem. vicakc is the poster having the issue. I have always been able to hook up my rotary cutter by applying rotational force with just my bare hands, but I am 61 and he is 81. So there is got to be some difference there.

He has a flail. When stationary the knives will drape and cause a rather firm preferred position; unlike a rotary cutter.