3-Point Hitch 3 Point Hitch not lowering all the way

MajMac392 · Oct 25, 2021

Before you Mahindra owners yell at me for posting in your Forum, please note that my old Cub Cadet has a Mitsubishi Engine and drivetrain, very similar to some of your older compact series had and the current Max models. I have used the local Mahindra dealer for filters and parts in the past.

I have one of the older Cub Cadet 7234 models with just under 700 hours. It has the Mitsubishi 23 HP, 3 cylinder engine and drivetrain. I rarely use the 3 point hitch. When I went to put it away yesterday I realized the two upper arms of the 3 point hitch were only lowering part way and not going all the way down. There is no implement on the tractor I just had the arms raised because I was pulling a trailer around on th drawbar and the arms were in the way. I tried moving the control valve that adjusts the rate at which the arms move up or down but that didn't have any effect at getting the arms to lower all the way. The hydraulic fluid is full.

Have any of you Mahindra owners ever experienced a similar problem? I assume most 3 point hitches operate similarly so thought I would post on this forum as well. This tractor as been virtually trouble free during my years of ownership so I’m struggling to figure out the problem.

Thanks for listening.

duffer · Oct 25, 2021

Don't know if you have this adjustment on your tractor or not, but there is a pressure control knob (usually located under the seat, near the floor deck) that you can turn to release hydraulic pressure in the 3 pt system. If it's set too tight, it will hold it's position. Rotate it counter-clockwise (as you look at it from the front) to release the pressure.

Hopefully, it's that easy to fix. Just a SWAG on my part.

MajMac392 · Oct 25, 2021

Thanks Duffer for the reply. Yes, I have the same knob, same location, called the “Hydraulic Flow Control Knob” on the Cub. I cycled that a few times twisting it fully open and fully closed and then tried raising and lowering the hitch but it didn’t help. The arms lower to about the parallel position to the ground and stop.

LD1 · Oct 25, 2021

Does it lower if you put a little weight on the arms with your foot?

How are you referencing "not going all the way down". They dont go all the way to the ground

MajMac392 · Oct 25, 2021

LD1, I stood on the lower arms but they stop at probably a foot or so from the floor/ground. I know at times you need an implement or some weight to help it move down but they have always dropped easily to within 4” or 5”.

I plan to go down later and see if there is something obvious. We have heavy rains for the next few days so I may not get much accomplished.

ptsg · Oct 25, 2021

Some 3 pt hitches will have two sets of holes on the lift arms for the side links. One set of holes will give you more lifting capacity with less range of motion, while the other set of holes gives you less lifting capacity but will give you more range of motion, meaning the 3 pt will lift higher or go lower.

LD1 · Oct 25, 2021

ptsg said:
Some 3 pt hitches will have two sets of holes on the lift arms for the side links. One set of holes will give you more lifting capacity with less range of motion, while the other set of holes gives you less lifting capacity but will give you more range of motion, meaning the 3 pt will lift higher or go lower.

And some of them will have two or three sets of holes on the vertical lift members where changing holes can change range of motion but not capacity

ptsg · Oct 25, 2021

LD1 said:
And some of them will have two or three sets of holes on the vertical lift members where changing holes can change range of motion but not capacity

And others will have slots too so each lift arm can float independently.

MajMac392 · Oct 30, 2021

Well folks it’s fixed but I think it was a couple of factors causing it. I got to thinking that the lever that controlled the 3 Point Hitch had been somewhat hard to push and pull for awhile now. When I looked at the linkage for it the other night, I thought I probably should look to see if I needed to lube anything but to do that, I had to pull the seat and pan beneath it to get to the linkage. When I got everything removed it had a lot of dirt and grime with old oil and 25 years of dirt and dust. So I cleaned up all of that off with kerosene and Greased Lighting, washed it down with hot water and then blew it dry.

I oiled up all of the pivot points with WD40 and also re-bent the control lever that activates the hitch. Quite a while back I was picking up rocks or moving a tree and I had bent the lever. I couldn’t really get to part of the lever until I had the seat and sheet metal removed. The lever looked like the bend in it didn’t allow as a positive throw of the linkage as it should have. There is a couple red arrows in the last picture that shows kind of a bushing one of the rods pivots in in the center of the photo was tight and causing some tightness. The lower arrow shows a bend in the control lever. I also removed the lower stop for the control lever that gives me better movement.

So the hitch moves much better, drops as it should and the lever moving it is much looser now.

Thanks for any of your suggestions.