62D front draft arm problem.

[2Malamutes]

Mounted the 62D to the 2320 today and on the drive back to the garage from the flat section of lawn I used for mounting the front draft arm spring pin popped off twice, basically dropping the front of the deck. First time I thought maybe I hadn't fully seated the pin, but on the second I shifted the draft arm over towards the left (from front) of the bracket and made sure the pin fully seated. Still came off. Yard isn't perfectly flat yet so I did go over a slight bump each time, but I was in low range at just over idle so I was not going very fast. Any one else experienced this?

 

[shot_gun]

It sounds like the front draft arm piece that holds the pin is bent. There should not be a whole lot of play side to side either. Make sure the flat piece that hold the pin and spring is flat against the right hand bracket. Also make sure the pin is not damage and that it is not twisted. Does the spring look alright? The carrier brackets are mounted to the inside of the frame rails?

 

[BigD9]

Make sure the arm is installed so the spring loaded pin is on the right side of the tractor. Once I attempted to install the arm upside down and the pin was on the left and did not fit correctly.

 

[2Malamutes]

I've attached an image with some crude dimensioning. I don't see that anything is bent, but there is certainly what I consider a lot of play. On the right side in the image is 1/4", and on the left side is almost an 1/8", so total play is .375", which seems like a lot to me and seems to be the root of the problem when the .250" on the right is coupled with the .3" extension of the pin and the chamfered tip of the pin. All these parts are brand new, and I think I have them installed correctly, so maybe I just have two parts at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of tolerances which is creating a stack-up that allows the pin to pop free. How do these measurements compare to anyone else who is willing to go take a look at their draft arm

 

[Runner]

Assuming the 2520 and 2320 front brackets are the same (and they appear to be) mine looks just like yours. I have about 1/4 inch clearance on one side and 1/16 on the other. Haven't had the problem you describe.

My pin doesn't seem to go as far in as yours does, the other end of it was about flush with the hole.

I did notice that the holes in the L shaped pin seemed to be different distances from the ends, and chose to assemble mine using the hole farthest from the end.

 

[2Malamutes]

Thanks Runner. I'll give it one more try and if it happens again I'll either sleeve the right side with a piece of polymer or "adjust" the arm on the left to take up some of the slack. Thanks for posting the picture.

 

[farmerhays]

Hmmm... first time I took my mower off, I couldn't get this arm back into position. I had to loosen the bolts holding the bolts holding the brackets onto the tractor frame in order to have enough space on my 2520. I don't have any play at all -- a very snug fit.

I guess this is better than the mower falling off. Yeesh!

 

[JSR LLS]

2Malamutes, I noticed the same thing when I mounted my 62d for the first time last week. Mine is like Runner's, the pin barely clears the hole. I tried to adjust it with no luck, but it seems to be secure and hasn't come undone. Good Luck. Keep us posted.

 

[2Malamutes]

Asked the dealer about this when I stopped in for something else, and he said they haven't heard of it before. I suggested to him maybe I just have two parts at oppsite ends of the tolerance, and from what farmerhays stated it sounds like there is some variance in these parts. He agreed and told me he'd get back to me. They've been really good to me in the past so I expect he'll offer some sort of solution; I just hope it isn't a stack of washers.

 

[RollTideRam]

I had one of the first 62d's and had the opposite problem. After I took the bracket loose, I had to use a big hammer to get it back on. Deere slowly fixed that problem though. Maybe they just assembled yours wrong. JC

 

[PCABE5]

I had this happen to mine once. My wife was mowing and came walking back saying something happened and when I went down the whole front draft arm was behind the tractor. The pin popped out. I could not figure out why but when I put it back on I bent the arm the pin is mounted to to make it snug and I have not had it happen again. Dealer here said that they had never heard of this either. Lucky for me that the front arms never got caught in the blades.

 

[2Malamutes]

I ended up making a 3/8" thick bushing to put on the side opposite the pin. I suppose it would have been just as easy to bend the arm, but the bushing really tightens everything up without having to bend the arm. With the bushing painted with JD black, the dealer thought it looked like it came that way from the factory.

 

[PCABE5]

If you looked at mine you really cannot tell that there is an angle as it is ever so slight. I do like the bushing idea. Next time I run to the farm store I will have to pick one up or cut one from some I have. If nothing else it is the pease of mind that it will not work its way back out. Looking at mine the pin goes thru the hole about 3/8" but I see where the side to side movement on the swivel mount could work the pin out.

I thought I was the only one that happened too, not that I am glad it happened to you. Also surprised your dealer said the same thing. I could only imagine what would have broken had that arm went into the blades. Scared the heck out of my wife as the deck wedged and stopped the tractor and lucky that nothing bent or broke.

Thanks for the bushing idea.

 

[bz1]

After reading this I looked at my front draft arm and I can see that if the flimsy piece of strap iron that the locking pin mounts on was to get bent toward the center of the tractor the locking pin would engage less and might pop out. I think I'm just going to drill a hole through the end of the pin and use a hitch pin to lock it in place. If you always install the hitch pin there is no way the locking pin can disengage. It would be a disaster to lose those draft arms and have them go under the mower.