Mowing 62D mid mount mower problems

Landon · Aug 12, 2011

I have a 2520 with a 62D mmm. It uses the mechanical lift off of the 3pt. I have read many posts about people bending the rear brackets and there are three of us in the area two 2520s and one 2720 all with 62Ds and we are all having the same issues. I managed to back over one of mine when it came loose and the mower then gouged the tire when the deck shifted. It shot out of the discharge on the mower and ruined a blade also. Our local Deere Imp keeps replacing the brackets, but it won't be under warranty forever. They refuse to give me a new tire and even when taken to the regional rep he also refuses. I have a few qustions. Does the independent lift kit solve this problem? Has anyone made their own brackets (that is what I am in the process of doing)? Has anyone ever gotten a tire out of their local dealer under warranty? Has anyone made swivel wheels that actually ride on the lawn like a Woods' deck has? The dealer wants to sell me the independent lift kit for $1K, but I'm not so sure I want to stick any more money into a mower that I am very unhappy with. I went from a Woods 59" deck on a 1976 L175 Kubota to this and the 35 year old Woods deck out mows the Deere hands down. I got a much nicer cut with less scalping out of the Woods and i mowed with it for 9 years without every fixing anything but blades and belts. I love my 2520 for everything except mowing. I feel that Deere has dropped the ball on fuel economy and the 62D mmm. Any info on how you guys are dealing with the 62D would be much appreciated!
Landon

lwalsh · Aug 12, 2011

Are you trying to mow using the gauge wheels to carry the deck? If so this is not the way this mower is designed. I keep my gauge wheels only about an inch lower than the lower lip of the deck. The only problems I have heard of is the front gauge wheels not swiveling. I have this problem also. What part disconnected that you could drive over?

pdp11 · Aug 12, 2011

I have a 2520 with independent lift, and I can tell you that it doesn't have this problem. In fact, the manner in which the independent lift is attached to the tractor would make it difficult for anything like this to happen. Even if the linkage came disconnected completely, the deck would just drop down.

I've seen pictures of the mechanical lift, and it seems like an odd arrangement with the forward-pointed links from the 3PH. It seems like they need a cable or something like a driveshaft safety loop to keep them from hitting the ground if they detach.

Landon · Aug 12, 2011

lwalsh said:
Are you trying to mow using the gauge wheels to carry the deck? If so this is not the way this mower is designed. I keep my gauge wheels only about an inch lower than the lower lip of the deck. The only problems I have heard of is the front gauge wheels not swiveling. I have this problem also. What part disconnected that you could drive over?

I mow with the wheels up about a half inch off the ground. I set it up exactly like th manual says to. Th poart that i drove over was one of the gold brackets that goes between the 3pt connection and the deck.

Henri88 · Aug 12, 2011

There are some thread on TBN concerning this issue. A search should bring them out. This problem seem to affect the 25xx and 27xx series. I have the 2305 with the mechanical lift and never had the problem. From what I remember reading, the problem is cause by the cotter pin being to small. Some have fix it by replacing with a bigger pin or the loop pin. I'm sure one of them will let you know how they fix it. As for the tire, I had one replace on the warranty because of a deformation in the tire, but is was replace by the manufacture of the tire. JD does not warrant the tires. But your case is completely different.

glc24 · Aug 12, 2011

There is nothing wrong with the mechanical lift, and IMO,and it is just my opinion, that is a heck of a lot of money for something to hold up your deck.I'm talking about the independent lift of course.

The cotter pins that are factory are absolutely garbage. They are way too small and there are not enough washers to tighten up the free play in the linkage. That is one of the very first things I addressed. Put beefier pins,cotter,lynch,hair,don't matter,just beef it up and take up all the play with washers and you won't have to worry about that becoming a problem again.

Greg

ChuckinNH · Aug 13, 2011

Greg, I used to leave a clevis hook on my drawbar like that all the time. I bent an eyebolt on my check chain, and couldn't figure out how, but thoght I must have damaged it when pushing stuff in reverse with my BB. When I bent the second one, I figured out that if the clevis swung to one side when the lower arms were below it, that it was possible to bend the eyebolt when raising the 3pt hitch...... just a thought.

Landon · Aug 13, 2011

Thanks for the pics and input Greg. The zinc plated turn buckles in your pics are the ones that we keep bending. As a matter of fact they replaced mine last week and after only four hours of mowing, one is bent about 1/4". After seeing your pics I relized that I might know why this is a problem for me and not you. The three tractors that we are having problems with have different style of mounting than yours. The black bracket that hangs on the lower 3pt mounting pins on our machines are straight yet still mounted at the same place. I would bet that our 62D decks have the mounting points at different places. I assume that yours are wider than mine. Yours comes out to the sides and look like they almost touch the tire. Mine being closer together would allow the deck to work like a longer prybar on these brackets that I have been bending everytime the deck is is on a different plane than the rear tires of the tractor. Those pics help a lot. I have included a few pics of my brackets. They must have changed them between 2009 and 2010. Yesterday I made new brackets to replace the zinc ones, but mine do not have the slots in them so I have to remove the entire mounting system when I take the deck off, but so far they seem to work much better. I also took up any slop on any pin or shaft that I could find. The deck will still tilt side to side , but now the slop front to rear is gone. My only concern is that the old turn buckles were the weak link. If I hit something with the deck what will bend now? I also welded a piece of flat iron to the front bracket. I made two small pieces with two holes in them to keep the front bracket from ever being able to pop out of the deck mounting point. I will keep you guys updated if these fixes take care of our issues. I am open to hear any thoughts.

glc24 · Aug 13, 2011

Hey Landon,you really made that thing bulletproof now,I like everything you did.:thumbsup: Did you also make the horizontal bar between the deck lift arms? That was a really good idea. I've been contemplating that mod myself.

I would bet that our 62D decks have the mounting points at different places. I assume that yours are wider than mine.

I don't think so. Here is another pic. Yours does a Z bend,where mine stays straight.

Greg
BTW,is that a heater for your hydro fluid?

Landon · Aug 13, 2011

Thanks Greg. The horizontal bar between the lift arms is made out of a 16" long 1/2" all thread (ready rod) with a 13.5" long 1/2"I.D. 7/8"O.D. bushing stock over top of it. I ground a slot in the center of the bushing stock down to the all thread and welded a bead in it to keep it from sliding out. Then I just used lock nuts on the ends to fasten it to the lift arms. I left the lock nuts just loose enough to so the arms can move independently.

The hydraulic heater is a Deere part and works really nice for snow plowing.