B7500 60" MMM Removal

[gusg]

B7500 60\" MMM Removal

After reading many posts about how hard it was going to be to take off my mower for the winter I was apprehensive about taking mine off but dove into it today. Only took about 20 minutes the first time. Of course I did take advantage of all of the excellent advice you all provided here like using the FEL. Now I can see how hard it is to put back on in the spring. Shouldn't be too bad if I remember everything that I did to take it off.

 

[DaRube]

Re: B7500 60\" MMM Removal

Congrats, Gus. I didn't have the advantage of the sage advice my first time, and, in retrospect, it is amazing that I was able to get it out from under there at all. In addition to the "FEL Trick", I was unaware of such fundamentals as "It goes better if you do in on a smooth surface such as concrete, rather than on the grass". /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

Putting it back on isn't too bad. Avoid a mistake that I made, by making sure when you are done that you have locked the MMM securely in place with that lever in front. Mine came loose while in motion .... and it bent the rod that ties the front wheels together .... causing the tractor to be pigeon-toed until I figured it out.

Come to think of it, is there some award on this board for people like me who always seem to learn things at the school of hard knocks?

 

[medfieldtractor]

Re: B7500 60\" MMM Removal

There have been many helpful posts on removing a 60" MMM from a B7500. Perhaps the two following tips have been mentioned before and, if they have, forgive me for repeating them. When I removed my 60" MMM last weekend I came up with a simple solution to two pesky problems.

Number one, the pair of rear linkages that lift and hold up the MMM were constantly in my way, impeding the process of rolling out and then rolling in the MMM. I got the linkages completely out the way by using a medium length bungie cord hooked at each end to the linkages and then stretched across the foot deck of the tractor. It was much easier to roll the MMM around without the linkages hanging down.

Number Two, as for rolling the MMM, I placed one of those very small furniture leg dolly's (a shaped piece of sheet metal approximately six inches across with three casters, one on each corner, and the middle section slightly lower than the edges so you can place a furniture leg on it) under one of the rear MMM wheels. By placing the small caster dolly under the rear wheel (which only rolls forward, unlike the front MMM wheels that roll in all directions), the MMM was very easy to roll sideways and (with the front end lifted up slightly by the FEL) basically glided right out, and then right back under. If you place the small caster dolly in the right spot, you can simply hydraulically lower the MMM onto it when preparing to remove the MMM and, when the MMM is back in place and linked back up, lift it hydraulically up and off the small dolly. Almost made the job easy!

 

[cchoate]

Re: B7500 60\" MMM Removal

I don't have a fel yet, so I had to use a hydrualic jack to lift the front end up about 6". The manual tells you to just roll the mmm out the side but I could'nt get it to squeeze out without lifting the front end. Anybody out there get it out leaving the tractor on the ground?
I took the spring off using a pair of vise-grips.

 

[nhman]

Re: B7500 60\" MMM Removal

After a few on/off's I discovered that I can just pick up the end I'm sliding out. With it at an angle, the end still under the tractor has that extra inch I need to get it out from under the tractor. If I haven't had my wheaties, I just use the front loader.

nhman

 

[RFischer]

Re: B7500 60\" MMM Removal

I tried to get mine out without lifting the front end by turning at an angle like the manual says but, found that impossible by about 1 inch. Once I lifted the front end with the FEL it was easy.