3-Point Hitch Bx2660 3PH & Taillight

[Adryan]

Hi, just recieved my 2nd hand bx2660 with only 28hours on the clock!

I have 2 small problems with it, perhaps someone can point me in the right direction..

First the 3ph doen't lower enough for me. Is it possible to rotate the uperlink arms a bit (they are on a splines shaft) so the lower link arms will drop more?

Second, my taillights don't work. Headlights are o.k. Where should i look?

Thanx
Adryan

 

[CHDinCT]

I don't believe the upper 3PH arms are designed to be rotated as you're asking. Make sure your 3PH rate of drop dial (between your legs under the seat) is open enough. Also, the 3PH doesn't always drop fully without weight on it, so you might have to step on it to get it to move fully down. If none of that works, you might consider drilling a second set of holes in the lower 3PH arms and moving the vertical lift links a inch or so closer in to the BX rear end. I had my dealer do this for me as part of the sales deal since a few of my implements require the 3PH to drop lower. Here's a pic of what I'm referring to - the inner holes allow the hitch to drop a few inches lower.

 

[Leejohn]

I would not change the upper link arms, even if that can be done. Do like CHDinCT said 1st about drilling the extra holes.
You can make sure the front balls in the lower links turn real easy. The lower link arms have to twist when going up and down. When you go up you have hyd pis and it well twist the ball to one side, but going down no psi and the lower link well not twist and it well not go down.
I had to take the lower links off of mine and sand the heck out of them. They were locked up bad and that is why CHDinCT said you have to stand on them. Mine goes all the way down now by themself and I did drill the holes.

 

[oldballs]

Good info from CHD and Lee. As to the tail lights...look under the back fenders. The connections under there might be your answer.

 

[oldballs]

BTW, if the 3 pt is working properly, for what usage or attachment did you find it necessary to drill those holes in the lower arms to get a lower position? So far, my plow and rear blade function okay without lowering them further.

 

[Adryan]

I need to lower the lowerlink arms for using my pallet fork. The end of the lowerlink arms drops till 12" measured from the bottom. I don't want to drill holes because you'll loose lifting power when shifting the arms.
If I rotate the upperlink arms the lifting power will be the same.

I've checked the connectors on the short wires coming directly out of the taillight. They seem to be ok.
Is there another connector hidden somewere that might cause the problem?
Don't know if the "central wire" has some connectors in it?

I also want to install some front weight. Can they be attached easy or do I need some brackets? p.s. I have a front guard

 

[Leejohn]

I also moved my lift links fwd on my lower links because I want my trailer hitch to go all the way to the ground. I have a couple other things the pins set low to the ground. I couldn't tell any differents in the power of the 3pt.
That 3pt just might lift more then I would want to lift and move around with it. If for some reason you do move the lift links in some, if you hook the top link hight around 14" high up from the lower link pins then you can lift the attachment as high as you want. True cat1 is 16", also around the 14" the attachment well come up the same angle that you have it set at.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

...
I also want to install some front weight. Can they be attached easy or do I need some brackets? p.s. I have a front guard

For what it's worth...

I went the factory route for front weights on my BX24. Mounting the weight bracket requires removing the guard. The supplied weight anchor bolts (actually the nuts w/welded "L" pieces) didn't fit the supplied bracket. Manufacturing change that didn't get applied to all parts, I guess. The dealer had to modify the bracket w/a grinder. The bracket has to come off to put the loader on. Etc, etc, etc...

Oh, and serious $$$$ All in all, a major PITA. And this was because I went factory to insure compatibility. Grrrr,

Z.

[edit] A couple of pix - note the loader is not attached.

 

[Adryan]

=> zoltanthegypsy

thanx for the picture! didn't know they would take so much space! The total length will be to long for me (have to turn in tight spots)
I thing I better build a steel box, fill it with lead and mount it under the grill.

After first day of playing, cleaned the tractor with water but......a lot of mess under the rubber floor "carpet".
Can I just pull it of the tractor and re-use the plastic inserts ? or what?

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

...
thanx for the picture! didn't know they would take so much space!
...

Yeah, in hindsight, I should have kept the smaller suitcase weights from my Deere 425 (that I gave away) and just hung them off the frame. They don't have the long "tails" that the Kubota weights have.

OTOH, the Deere-style weights are a little lighter, and without the tails, don't have the same leverage.

As to length and tight spaces: the Kubota weights are shorter than my loader That's why I got weights - so I could run a tiller with the loader off.

Z.

 

[RaydaKub]

=> zoltanthegypsy

thanx for the picture! didn't know they would take so much space! The total length will be to long for me (have to turn in tight spots)
I thing I better build a steel box, fill it with lead and mount it under the grill.

After first day of playing, cleaned the tractor with water but......a lot of mess under the rubber floor "carpet".
Can I just pull it of the tractor and re-use the plastic inserts ? or what?

I wanted some new plastic rivets for the floor mat on my BX2230. I couldn't figure out any way to get them off w/o mangling them and snapped a couple completely. Darn things were buck and a quarter each.

 

[oldballs]

Mind you, I'm no expert. Maybe there is a separate fuse for the tail lights as opposed to the head lights. And do the flashers and turn signals work? If you are any good with a volt-ohm meter, you could check some connections. Some guys on here are expert in that regard. Heck, maybe the bulbs are missing.

As to the floor mat, those push pins are expensive. On my BX that i take good care of, I just lift the mat corners and use compressed air to blow the dirt out from underneath. It appears that the way the frame is assembled, dirt and water drain away...to some extent.

 

[Adryan]

Finally...fixed the taillights! On the end of the light bulb were some fine wires. I bended them slightly to the outside and they worked!

At the moment there are R4 tires on it, they will be changed for turf tires. I've read the are slightly smaller? perhaps a good idea to wait how it affects the hight of the lower link arms before changing them..

but...just found another problem..
The bracked on the BX where the toplink is fitted measures 43mm in width. The toplinks Cat.1 I have measure 44mm!!.....they don't fit!
is my bracked welded the wrong width of do I have to grind all my toplinks down??

p.s. found a source for the push pins for the floor mat. Ordered some samples to see how they fit.

 

[CHDinCT]

BTW, if the 3 pt is working properly, for what usage or attachment did you find it necessary to drill those holes in the lower arms to get a lower position? So far, my plow and rear blade function okay without lowering them further.

Two of my attachments use the inner holes. One is my Wallenstein BX42 chipper. It's a know issue with the pins on this chipper being too low for BX hitches. I've read other BX owners with this chipper add wood blocking to the bottom of the chipper frame so they can hook it up. The other implement is an old Woods 5' rear blade that will work with the standard holes, but if I shorten the top link at all to make the blade angle more aggressive, it comes off the ground making it useless. I think this issue has to do with the geometry of the old blade which is noticeably shorter in length than newer versions.

Back to the OP's 3PH issue, 12" minimum height seems very high. I want to say mine will drop to about 5"-6" using the standard holes. Something seems wrong here. If your hitch is not bound up somewhere (from overpaint??) and it won't go any lower than 12" with weight on it, I suppose the upper arms may have been miss-indexed at the factory, or the prior owner messed it up somehow. Did you buy it from a dealer? Might be worth having them look at it if you did.

It is true you would loose some lifting power using holes closer in to the tractor, but I can't imagine it would be much.

 

[LBrown59]

I wanted some new plastic rivets for the floor mat on my BX2230. I couldn't figure out any way to get them off w/o mangling them and snapped a couple completely. Darn things were buck and a quarter each.

did you check out Lowes?
I found some there that I'm hoping will work . .