rambler
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2003
- Messages
- 1,994
- Location
- MN
- Tractor
- Ford 960, 7700, TW20, 1720; IHC H, 300; Ollie S77
Generally disk axles are hardened. Welding it took the temper out. now it can't get enough torq to keep it tight, the soft steel will stretch on you. They need a _lot_ of omph on the end nut to tighten up. They have a locking tab that hammers down, you need to use that to hold the nut tight.
This is how big ag field disks operate. It may or may not relate to smaller 3pt models.
A loose disk is a bad thing. The disk slowly decomposes when you allow it to operate loose, and it is then difficult to make it good again - loose parts wear sloppy, and you can't get the sloppy parts tight again. The edges of the collars between blades get worn out of shape & do not contact & clamp the blade properly any more - we are talking thousandth's of an inch is all. If your blade holes wore bigger or the shaft itself wore smaller, then the blade will want to move 'up & down' on the shaft while in operation. Not very much, but that tiny little force is enough to rattle the whole shaft, and the end nut will want to work loose. Always. Evermore.
To overcome that, you need to _tighten_ the nut. Tighter thany you will believe. This makes the hardened axle stretch, clamp everything in place through all the vibrations & rocks. If you heated the axle, it's soft & it will stretch too much, you can't get enough ft-lbs of torq on it. Any rock it hits will stretch the shaft, everything moves a bit, dirt works in, things continue to move & shift & wear. The end nut wants to fall off.....
For ag disks, Shoup (shoupparts.com or some such) sells a lot of disk parts, axles, & nuts, nut lockers for all brands.
Loose blades is a bad thing - keeps reappearing once it happens, as you are discovering. Sorry.
--->Paul
This is how big ag field disks operate. It may or may not relate to smaller 3pt models.
A loose disk is a bad thing. The disk slowly decomposes when you allow it to operate loose, and it is then difficult to make it good again - loose parts wear sloppy, and you can't get the sloppy parts tight again. The edges of the collars between blades get worn out of shape & do not contact & clamp the blade properly any more - we are talking thousandth's of an inch is all. If your blade holes wore bigger or the shaft itself wore smaller, then the blade will want to move 'up & down' on the shaft while in operation. Not very much, but that tiny little force is enough to rattle the whole shaft, and the end nut will want to work loose. Always. Evermore.
To overcome that, you need to _tighten_ the nut. Tighter thany you will believe. This makes the hardened axle stretch, clamp everything in place through all the vibrations & rocks. If you heated the axle, it's soft & it will stretch too much, you can't get enough ft-lbs of torq on it. Any rock it hits will stretch the shaft, everything moves a bit, dirt works in, things continue to move & shift & wear. The end nut wants to fall off.....
For ag disks, Shoup (shoupparts.com or some such) sells a lot of disk parts, axles, & nuts, nut lockers for all brands.
Loose blades is a bad thing - keeps reappearing once it happens, as you are discovering. Sorry.
--->Paul