Ford 101 plow parts

[gwdixon]

The price you must pay for this info is to share pictures of your project! We all like to see what others are working on! Feeds our addiction to old tractor stuff.

OK, OK! Hint taken.

Attached are pictures of the project mid-disassembly. My plans are not to do a beautiful restore job like HCJtractor (does he wax his plow too) but rather rebuild to something that will work.

To wit:

1. The lower lift arm will be left off and a Cat 2 drawbar welded below the holes where the arm was taken out. I know this will make it fairly non-adjustable but with a Top and Tilt on the tractor it should be fine. Plus, the stock lower lift arm won't conform to a Cat 2 hitch even with bushings.

2. The old shares that were (poorly) welded to the top of the moldboards will be left. The main reason is to discover why someone would do that. Maybe it was used in very soft soil. The shins were welded to the old shares so had to be cut off.

3. A big concern is the support braces behind the first two moldboards. They appear to be bent (see photos) and will be heated and straightened. Both are bent exactly the same and appear to be made that way. The short support behind the third moldboard is dead straight. The plow is a spring-breakaway type so shouldn't have taken enough abuse to bend those support brackets. Any ideas on this topic?

4. The frogs appear to be worn at the tip but the landslides don't seem too bad so they will be left alone.

5. Shins and shares are all that will be replaced.

6. I am open to suggestions. Fire away.

 

[HCJ]

Thanks for pix! Looks like a great plow. I don't think I would worry about the support braces. The are probably made that way, and it really doesn't matter. I will check mine tomorrow and send you some pictures if I have any. Mine is the shear pin type so I have never used the spring type. My only advice would be to make sure the release mechanism is not rusted up so it performs as it was intended to do. I hit obstructions fairly often and shear the pins and trip the bottoms. This is way better than bending or breaking something. I would make sure the bottoms trip with reasonable pressure, and are free to pivot. It may require disassembling the mechanism to clean and lubricate it, but this would be time well spent.

Do you have a owners manual? I think it explains the mechanism and general use of this. I found one online and would be happy to mail or e-mail a copy to you. Let me know. By the way, I know I have two names (HCJ and HCJ tractor) but one is work and one is home and I never figured out how to change this. Sorry for any confusion. I don't mean to be a rule breaker.

I also notice that someone has apparently welded the trash deflectors (or whatever they are called) to your moldboards. This should not matter but it is not the way they are usually attached. My three bottom did not have them, but I stole two of these of my other two bottom and bolted them onto my 3 bottom. They help if you are in heavy stubble.

And no, I rarely wax my tractor, but sometimes I do get carried away with my projects!

 

[HCJ]

I just read your post more carefully. The shares welded to the top was an attempt to copy an optional piece (I think called a trash coulter) that was a bolt on option on many plows. It was a curved crescent shaped piece designed to help the cut "sod" roll over and not clog up the top of the moldboard. In short grasses, it should not matter, but in a higher field (such as corn stubble) it helped to prevent trash from collecting over the top of the moldboards. I will send you some pix of these. My plow has these bolted onto the moldboards. I don't think you will notice much of a difference with or without them. I usually bush hog my fields low before plowing to help prevent this effect.

As far as the drawbar, I would think twice about modifying the original design. The bar allows right to left adjustment of the furrow depending on the tractor width, and also allows for proper horizontal alignment when your right tire is in the furrow, hence the offset of hitch pins from right to left. I use mine in the stock configuration on my Kubota M 6800 without any problems. I did replace the removable pin on the right side of the stock drawbar with one from Tractor Supply and I use a bushing on the fixed left side pin (I did have to shorten the bushing slightly with a saw) but that was easy. I don't see why it will not work as designed without any modification except a shortened bushing. I would keep it stock. I use my top link hydraulic to tweak the tilt but that's all that's needed. There is only one correct position (or tilt), so once you set the top link, it doesn't need changing. I also sometimes use the top link hydraulic when transporting the plow to get more ground clearance. I did remove and replace the three set screws on the sliding collar to allow free movement so it can be positioned properly. These are cheap.

Lastly, have you seen a plow operate? There is a useful video online that show how one is adjusted and set up that helped me. I will post this link. By the way, I am certainly not an expert and guys, feel free to correct me if needed.

 

[HCJ]

for a good video showing how to set up and use a plow, go to Everything Attachments - Skid Steer Attachments, Tractor Attachments, 3 Point Hitch Attachments, and Farm Tractor Implements. and then go to plows. They have an informative video posted at the bottom of the page.

 

[gwdixon]

I have seen the video from Everything Attachments. It is quite informative.

On my tractor, a Kubota M7040, the lower arms won't raise high enough to engage the left mount on the plow (the one that curves upward) without the share dragging the ground. The 3 PT hydraulic cylinders are external for easier servicing but the result is that the travel is less. It is my only complaint about the M7040. That is why a drawbar modification is considered for an alternate attachment point that is lower.

The original lower arm was taken off of the plow after evaluating whether the drawbar arrangement would interfere with a Cat 2 hook-up. It will be saved in case of resale.

The shortened Cat 1 > Cat 2 bushing would work on the pin but, by measuring, the clearance to the pin's hole would be almost nil. Once again, the Top and Tilt should take care of leveling the plow when the tires run in the furrow. The lever to adjust the draw angle is not necessary for my use.

The spring release mechanism will be tested and adjusted per the manual. So far it has been hosed with WD40 and has been soaking since the plow was purchased. Attached to this post is a copy of the manual that I have that includes how the release system looks and works. (Darn, too large a file - check this link below.)

http://www.ntractorclub.com/forums/manuals/manuals_index.htm#plows

If there is more information in the manual that you have I would appreciate seeing it.

The moldboard supports appeared to be straight in one of the pictures of your finished plow. That is the reason for the plan to straighten them. A more definitive picture would help. Thanks.

If a moderator is contacted he/she may be able to resolve your two accounts. They can do amazing things. It is not like pulling teeth (Oooops!).

 

[HCJtractor]

Your link to the manual is the same that I have. Looks like you have researched this well. I sent you a PM with some better pix of the rear supports. And to correct my earlier comments, the piece that attaches to the moldboard top is called a coverboard and it is designed to be used in heavy trash.

Just curious, but what are you planning to use this plow for? Here in the South, there is not too much farming going on and plows are fairly uncommon. I use mine for the planting of food plots (clover, peas, wheat, oats,etc.) for wildlife.

 

[gwdixon]

Well, the search for shins and shares is over. I was in the local John Deere dealer looking for something else and asked the parts guy if he could get what was needed.

After some research he came up with the goods and they are now ordered. Shins for $11, shares for $14 (and change). Trouble is the shares come in lots of 6. That's OK since the savings on the price and the additional savings on the lack of a shipping charge is the same as getting two of the shares for free.

The plow will be used for a heavily overgrown vacant lot next to my place as well as the home farm. Nothing big but rather soil that is in dire need of a deeper turning than can be accomplished by a disc.

The trees were taken out of the vacant lot last fall with the L48 BH so the land is fairly well cleared. Any roots left should be no problem with the break-away feature of the plow - hopefully. Making sure that feature is functioning will be the first order of business before doing the actual plowing.

 

[Baranx4]

dam Farmwithjunk was our resident expert on plow stuff. I hate to lose that kind of knowledge for a place like this....

It's a real shame. He's posting elseware now.

 

[gwdixon]

Just thought I'd post a follow-up with photos of the finished product.

New shares, shins, and front two landslides.

It is too pretty now to use. Maybe with a chain it can be made into a bling-bling.

 

[Ford850]

gwdixon,
Did you find new landsides for it, or did you add the weld beads to the worn sides? It looks like you replaced the bolts on them too.