HHS 660 Bush Hog

[Big Thom]

My JD 790 came with an HHS 660 Bush hog, I think that's the right model.
Anyhow, there are iron straps that come down off the sides of the top link
and are bolted to the base near the gear box. Two other straps are bolted
at the same area and go back to the rear wheel.
I have broke and had re-welded one of the back straps twice, this past Fall
both of the upper straps have broken where they bolt to the top link area.
I had also replaced the frame for the rear wheel, I see they redesigned
the bracket from the original.
Also, last summer I had to repeatedly replace the shear pin several times.
Has anyone else had this problem with this unit? Does anyone have any ideas on what the problem is?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Otherwise, it's been a good unit through some heavy use.

 

[kebo]

Pictures?? I don't have a bush hog like yours, so I don't know anything about that model but I'm wondering does it have a floating top link that allows the rear of the deck to ride up over unlevel spots? If it doesn't, then those two bars might be taking all the stress of the deck going up and down over uneven ground. My bush hog has the floating top link but the flat bars are actually curved, so they're not straight. They flex a good bit (as evidenced by the paint having chipped off where they are curved) when I raise/lower the bush hog, but neither one has ever broken. Oh yeah, ignore the floating link being on backwards in the pic. It was that way when I bought the BH, but it didn't take me long to figure out it was on backwards! :laughing:

 

[amaxwell]

I agree with kebo that the pressure from uneven surface is breaking the supports. Some use a chain as a top link when using a BH . I would do this or fashion a link to flex. I don't like using a chain because it allows the back of the BH to flip up if you hang the front on something. A short piece of chain(maybe 4or 5 large links) between the BH and top link would work though. :thumbsup: