Hitch Stabilizer Arm Geometry

[Argonne]

My Ford 4400 came without stabilizer arms, and I have been getting along without them until now. I finally picked up a couple of thread/adjustable ones at TSC and installed them, so far so good. However, when I lift the hitch, the arms bind within a few inches threatening to break something.

This is not surprising since the tractor-end stabilizer bar pins are at a slightly different axis than the lift arm shaft.

I am obviously doing something wrong, and I hope you guys can look at the pic and point out what it is.

Yea, I could just install one and let it slew during lift (no big deal with the mower), but with other implements like the trailer spotter, it would be undesirable. My OCD wouldn't like it either ;-) .

 

[BukitCase]

Not sure what was original, but if you're gonna use rigid length arms like that you would need to build a couple brackets that would move your stabilizer pivot points rearward so they are directly in line with your lift arm pivot point.

I can't see any other way it could work... Steve

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep, the pins have to be inline:

 

[ovrszd]

My 3910 has brackets under the axle where yours are that move the pin lower and rearward. When I get a chance to get on,my computer I'll post pics.

 

[milkman]

My Ford 4400 came without stabilizer arms, and I have been getting along without them until now. I finally picked up a couple of thread/adjustable ones at TSC and installed them, so far so good. However, when I lift the hitch, the arms bind within a few inches threatening to break something.

This is not surprising since the tractor-end stabilizer bar pins are at a slightly different axis than the lift arm shaft.

I am obviously doing something wrong, and I hope you guys can look at the pic and point out what it is.

Yea, I could just install one and let it slew during lift (no big deal with the mower), but with other implements like the trailer spotter, it would be undesirable. My OCD wouldn't like it either ;-) .

View attachment 454344

Would reversing the brackets make them line up with the lift arm pivot points?

 

[BukitCase]

Might be exactly what happened - keeping each bracket on the side of the tractor it's on now, but rotated 180 degrees, might move the pin hole inline AND spread the triangle so there would be more resistance to sway. Worth a look anyway... Steve

 

[Argonne]

Would reversing the brackets make them line up with the lift arm pivot points?

Hmmm. That would be a mighty logical answer. Perhaps in the past someone re-installed them backwards. I am resisting the temptation to run out and crawl under the tractor in the dark, but I will sure check that in the morning!

XFaxMan - Thanks for the nice illustrative pic. That is the geometry i was expecting until my rude surprise.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Even if the plates can not simply be reversed or flipped, making modification to them to relocate the pins looks easy enough.

I agree, wider is better but straight on like in xfaxman's photo is easiest to get the stabilizer arms on the impliment pins.

Not the best angle of view, but the links on my compact 3005 is not easy to put on... I have to pull both hitch pins, and slide the stabilizer bar on both tractor and implement at the same time. If they were wider, more parallel, it would be helpful.

 

[Catchad81]

Guess I don't recall every seeing bars positioned such as some in the pics posted here. Seems that in theory the intended stabilizers could also be subjected to the implement load.

Anyway on our ford 5000s the brackets drop down and come back some as others have referenced. The stabilizers are also connected to the lift arms and not the implement pins.

 

[ovrszd]

Guess I don't recall every seeing bars positioned such as some in the pics posted here. Seems that in theory the intended stabilizers could also be subjected to the implement load.

Anyway on our ford 5000s the brackets drop down and come back some as others have referenced. The stabilizers are also connected to the lift arms and not the implement pins.

Yep, mine too. And are adjustable.

 

[jenkinsph]

Forty years ago I had an International 460 tractor with the same bar/strap arrangement as on the 3005. I absolutely hated that design, too much to screw with and you have to be careful not to drop these to the ground while backing up= bent bars. If I saw that set up on a tractor I was considering it would be a deal breaker for me.

Using an IMatch hitch should help alleviate the swearing and cursing though. I would make sure all the implements were IMatch compatible too.

 

[MillWeld]

My tractor had fixed length stabilizer bars that worked well until I installed a stronger 3 pt hitch. Something wasn't quite right then: upon lifting I would get binding of which I never could determine the cause. So, with advice from TBN, I replaced the fixed length bars with turnbuckles and chains so I could compensate with some adjustability. It is only a minor hassle but no binding.

 

[Argonne]

Ok guys, sorry, I got busy for a couple of days, sick horse.

Anyway, a closer look at what I was assuming was a stabilizer arm bracket apparently isn't. It constitutes the tail end of the loader frame. This is an industrial tractor, and I believe that it is an intended anchor point for the backhoe that was an option on this model. See the pics for views of it.

My current plan is to use those brackets as an anchor point for new ones. I bought a fixed stabilizer arm at TSC for $13 which should supply enough metal to allow me to build new brackets. I'll connect them to the existing brackets with 7/8" grade 8 bolts, and 3/8" grade 8 bolts to keep the brackets from swinging under load.

I'm not sure when this will get to the top of the project list, but I'll post pics and report how well it worked when I do.

 

[Argonne]

OK! We all know how important "closure" is from watching TV, so here's some closure. The stabilizer arms finally got to the top of the project list, and it ended up being a pretty simple fix. I used just the ends of the fixed stabilizer arm I got from TSC and drilled a 7/8 inch hole in each one so I could bolt them to the tractor backhoe frame and supply a place to mount a couple of stabilizer pins at the proper axis point of the lift arms. I planned to add a 3/8" bolt through the arm and bracket to keep the angle right, but it showed no sign of movement when spotting a big gooseneck trailer, so I don't think it's necessary. Anyway, here are a couple of pics.