Hydro Top Link broke...crash

[Jrrcorp]

To clarify what broke, the casting on the end of the hydraulic cyclinder that houses the swivel ball at the end that attaches to the tractor is what broke. And yes, it was jarred as I got off the driveway but one side of the break was clean and the other side of the break had rust deposits. So it must of been cracked for a while before it broke. I dropped it off at the dealer this morning and he said that they could weld a new end on the cylinder. I sure hope so. I'm very carefull with my tractor and I don't abuse it. But we ask a lot of these little machines and some of the parts are bound to fail eventually.

 

[PineRidge]

Well at least it turned out to be the less painful problem. I'm sure your dealer will make your hydraulic cylinder "whole again".

 

[radman1]

New weld and it will work better than ever. I had a cat II top cylinder that I bought on a sale. Previous owner welded a 6" extension on it and used it on a rear 3 pt mounted bucket. I just cut it down to the original length and was good to go. I use it on our bigger tractors without any problems and they have much heavier equipment.

 

[Jrrcorp]

Got the new ball end socket end welded on yesterday. Now it's good as new again. The cost was $47.00. Probably a good idea to take a good look at these kinds of parts every few uses.

 

[daTeacha]

Probably so, but the rust in the break also could mean a very old crack, maybe painted over when it was new. A sudden shock like going over a rock or something caused an additional load and the failure of the already weakened part. Probably just a freak happening.