Lynch Pins

[daBear]

Several post have been made about lynch pins and losing them. Some suggest substituting a bolt and lock nut. However, there is a heavy duty lynch pin which is much harder to open than the usual shiny ones we all have, use, and lose. The ones I have seen are black but are only available in 7/16th pin size. I need several sizes.

Does anyone know of a good source or website which sells the heavy duty lynch pins in various sizes?? Thanks.

 

[plowking]

I think I saw them in Fastenal. plowking

 

[pat32rf]

I've lost them when I set them on the wheel and drive off, but very seldom when installed. The ones that don't want to loose I fasten to a steel fishing leader and then to the implement that they are dedicated to (back-hoe).
I find that when I have spares on hand, the originals seem to last longer as well.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I find that when I have spares on hand, the originals seem to last longer as well.

I bought a couple of packs of them just for that reason. If you have them then you will never need them. It's when you don't have any spares is when you loose them.

 

[Charlesaf3]

you can lose the heavy duty ones too, it turns out - lost the one off my backhoe quick coupler, and then lost the pin.

And then buried it. Somewhere. Epic.

Oddly, I've never lost one of the regular ones. Probably because I have lots of spares....

 

[Willl]

Here ya go....
$7.99 for 50 crappy pins you'll probably never lose. Heck, that's 16 cents a piece.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[Willl]

But seriously though, don't buy the "crappy" pins. The damage that could happen if one failed on ya ain't worth it.

We need a better mouse trap.

 

[TedLaRue]

I don't mind losing the $0.75 pin. It's the $75 part that got bent because the pin came out that bothers me.

My theory is that twigs or branches catch on the rings on the pins and cause them to come out if you're brush hogging or clearing rough stuff. Ever had a branch jam your accelerator open? or jam your brake pedal so you can't push it down?

For the vulnerable pins that I've had problems with (lower ones like the ones on the sway limiter links), I now use pins designed to be used with a cotter key, except I just use a nail (12d sinker or 10d common?) and bend it so it can't come out. I keep channel lock pliers and a few extra nails in the toolbox on the tractor, so it's not really a problem when I need to remove the pin.

 

[daBear]

The reason I made this post happened yesterday morning. I was cutting with my finish mower and backed up a small hill. There was enough of a drop on the way up the hill that one of the wheels with it's 1" steel fork fell off and I backed over it. Tore up a tire and a gator blade. I spent the rest of the morning trying to get the blade off but it would not budge even with an impact wrench or my longest cheater bars and sockets. Because of impact with the steel fork I guess the blade bolt tightened ever so much.

So I set to getting it off from the top in the afternoon and record breaking heat here. No matter what the spindle pulley would not come off after three hours of work with WD40 and a crow bar. Finally my son brought his torch over and we heated it enough to break it free, but not before the crow bar slipped and knocked me out when it hit me on the chin. Nice cut also.

Now I have a $60 dollar tire to buy, bearings to replace, and a nice cut on my chin which is sore as h=== today. ALL FOR THE LOSS OF A CHEAP LYNCH PIN.

 

[firemanpat2910]

Ihave tack welded one or two troublesome pins in my time. just tag them the mig, they wont come off on their own and all you have to do si smack them with the hammer and they break loose.

 

[Charlesaf3]

ouch, da bear, I've had days like that.

I actually use the cheap harbor freight lynch pins and have had no problem. While the heavy duty one just expensively failed on me. I think the key is only use lynch pins where they aren't under stress at all (digging stumps did mine in). For the future I plan to use baling wire to tie them tight at failure points, or a bolt and locking nut as mentioned above.

 

[Soundguy]

Several post have been made about lynch pins and losing them. Some suggest substituting a bolt and lock nut. However, there is a heavy duty lynch pin which is much harder to open than the usual shiny ones we all have, use, and lose. The ones I have seen are black but are only available in 7/16th pin size. I need several sizes.

Does anyone know of a good source or website which sells the heavy duty lynch pins in various sizes?? Thanks.

Here's another idea. They make pins in the same size as most lynch pins that have a shoulder on top, and a cotter key hole in the bottom. Take a keychain split ring and use that as the cotter key... Virtually impossible for weeds and plants to pull that one off.. yet you can open it and remove it with your fingernail just a lil slower than the flip-open bail kind..

soundguy

 

[schmism]

Here ya go....
$7.99 for 50 crappy pins you'll probably never lose. Heck, that's 16 cents a piece.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

i have that set, have been useing that set for the past 2 years ive had my tractor.

i really dont consider it that much of a load bearing device. your 3pt arms arnt really built for huge side loads. my guess, if you can side load a device hard enough to shear one of those off, your going to break something else much sooner.

 

[sunspot]

I bought a few of the HD black ones at TSC. I think they were $1.25
They have a heavier "spring" to open them but I don't think it would mean much when pushed by a limb or something similer. The shoulder one with a cotter pin sounds real nice to me.

 

[daBear]

Here's another idea. They make pins in the same size as most lynch pins that have a shoulder on top, and a cotter key hole in the bottom. Take a keychain split ring and use that as the cotter key... Virtually impossible for weeds and plants to pull that one off.. yet you can open it and remove it with your fingernail just a lil slower than the flip-open bail kind..

soundguy

Not a bad idea at all. Thanks.

 

[Charlesaf3]

yeah, kubota actually does the key ring thing on some of the pins holding the 3 point on, but I hadn't thought of doing it elsewhere. Good idea

 

[Soundguy]

That one is courtesy of the owner of the CNH dealership where I bought my last couple of blue tractors.

soundguy

 

[schmism]

the pins that hold the adjustments on my MMM are retained with key rings. untill you snag one on something and turn it into a pretzel. (ask me how i know)

 

[daBear]

Right now I am using some 1/4" grade 8 bolts and lock nuts on the top of the wheel forks of my bushog finish mower. I can't imagine those failing in this application.

 

[Soundguy]

the pins that hold the adjustments on my MMM are retained with key rings. untill you snag one on something and turn it into a pretzel. (ask me how i know)

On occasion.. I have seen them pretzle up.. but at least they hold and don't come off.. .. course then you need a set of wire snips to remove them.. etc... but better than them fslling off and dropping the mower.. etc..

soundguy