mokanman
New member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2009
- Messages
- 11
- Location
- West Central Missouri
- Tractor
- Ford 8N, Ariens IKON X 52 & Bolens 46" Lawn Tractor
For most of the time that I have owned my 8N the front grille has been out of alignment with the body and has not been able to close/lock properly. I bought it in 1996 and at some point in the early years of ownership my foot slipped off the clutch after stopping while still in gear and ran into a farm gate which is probably when the problem began. Believe it or not, I didn't notice the alignment problem at that time as everything seemed okay. All these years I've been able to open and close the grille, albeit with some difficulty while seemingly "locked" in place when closed.
In early 2022 while I was brush hogging, however, unbeknownst to me the grille opened and gravity did it's thing. It somehow caught on the ground and flipped under the tractor (I did not see this happen as the tractor body hid all this from my view while I was seated) and was pulled off it's hinges. My brush hog did a bang up job on that grille! Needless to say the brush hog won that battle and that grille is bound for the scrap yard.
I bought a cheap replacement grille (this is a work machine, not for show) and as you can see by the pictures I am faced with the same problem, only worse. I can't get the grille closed at all. I'm hoping some of you experienced folks can give me suggestions on re-aligning things without having to take it to a body shop. I have been using it without a grille for a while but I have some areas on my property that need attention where it would be good to have protection for the radiator. I appreciate suggestions.
In early 2022 while I was brush hogging, however, unbeknownst to me the grille opened and gravity did it's thing. It somehow caught on the ground and flipped under the tractor (I did not see this happen as the tractor body hid all this from my view while I was seated) and was pulled off it's hinges. My brush hog did a bang up job on that grille! Needless to say the brush hog won that battle and that grille is bound for the scrap yard.
I bought a cheap replacement grille (this is a work machine, not for show) and as you can see by the pictures I am faced with the same problem, only worse. I can't get the grille closed at all. I'm hoping some of you experienced folks can give me suggestions on re-aligning things without having to take it to a body shop. I have been using it without a grille for a while but I have some areas on my property that need attention where it would be good to have protection for the radiator. I appreciate suggestions.