MMM Mounting Agony

[DaRube]

This newbie struggled to get the 60" MMM off of the B7500 in the fall.....and I am struggling even more to get it on now. The problem is in getting it to slide under the tractor. There just doesn't seem to be enough clearance around the tires.

I would welcome the opportunity to be talked through this proces......and if anyone in Northern Virginia would like to come laugh at my efforts in person, now is the chance!!

* mona lisa grin *

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

DaRube,
Don't feel lonesome your in good company with folks who struggle with the B7500 and 60"MMM. There flat is not enough room with the front tires of the tractor on the ground. I don't know how much of the linkage you removed last fall, so put everthing you see in picture G-4807 of page 9 of your mower manual back on the tractor. I think your profile shows you have an FEL. Put the bucket in full dump and raise the front wheels off the ground. If you have jack stands put them under the front axle for safety. Now you should have room to roll/drag the mower under the tractor. Make sure the left rear wheel is turned 90 degrees from normal and pinned. This will make it roll/slide a bit easier. I use a sheet of plywood because I do it on a gravel drive. Now is a good time to lower the tractor down. Make sure there is no interference with the lift arm linkage and the mower deck when you lower the tractor. Attach the back end of the linkage arms to the mower deck.
Attach the front link in the front bracket grove per pictures G-4814, 4816 of page 12. Now the fun part, hook up the PTO drive line until it locks in place. Reset the left rear wheel and your good to go.

If you removed the belt tension spring last fall don't forget to put it back in place. Make sure the belt is seated properly in the gear box drive pulley. This is dual groove belt and it's easy to have it drop down a notch on the drive pulley. Don't ask why I know this.

Hope this helps, I'm not good on writing instructions (or following them)
Al

 

[DaRube]

Al, thank you very much. Knowing that this is a known difficulty is comforting. And the idea of using the FEL to lift the tractor for more clearance is great.

I'm gonna head on out and see what I can do, thanks!

 

[DaRube]

Well, Al, it buys me a little more room, but still not enought to get the mower underneath. Of course, I've only lifter the front wheels 2 inches off the ground....perhaps I am timid.

One thing I did notice in the instructions....is that it implies that the rear wheels should be in their widest spread position. I don't think my dealer set them that way for me. Could this be another part of my problem?

 

[Boondox]

DaRube -- Back when I had my little B1750 with a mmm, the manual said to drive right over the mmm to mount or dismount it. I didn't want to do it at first, but after a year of struggling like you're doing now, I tried it...and it worked like a charm! Since your tractor is about the same weight, is that an option for you?

Pete

 

[Jeff396]

Do you also have the front tires turned to full left or right? This will also gain you some extra clearance.

Jeff

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

DaRube,

I don't have an FEL on my B7500. I use the B21 to lift the tractor front end. I probably lift it ~ 6 inches. Maybe dont be as timid and if that doesn't give you enough, put a couple of 4 x4's under the bucket lip. Also Jeff's suggestion to turn the front wheels full left or right helps also. Good luck, let me know how you do. This is about a 15 minute job for me now, the first time was probably and hour/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Al

 

[TresCrows]

I do not have a 7500 but I have a similar problem with the 2410. Compared to the BX it is a royal pain in the rear. The BX snaps on and off with no troubles and rolls in and out so easy--not so with the 2410. The wheel spacing is insufficient to get the darn thing out without a bunch of shenangins. I finally set a couple of wood blocks under the loader and lifted the tractor to remove the MMM--much easier that way. To reinstall reverse the process. Now that it is almost time to mow I will lift the 2410 with the FEL and reinstall the MMM and then remove the FEL. I rarely have both on either tractor at the same time. I am curious why the other guys mentioned V-belts and linkages, the 2410 is shaft driven and the linkage stays with the tractor and the MMM snaps off/on. Just curious if there is a difference, I thought they were the same set up from my memory.
Good luck, hope it gets easier for you. Oh, do not get under the tractor when it is lifted with the FEL---just in case.
J

 

[ronjhall]

DaRube
Here is a <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=owning&Number=56610&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post56610>thread</A> that should help with your problem removing and installing your MMM. You need to raise front of tractor with FEL as high as it will go. It will be uncomfortable at fist. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif But you will get used to it after a couple of tries. Be sure to block tractor when doing this. You can never tell when some thing will fail and cause tractor to drop.

 

[snowman]

What you may want to try to raise the tractor is stick a few good size boards under all four tires. I do that with some boards that are about 1.5"x8"x12" - I put two under all four tires and drive up on them. Is quite stable and helps a great deal when having to do anything under the tractor (changing oild, sliding the MMM, etc).

I can relate to your problems. This is my second summer(spring) owning the B7500; I took my front blower off Saturday and put my FEL back on. Hadn't done it since last fall, so was quite rusty in the re-attaching process. Almost ripped all four hydro hoses off, almost tipped the FEL over, and almost squashed it onto my hood. Eventually made it, but only after alot of pursuasive under the breath mutterings.