New Tractor: Three Point Hitch Came Apart (see pictures)

[workinonit]

Based on some of the things I read on here it sounds like most new tractor buyers should assume the dealer didn't touch the tractor pre-delivery because in many cases it seems that's not far from reality. My dealer has a single guy that preps most if not all of the new deliveries. He is excellent.

 

[5030]

I assume nothing and check everything regularly.

 

[PILOON]

I could write a whole book on bad dealer prep.

OK, not on tractors but I sure had more than my share on new cars.
Here are a few.

A left front wheel departed due to no lube @ 6 K miles.
A differential seize solid due to no lube @ 1k miles.
Rear window blow out @ 30 miles. Same day as delivery.
Dangerous sudden lurching on left passing turns at highway speeds.
Oil filters that would not retain oil at 1st oil change.
A fan that departed and ate the radiator @ 12K miles.
Wild steering was result of wrong torqueing of wheel studs. Cost a new rim.

So my preference is off lease one driver vehicles now.
Let somebody else have all the 'fun'.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

My dealer delivered and installed the mid mount mower on my new tractor last summer, as it was not available when he delivered the tractor. An hour after he'd left, he texted me to check two adjusting nuts for tightness, he didn't recall tightening them completely. I checked right away, they were tight. Not perfect, but adequate for me.

Took my tractor to dealer for hydraulic work. Brought it home, parked it, next morning hydraulic fluid all over the floor. Mechanic loose fit the lines and forgot to tighten any of them. Sadly, you have to check up after everyone who does any work (from mechanics to home repairs, etc.) these days.

 

[sea2summit]

All turnbuckles work the same way, and all are vulnerable to coming undone if not locked. It is very low operator burden to check that they're suitably locked, as compared to a potentially complex and expensive mechanism to lock them. I have often found that complex and expensive locking mechanisms (and I see a lot of them on airplanes) will wear/fail/seize, and not release when needed. You end up breaking it off, and replacing it with the more simple version that you wish you'd had from in the first place.

If, on a machine, particularly one which works outside in the dirt, a mechanism can be simple, operated with a wrench (or Visegrips), and is very low cost to repair if I let it seize, that's what I want, and I'm prepared to do daily checks to assure security, rather than suffer frustration and expense when the automatic complex thing fails.

Ummmm, no? There are many quality designs that lock the turnbuckle without tools that are very simple.

 

[sea2summit]

Based on some of the things I read on here it sounds like most new tractor buyers should assume the dealer didn't touch the tractor pre-delivery because in many cases it seems that's not far from reality. My dealer has a single guy that preps most if not all of the new deliveries. He is excellent.

I'm not saying anything against you're dealer, sounds like a great guy to work with. But almost every manual says check all this stuff within or at the first 10 hrs of operation, things happen. Operators need to be on top of it.

 

[workinonit]

I agree. Thus my post. I checked the common item things on mine that would normally go sideways and didn't find any issues. I think it's always a good idea for especially a new operator to go over a new tractor thoroughly if for no other reason to learn what things are and how they work. On my old tractor when I bought it new I kept hearing a noise. Found out all the lug nuts were loose. Actually had lost a couple. Lesson learned.

 

[Cycledude]

All turnbuckles work the same way, and all are vulnerable to coming undone if not locked. It is very low operator burden to check that they're suitably locked, as compared to a potentially complex and expensive mechanism to lock them. I have often found that complex and expensive locking mechanisms (and I see a lot of them on airplanes) will wear/fail/seize, and not release when needed. You end up breaking it off, and replacing it with the more simple version that you wish you'd had from in the first place.

If, on a machine, particularly one which works outside in the dirt, a mechanism can be simple, operated with a wrench (or Visegrips), and is very low cost to repair if I let it seize, that's what I want, and I'm prepared to do daily checks to assure security, rather than suffer frustration and expense when the automatic complex thing fails.

Glad to see that you prefer that system but I would do whatever I could to avoid buying a system set up as lousy as that . Yes it saves the manufacturer a little money but often winds up costing the owner much more time and money to fix it.
Been working around tractors my entire life and never saw such lousy three point setups until these newer small tractors and the more they can sell with the cheap lousy design the more they will continue to build.
Another lousy thing on these new small tractors is no break away hydraulic couplers, just hate to think of the possible problems caused if someone happens to drive away from some machine after forgetting to unhook the hydraulic hoses.

 

[saxon11]

Thank you all for suggestions. Moral of story is I need to get intimate with the user manual and inspect this machine every time i use it. I put it back on for now:

 

[Midniteoyl]

just hate to think of the possible problems caused if someone happens to drive away from some machine after forgetting to unhook the hydraulic hoses.

I just did that yesterday. Dropped the grapple off and started backing up having completely forgot to undo the hoses..