3-Point Hitch NH TL100a lift arms slow going down

[M5farms]

Since buying this tractor a couple months ago I have been slowly fixing things po did not do. I bought lift arm seals to replace this weekend and doing that reminded me that the lift arms are very slow going down even with a heavy implement. I spent an hour today at dealer trying to find some one that could tell me where the relief screw is that's on most tractors. Out of 3 salesmen 6 mechanics and one flunky no one could tell me anything except one guy said he thought it was a cable but did not know where it was. I left and told them to call me when they found it. The online part diagrams are useless for NH . I got home and started looking for the set screw and low and behold I found a cable under the linkage on right Side standing behind tractor. I turned nut one round ccw and tried the lift and it would not go down at all so I turned the nut 2 rounds cw and low and behold it was faster. I have it one more turn for good measure and it lowers at a good rate . I will fine tune it with an implement behind it.

 

[RickB]

You have successfully adjusted the lift-o-matic cable. Your dealership must not service many TN or TL tractors.

 

[M5farms]

They have a shop full of tractors all the time it's just like anything else today , if the computer don't tell them what to do they don't have a clue. I have not seen a real parts man in any brand dealerships around here in 20 yrs. It's just order takers now.

 

[RickB]

I'm just another dealership flunky. Glad to meet you.

 

[M5farms]

RickB , good to me you, you want to move to South Alabama?? We could use some folks that know what they are doing. My dad went by the JD dealer last week to get a replacement hyd oil cap for 2040 , the guy could not find what he wanted on the computer so he walked out to the tractors out front found one with the same cap screwed it out took it back in to him and told him this is what he wanted. The guy told him he had to order it and it would be in a couple Days. I went by Wed and picked up the bag and the idiot ordered an engine oil cap. I got on the website looked up the part and they had one in stock. I emailed the order in they Called and said it was ready. I Go pick it up and he takes looks at as says oh a fuel cap .....I just paid and left .

 

[CCWKen]

There's a small town NH dealer here that's been at the same location for ever. It's right in the heart of "downtown". It's all family run and they know their stuff but some of the mechanics they occasionally have in there must have just graduated from a Jiffy Oil Change shop as a floor sweeper. They couldn't find their own butt with both hands. The old timers have retired and finding good mechanics in a small town must be tough. It's usually the parts guy (part owner) that oversees and directs all the work. I get parts and paint there but I would never take my tractor there for work.

 

[RickB]

A none-too-small part of the problem is at 59 I am among the last generation of farm boys & girls to leave the farm to do dealership work in any significant numbers. There simply aren't enough farm kids of the next generation ( or two) to make a significant difference in the labor pool.

Industry experts began predicting severe shortages of qualified service technitions and workers with other related skill sets as much as 15-20 years ago.

Not a surprise.

 

[M5farms]

Rick, I started changing to seals on lift arms this morning, the seal they said I need is way to small. And I can not see an old seal metal flange. I got the keyring out and some small fragments of rubber. Does this seal not have a metal flange??

 

[RickB]

Torsion bar seals at the chassis end of the draft links?
They are a metal cased lip seal. O.D. Is probably 3/4" larger than the torsion bar itself.
The seal is positioned outboard of the spherical bushing.

 

[M5farms]

I grab a pic of it , the other seal was inside the housing. There is about a 1/2" gap between the inner edge and the bearing in side. That's where the ring (looks like a key ring) was at . this ring is as big as the other seal. I measured the shaft where the seal has to go and it 1.185 ". The seals they sold me will only go on the taper at end of shaft where the bolt thru bushng goes.