Official Two Tractor Owner

airbiscuit · Apr 17, 2018

I have often seen the replacement balls in the farm supply stores, and wondered how the old ones came out. Here are a couple TBN threads that might give a clue.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/161812-3-pth-lift-ball-replace.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/new-holland-ag-tractors/260511-remove-install-lower-lift-arm.html

ovrszd · Apr 17, 2018

They are replaceable on my Ford. Held in place by a spring clip. I was hoping these were similar, but they are not.

Now that I know the story of this tractor it becomes more of a great find!!!

WVH1977 · Apr 17, 2018

My co-worker is a pretty good welder. I am going to buy the link ends from Agri Supply and cut the ends off the old ones and have my buddy weld on the new link ends. This will only cost me 20 bucks and seems like the easiest and cheapest way to go.

ovrszd · Apr 17, 2018

I agree. Do one at a time. That way after he cuts off the first one he can use the second one to get the angle right. Then after it's welded up, cut off the second one.

WVH1977 · Apr 22, 2018

I went over to my neighbors and we looked at the draft links again. He found some older CAT 2 to CAT 1 bushings and they fit pretty good in the link balls. He has some older fords that he used to farm with and his link ends are worn about as much as mine. He is still using his without any issues and told me I should just use what I have instead of welding on new link ends. I agreed with him and am going to hold off on doing anything with them.

I took another trip up to the mountains this past Friday and found me a good rotary cutter to go with the tractor. The man that had it lives on top of a mountain and raises cattle. Real nice place but needed the 4wd to get up the driveway. So now I am at $ 5800 total for this new set-up. I have been going over the tractor and cleaning it up and changed the oil. Finally got my manuals delivered. I went ahead and spent the money and bought the parts manual, operators manual, and shop manual. I got the cutter hooked up and did some bush hogging behind the house today to see how it handles and the tractor runs it like its not even back there. I am still amazed how strong the hydraulics are on this tractor. It was a little light in the front when turning but not bad. I am going to get some front weights to add to it for more traction.

Overall I am pleased with this new set-up. The only other thing I need to do right now is shorten the shaft on my tiller so I can use it with this tractor also other than that I will be using it mostly for my cutting needs when they arise.

rScotty · Apr 23, 2018

WVH1977 said:
I went over to my neighbors and we looked at the draft links again. He found some older CAT 2 to CAT 1 bushings and they fit pretty good in the link balls. He has some older fords that he used to farm with and his link ends are worn about as much as mine. He is still using his without any issues and told me I should just use what I have instead of welding on new link ends. I agreed with him and am going to hold off on doing anything with them.

I took another trip up to the mountains this past Friday and found me a good rotary cutter to go with the tractor. The man that had it lives on top of a mountain and raises cattle. Real nice place but needed the 4wd to get up the driveway. So now I am at $ 5800 total for this new set-up. I have been going over the tractor and cleaning it up and changed the oil. Finally got my manuals delivered. I went ahead and spent the money and bought the parts manual, operators manual, and shop manual. I got the cutter hooked up and did some bush hogging behind the house today to see how it handles and the tractor runs it like its not even back there. I am still amazed how strong the hydraulics are on this tractor. It was a little light in the front when turning but not bad. I am going to get some front weights to add to it for more traction.

View attachment 550303 View attachment 550304

Overall I am pleased with this new set-up. The only other thing I need to do right now is shorten the shaft on my tiller so I can use it with this tractor also other than that I will be using it mostly for my cutting needs when they arise.

You have a dandy. I have a 1958 JD 530 and am always amazed that it has so many modern features like power steering, remote hydraulics, QA loader. It is so well built it's a joy to do maintenance. The cat II 3pt with draft control lifts heavy implements no problem.

On the 3pt arms, is the looseness in the bushing hole through the ball or in the way the ball fits into the arm? If it is how the bushings fit into the ball, it would be simple to have bushings made with a slightly larger OD. Any machine shop could turn you a pair for not much money.

A canopy would be nice, but until you get one, I believe that JD still sells their universal canvas umbrella for about $100. Very nice for the summer and typical vintage JD quality. Cleverly designed to fit any tractor and adjusts for position, height, & angle.

In addition to the manuals you have, JD also published their FOS (Fundamentals of Service) manuals which provide an in-depth discussion of the various systems on their tractors. Educational and a well written.
Enjoy, rScotty