Tight swivels in 3pt arms

[Charliebrn]

Anyone come up with a way to loosen the swivel balls in the lower link arms of the 3 point? Mine are so tight i use a breaker bar to line up to the implement's pins, and even then, I have to crank on them. I notece that both swivels on BOTH ends of both arms are this way, and its annoying. Not a big deal, everything works ok, but i'd like to loosen them up if i can. I've tried various greases and oils to no avail. Any ideas, guys????

 

[watersjj]

I have the same problem with one side. I too have used several types of lubrication and a bar to work the eye but they tighten up again after sitting. My guess is that we will just have to let them wear a little first.

 

[john_bud]

Charliebrn,

No magic, I just worked it with a 900 pound box blade for about 50 hours and an 1100 pound rotary cutter for about 30 clock hours and it got loose enough to wiggle by hand. I am guessing that there could be paint in the socket or on the ball. If that is the case, you may be able to use paint remover to speed the process. If it is not that, then you will just need more seat time ( /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif).

John Bud

 

[Charliebrn]

John,

I've worked it with my Woods box blade, but only about 25 hours so far, and it's nowhere near as heavy as yours. I wonder if a 350 lb box is heavy enough to loosen it up? hmmm... I cleaned the paint off the swivels when it was new, but I might just try some thinner on them...work them a bit and see if it helps...maybe there's some paint inside.....

 

[jdkid]

Hi ya
if new maybe paint a bit of a work out and they should free up even adding some thinners every 1/2 hour to flush out the worn paint may help .once free i would not be adding a wet lube oil, greese as it will trap dirt and crust them up again mine i have never lubed once free and never had a prob .
catch ya
JD Kid

 

[Charliebrn]

good point...once free, no grease or oils. Thanks!

 

[Charliebrn]

Oh, BTW... someone told me that only the ones made in the USA are this snug...apparently the ones assembled in Japan are loose.

Interesting info if true...I would have thought that the ones in the USA are assembled from parts made in Japan. That would say that the USA tractors are fabricated here as well. I wonder what other quirks there might be from USA vs Japan tractors of the same model? What other models have assembly points both here and in Japan? This could be another thread.....

 

[JerryG]

Charliebrn,
It shouldn't be a real concern. The reason I say that is because it won't take very much use for them to loosen by their self. They are tight because of the thick coat of paint. Sometimes I will give them a shot of WD-40 when I grease the tractor. But most tractors never see any kind of lubricant on the hitch balls. A tractor with lots of hours may have the balls so loose that they will fall out when the implement is taken off. Another bad thing about them being loose is that after they get real loose they won't stay positioned right to mount the implement. That's why they have repair ends at TSC and other dealers.