Top link breakage

[Anonymous Poster]

kubmech,
Thanks for the indepth explanation of the install of the HD toplink bracket. Since your opinion is that it is necessary I will order one. I appreciate you giving us the benefit of your on the job knowledge. It adds something to the board that is very useful and has been missing until your arrival.
Thanks Again
GregH

 

[Pks]

Has anyone heard about the gentleman from Florida with the JD4300? He posted last November about breaking his top link mount.

 

[Elkoboy]

I broke the top link casing on my B2910 last fall while using a post hole auger. It was repaired under warranty, although the dealer told me that it would not have been had I been using a backhoe.

I also use a box blade, which I used for snow plowing the previous winter, and for landscaping in warm weather. I do use the blade to push often.

However, I wasn't abusing the 3 point while using the auger, and I didn't even realize it had broken until several days later when I attempted to change 3 point implements. It was then I realized that the casing had broken off at one of the tapped bolt holes. The casing wasn't broken open.

At the time I wrote it off as a freak accident, considering that it had broken at only one bolt to begin with. My first thought was that the bolt had been overtorqued when they had done service on the 3 point earlier that year. I hadn't heard anything about other breakages so I didn't think that much about it.

Regardless, I pressed the dealer to replace the top link with the heavy duty one (which I had seen on a website <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mgsweb.com/tractor/bhoe/bhoe.htm>http://www.mgsweb.com/tractor/bhoe/bhoe.htm</A>) that I was willing to pay for. The dealer couldn't locate the replacement part and instead welded a 1/4" backplate to the regular brackets.

However, now that I have the part number for the heavy duty toplink I will certainly order one and replace it. I don't want another breakage out of warranty.