Toplink top link question?

[olPete]

Matt, your question brought a smile to my face as I'm sure it has with all the others who have done this before. Another interesting thing in your post was that the former owner bent the previous toplink. How do you do that? The only way I can figure to do that would be with a disc cultivator or rotary cutter and the toplink adjust too far out. Then, if you went over a rough spot, there might be enough leverage to bend a toplink. My wife had an old International with a bent toplink when we got married. She didn't bend it and I could never figure out how that happened either.

I've bent one... or rather my trailer did while I was driving...

 

[CADplans]

I always thought I was hard on equipment,,when I got my JD 650,,
and realized the top link was bent, I decided, I did not know how to abuse equipment.

The top link worked, the attachments I used the tractor with never need top link adjustment,
but, I just could not stand looking at the bend.

It took a month of weekly shopping, I finally found a JD top link from a full size JD tractor.
The body is cast steel, and the rods are 50% larger diameter.

The top link is CAT2/CAT1,, so I had to add a sleeve at one end,,,
I figure the tractor will break in half before I damage that top link!!

 

[Fallon]

The top link is CAT2/CAT1,, so I had to add a sleeve at one end,,,
I figure the tractor will break in half before I damage that top link!!

There is a big advantage to having a $30 part as your weak link rather than a multi-thousand dollar transmission housing or what not. Same principle as a $0.25 sheer pin vs. your power train...

 

[olPete]

I always thought I was hard on equipment,,when I got my JD 650,,
and realized the top link was bent, I decided, I did not know how to abuse equipment.

The top link worked, the attachments I used the tractor with never need top link adjustment,
but, I just could not stand looking at the bend.

It took a month of weekly shopping, I finally found a JD top link from a full size JD tractor.
The body is cast steel, and the rods are 50% larger diameter.

The top link is CAT2/CAT1,, so I had to add a sleeve at one end,,,
I figure the tractor will break in half before I damage that top link!!

This is real abuse

a genuine CAT2 banana.
At least the cast JD ones only bend the threaded sections usually, and they're cheap to replace.. I fully concur, hard to look at something like this!