rambler
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2003
- Messages
- 1,994
- Location
- MN
- Tractor
- Ford 960, 7700, TW20, 1720; IHC H, 300; Ollie S77
Re: Toplink vs Chain on bush-hog attachment
Well, I'm one of the generic "poster's" that's in this thread - signed my stuff '--->Paul' anyhow.
So, Dennis: You went with the chain. Not the safest, but lots of people do this, obviously. If you hit a stump or other imovable object, the mower will come up. Could really hurt the pto, if nothing else. If you bought a big ol' pipe that was about 5" shorter than the chain you are using, and slipped that over the chain in between the mower & your tractor, it would provide the stiffness you need, while allowing the 5-6" of flexability you want.
The front end of the tractor coming up is an entirely different issue. your tractor front end is too light. You need some weight on the front end of your tractor. Legnthing the chain might help you out, but be real careful you don't let the mower angle down too much that it hurts the pto. Real easy to mess up on this. And you still have the problem of a too light front end - the problem isn't going away, you are only hiding it.....
Spiker: In your picture of your mower, those top straps of iron that are on the mower, & go from under the gearcase sheet metal and up to where the top link mounts: Those strap irons should have oblong holes on one end, and the bolts should have some spacers in them so they are not tight on the straps. Would only take a couple inches of slide. This would eliminate all your problems. I understand, the cheap import neglected this 'feature'. They shouldn't have. As you say, it doesn't work when it's rigid. But as others say, it's more dangerous without a top link - mostly to the pto, but slightly to you as well.
--->Paul
Well, I'm one of the generic "poster's" that's in this thread - signed my stuff '--->Paul' anyhow.
So, Dennis: You went with the chain. Not the safest, but lots of people do this, obviously. If you hit a stump or other imovable object, the mower will come up. Could really hurt the pto, if nothing else. If you bought a big ol' pipe that was about 5" shorter than the chain you are using, and slipped that over the chain in between the mower & your tractor, it would provide the stiffness you need, while allowing the 5-6" of flexability you want.
The front end of the tractor coming up is an entirely different issue. your tractor front end is too light. You need some weight on the front end of your tractor. Legnthing the chain might help you out, but be real careful you don't let the mower angle down too much that it hurts the pto. Real easy to mess up on this. And you still have the problem of a too light front end - the problem isn't going away, you are only hiding it.....
Spiker: In your picture of your mower, those top straps of iron that are on the mower, & go from under the gearcase sheet metal and up to where the top link mounts: Those strap irons should have oblong holes on one end, and the bolts should have some spacers in them so they are not tight on the straps. Would only take a couple inches of slide. This would eliminate all your problems. I understand, the cheap import neglected this 'feature'. They shouldn't have. As you say, it doesn't work when it's rigid. But as others say, it's more dangerous without a top link - mostly to the pto, but slightly to you as well.
--->Paul
