Ford 4000 SU Linkage Ball Clip

[gmcinnes]

Gentlemen:

There is a clip on my lift arm that keeps it's linkage ball in it's home. Unfortunately it has snapped right at the hole where it is attached to the lift arm.

Has anyone seen this before and have any advice. I'm sure I can MacGyver up something with paper clips and duct tape, but thought I'd ask my wiser friends first.

Picture below

 

[Sean in PA]

Drill out the remainder of the pin from the hole and install a new spring clip. They should still be available. I know they were available about 4 or 5 years ago when I needed one, but with New Holland these days, you never know for sure unless you ask.

Those lower lift arms with the spring clips holding the balls in were an option for switching between cat III and cat IV balls for different implements. Most 4000's, especially 4000 SU's, do not usually handle cat IV implement, so you could replace the lower arms with the stock cat III only arms with the fixed balls if you only use cat III implements.

 

[Destroked 450]

I think you may have your sizes mixed up
My 4000 and 4000SU use Cat 1 and Cat 2 balls

 

[Sean in PA]

Yeah, I took my allergy meds last evening and I was a bit woozy. You are correct, I meant Cat I and cat II. Earlier in the evening I had been working on something related to the hitch receiver on my truck and I had been trying to determine if it was a Cat III or Cat IV receiver.

This post was edited by Sean in PA on 08/11/2023 at 04:56 am.

 

[gmcinnes]

Thanks guys. Always amazing how willing people are to help here.

I should have looked first. Those pins are widely available. I'm always surprised about what things are easy to find and what things aren't.

Almost everything I have is Cat I. But I do have one Cat II, implement, so its nice having both.

 

[Destroked 450]

I have a combination of Cat 1 and Cat 2 implements, one tractor is Cat 1 only, the 2 4000 s have interchangeable balls, the 5000, 6600 and 6610 are Cat 2
I use the narrow Cat2 balls in the 4000 s with Cat 1 bushings, their cheaper if you lose one and store easier
Carrying 2 sets of balls on each tractor is a hassle

 

[gmcinnes]

Gentlemen:

There is a clip on my lift arm that keeps it's linkage ball in it's home. Unfortunately it has snapped right at the hole where it is attached to the lift arm.

Has anyone seen this before and have any advice. I'm sure I can MacGyver up something with paper clips and duct tape, but thought I'd ask my wiser friends first.

FWIW I have exactly the same issue, and finally lost the clip in the field altogether. Since they were only $7 I bought a new pair, I'm trying to drill out the broken piece remaining in the top hole so I can install it, but the steel is wicked hard and I'm not making much progress. I've tried titanium, cobalt, HSS, even diamond grinding bits. I've spent an hour or three drilling on it already and not sure it's worth it.

If I don't get any progress soon, other people have suggested just taking the ball out and putting it in the toolbox when finished with the implement. Or using string or wire to hold it in there, although I'm not quite sure how that would work when the ball needs to move and the pin needs to fit.

Did you make any progress?

 

[Destroked 450]

The clips used to be good on my 4000 but I still lost a couple of balls somehow
The clips on the 4000 SU were gone when I got it nearly 20 years ago, never tried to fix them
I welded a couple of top link pins to the hydraulic remote coupler bracket on the 4000, when I unhook a piece of equipment I drop the balls over the pins
On the SU I hang one set over the lift arm adjuster crank handle
I plan to install Cat2 balls on each tractor and weld a strap of steel on the keep the balls from falling out, then just carry a set of cat2 to cat1 bushings for when needed

 

[gmcinnes]

The clips used to be good on my 4000 but I still lost a couple of balls somehow
The clips on the 4000 SU were gone when I got it nearly 20 years ago, never tried to fix them
I welded a couple of top link pins to the hydraulic remote coupler bracket on the 4000, when I unhook a piece of equipment I drop the balls over the pins
On the SU I hang one set over the lift arm adjuster crank handle
I plan to install Cat2 balls on each tractor and weld a strap of steel on the keep the balls from falling out, then just carry a set of cat2 to cat1 bushings for when needed

Yeah, I think welding a strap and putting in cat 2 balls is a good idea. I just this minute finished drilling out the hole and getting a new clip installed, but it's really not a great robust design.

I also noticed that the top hole for the clip on the left side, the one that broke, is about 3/16" further towards the rear of the tractor than the one in the right. Not much of a difference, but it's enough to prevent the new clip engaging properly without a bit of percussive persuasion. No laser welders or CNC machines in 1975 I guess

Happy tractoring.