Adding a three-point to a JD model A

[Sgriger534]

I am curious what the options are for adding a 3-point to a JD model A currently equipped with just a draw bar. Does anyone make a kit that can operated manually or do they all require hydraulics?
I wouldn't mind adding a hydraulic system, but the tractor is a hand start so I wasn't sure how that would work.

We have a 3-point brush mower we would like to use with this tractor. We currently have a new holland TC 30, but it works that little tractor pretty hard.

Thanks,

 

[NY 986]

I have never seen a 3 pt kit w/o the use of hydraulics. I would not want to have to manually lift a 5 or 6 ft cut field mower. Early A's had the Power Lift function and later A's had the Power Trol which allowed for the use of remote cylinders. I would imagine a salvage yard would have a working system of either type of minimal money. There is a JD yard less than a 1/2 hour from me. A & L Parts. Penn Yan, NY. 315-536-0543. M-F. Some Saturdays.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Quite a few options actually starting system won’t matter a hill of beans.

my unstyled b has one from Titan and is hand start.

My styled late A has one from ASAP I like it better the handles are less sharp and don’t tear my jeans. It also installed easier the Titan one needed the ears over the rock shaft spread. 550 bucks for a complete kit either place when I bought them I haven’t bought another tractor in a couple years so I’m not sure if that’s gone up

You can also get the old John Deere conversions 801 hitch. These will be more expensive but a lot of replacement parts are available. Especially the A all those little implements for the yard I’ve never ran into anything that caused trouble

All options will require at least power lift power trol you will be much happier the A had power trol I put a power trol on the B that had power lift with a unit from the junkyard.

Dads 1936 b has no hydraulic system of any kind so without having a second doner tractors if you have one of those it’s probably not worth it

 

[NY 986]

I have never seen a 3 pt kit w/o the use of hydraulics. I would not want to have to manually lift a 5 or 6 ft cut field mower. Early A's had the Power Lift function and later A's had the Power Trol which allowed for the use of remote cylinders. I would imagine a salvage yard would have a working system of either type of minimal money. There is a JD yard less than a 1/2 hour from me. A & L Parts. Penn Yan, NY. 315-536-0543. M-F. Some Saturdays.

It should be said that while I have seen homemade 3 pt hitches for the early A's there are limitations to them. The Power Lift was intended for mounted cultivators and other integral implements. Hopefully, you have a latter A (after 1945) which would allow for the remote hydraulic cylinder of which factory 3 pt kits use.

 

[ET]

John deere A and B tractors are relatively light in the front end. This can be a problem with rear mounted equipment.

 

[matthies]

If you get this going, you are gonna need an overrunning clutch on the pto also.

 

[buickanddeere]

Live Hydraulic pump on the governor is something to consider .

 

[deanvp]

I am curious what the options are for adding a 3-point to a JD model A currently equipped with just a draw bar. Does anyone make a kit that can operated manually or do they all require hydraulics?
I wouldn't mind adding a hydraulic system, but the tractor is a hand start so I wasn't sure how that would work.

We have a 3-point brush mower we would like to use with this tractor. We currently have a new holland TC 30, but it works that little tractor pretty hard.

Thanks,

There are aftermarket 3 point hitches designed and sold for your Model A. It does not have a power lift or power Troll? They can be added very inexpensively. What year is your Model A. The early models had an A frame angled Iron drawbar frame which makes it harder to add a three point but a square frame can be installed in its place. Where are you located? I have a used aftermarket three point and top link that I would be willing to sell.

 

[Mark-Ia]

It should be said that while I have seen homemade 3 pt hitches for the early A's there are limitations to them. The Power Lift was intended for mounted cultivators and other integral implements. Hopefully, you have a latter A (after 1945) which would allow for the remote hydraulic cylinder of which factory 3 pt kits use.

You can bolt the Power Trol box in place of the Power Lift box on the older John Deere's and have your outlets for hydraulics.

 

[Dan in Ohio]

When I was a kid Dad had a 1947 G that had the power lift (pedals below the pan seat) that he converted to pwr-trol and same time Behlen PS was added using a distributor mounted hydraulic pump. Don't know how that all worked together just that nothing was cobbled up as work was done at a JD dealer. That being said it can be done. Think I remember seeing a GM article that explained the process years ago.

Have had the 800 series JD hitch on both my styled A and B.

 

[Dan in Ohio]

Don't understand this pic loading process, sometimes it works some it don't.

 

[buickanddeere]

Don't understand this pic loading process, sometimes it works some it don't.

After having success for years loading images and short videos , no success. The image appears to load, the numbers run 0 to 100%. However the square remains dark, no image .

 

[deanvp]

John deere A and B tractors are relatively light in the front end. This can be a problem with rear mounted equipment.

John Deere did not recommend the use of 800 Series Hitches on the Pressed Steel Front End model tractors such as the A & B. The G still had a cast front end which made it a heavier front end. I don't know if the cast front ends were equally heavy on the pre-pressed steel A's and B's. But in any case no front frame weights were offered on the Letter Series tractors. Only some front wheel weights were offered with limited amount of weight. As far as I now no aftermarket three point hitch is compatible with the A Frame styled drawbar frame on the earlier letter series tractors. Both aftermarket and 800 series hitches require the square drawbar frame. The bolt pattern is the same for the A frame vs Square frame drawbars so they are interchangeable. Also, there are hydraulic capability limitations that need to be considered on the earlier Pwr-Trols So be very careful about how heavy the implement is or how far it extends back (lever arm) to be used on an 800 Series or aftermarket three point hitches on the letter series tractors. Many (with caution) have used lighter implements on the Letter Series tractors quite successfully and safely. Just be aware there will be no load and depth control capability on any aftermarket three point hitch or 800 Series hitch (800 and 800A) but the 801 version does offer mechanical load and depth control with increased traction.

I have all three versions of the 800 Series Hitches for sale as well as individual parts for them.

I have given several workshops on 800 Series Hitches at the Gathering of the Green so I have done quite a bit of research in this area.

 

[NY 986]

John Deere did not recommend the use of 800 Series Hitches on the Pressed Steel Front End model tractors such as the A & B. The G still had a cast front end which made it a heavier front end. I don't know if the cast front ends were equally heavy on the pre-pressed steel A's and B's. But in any case no front frame weights were offered on the Letter Series tractors. Only some front wheel weights were offered with limited amount of weight. As far as I now no aftermarket three point hitch is compatible with the A Frame styled drawbar frame on the earlier letter series tractors. Both aftermarket and 800 series hitches require the square drawbar frame. The bolt pattern is the same for the A frame vs Square frame drawbars so they are interchangeable. Also, there are hydraulic capability limitations that need to be considered on the earlier Pwr-Trols So be very careful about how heavy the implement is or how far it extends back (lever arm) to be used on an 800 Series or aftermarket three point hitches on the letter series tractors. Many (with caution) have used lighter implements on the Letter Series tractors quite successfully and safely. Just be aware there will be no load and depth control capability on any aftermarket three point hitch or 800 Series hitch (800 and 800A) but the 801 version does offer mechanical load and depth control with increased traction.

I have all three versions of the 800 Series Hitches for sale as well as individual parts for them.

I have given several workshops on 800 Series Hitches at the Gathering of the Green so I have done quite a bit of research in this area.

A four or five foot wide cutter should be in the medium range of weight load for a 3 point hitch. But care should be taken not to bounce tractor and mower all over the field.

 

[miangus]

I rarely lift my three-point brush hog completely off the ground. Maybe you could design a hitch for your A similar to the JD Quick-Hitch used on the number 5 mower.

 

[51PuddlejumperB]

John Deere did not recommend the use of 800 Series Hitches on the Pressed Steel Front End model tractors such as the A & B. The G still had a cast front end which made it a heavier front end. I don't know if the cast front ends were equally heavy on the pre-pressed steel A's and B's. But in any case no front frame weights were offered on the Letter Series tractors. Only some front wheel weights were offered with limited amount of weight. As far as I now no aftermarket three point hitch is compatible with the A Frame styled drawbar frame on the earlier letter series tractors. Both aftermarket and 800 series hitches require the square drawbar frame. The bolt pattern is the same for the A frame vs Square frame drawbars so they are interchangeable. Also, there are hydraulic capability limitations that need to be considered on the earlier Pwr-Trols So be very careful about how heavy the implement is or how far it extends back (lever arm) to be used on an 800 Series or aftermarket three point hitches on the letter series tractors. Many (with caution) have used lighter implements on the Letter Series tractors quite successfully and safely. Just be aware there will be no load and depth control capability on any aftermarket three point hitch or 800 Series hitch (800 and 800A) but the 801 version does offer mechanical load and depth control with increased traction.

I have all three versions of the 800 Series Hitches for sale as well as individual parts for them.

I have given several workshops on 800 Series Hitches at the Gathering of the Green so I have done quite a bit of research in this area.

I have a 1951 John Deere B with a Lindeman Hitch designed for it. Hitch is an ABG2000. Another one was ABG2001. I am using a landscape box scraper. My B has a wide front end, but I would like more weight on the front, because of uneven terrain.

 

[51PuddlejumperB]

John deere A and B tractors are relatively light in the front end. This can be a problem with rear mounted equipment.

My 1951 B with a wide front end has lifted a landscape grader box completely full of dirt with the Lindeman ABG2000 hitch.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I’ve never had an issue either using little implements especially with the A. But a lot of the stuff around “too light for 3 point use” originated at a time when Deere was converting to someone else’s idea that had taken off and so should be taken with a grain of salt. People would also be hanging a heavy plow off the back of it. 3 fourteens or more and expect it to be able to steer like it did normally when you pick it up or go down the road(in the field you had brakes anyway). With that in mind most people using a mower on a b they are going to be just fine. Or any other farm store sized attachment no problem.

 

[ss55]

I am curious what the options are for adding a 3-point to a JD model A currently equipped with just a draw bar. Does anyone make a kit that can operated manually or do they all require hydraulics?
I wouldn't mind adding a hydraulic system, but the tractor is a hand start so I wasn't sure how that would work.

We have a 3-point brush mower we would like to use with this tractor. We currently have a new holland TC 30, but it works that little tractor pretty hard.

Thanks,

Total up all the potential costs of this project carefully, including the cost of your labor. In the end it might be less expensive, less hassle, and easier on the operator to either: trade for a pull type mower; or trade for a different tractor, especially one with live PTO, live hydraulics and a factory 3 point hitch.

Other alternatives to still use the TC-30 are: to cut a partial swath width; or to cut in two passes with the mower raised on the first pass, then allow a few days for the first pass to dry before cutting the second pass lower.