Top Link Question

[WhiteStar]

Pretty new to tractors so bear with me.

When connecting my brushhog to my 860, when you connect the top link to the brush hog the brush hog has space for the toplink to float back and forth.

Do you adjust the top link so that it is in the middle of the float, do you tighten up towards the tractor or push it to the back towards the mower?

Does it even matter?

Thanks,

John

 

[Texasmark1]

Yes it matters. When transporting any distance, you don't want
the tail wheel to roll or contact the ground.....that establishes
the lift limit (max position of the floating adapter toward the
tractor).
MAKE THE ADJUSTMENT CAREFULLY AND PAY ATTENTION TO
THE LOCATION OF THE FRONT OF THE MOWER DECK TO YOUR
PTO SHAFT. IF YOU DON'T THE DECK COULD COME UP TOO FAR
IN THE RAISED (TRANSPORT) POSITION AND YOU WILL BE
LOOKING FOR A NEW PTO SHAFT.

The other position, or minimum lift, floating adapter farthest
from tractor is dependent upon terrain. If flat, no biggie. If
rolling contour and you want the mower to track the contour the
floating adapter must go far enough to the rear to allow the rear
of the mower to drop adequately to follow the contour of the
soil.

One thing for sure. You need to allow for the mower to move
over the terrain when mowing. IF YOU HAVE A RIGID
CONNECTION BETWEEN TRACTOR AND MOWER AND THE
TERRAIN IS SUCH THAT THE REAR OF THE MOWER TRIES TO
COME UP AND CAN'T YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK SOMETHING.

I used the caps above as these things are extremely important.
If you have hills so bad that your floating adapter doesn't have
adequate travel distance, I have removed the braces from the top
link of the mower to the rear of the mower deck and replaced
with a chain. That way the only limiting factor on how far the
rear of the mower can drop is that the front of the mower
doesn't contact the PTO shaft.

The 3rd member brace on the mower that the tractor's 3rd
member connects to has to be able to pivot with respect to the
deck of the mower. I ensure that there is only one bolt on each
side of that brace and use a self locking nut so that I can have it
slightly loose so that when the rear of the deck wants to come
up, making the chain go slack, it can.

HTH,
Mark

 

[Michaels Dad]

Adding chains to limit down travel are a great help especially in changing terrain like I have at my place. Don't know how I did without them.

 

[Texasmark1]

I didn't even know about them till I bought I think a Bush Hog
brand shredder one time and that is what they used. I had fought
the problem earlier on other mowers and never thought about the
process, but yeah verily. It works. The mower I have now has a long
swinging yoke that makes setup and satisfactory usage a piece of
cake for my place.

Mark

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you use the toplink connection as you described you will want to adjust the toplink so that the mower stays level as it is raised. I use a Howse bush hog with the slot for the toplink and it works fine.

 

[Texasmark1]

Everybody has their sweet spot. Mine may or man not be level when I get it adjusted to satisfy the other necessary requirements.

Mark

 

[sotxbill]

yes its a safety thing.. they want the top link fairly tight... and the slack is so if you go over a hill and then the mower goes over next, the tail will will pick the mower up and the groove will allow the mower tilt up in the rear as it goes over. this will keep from trying to pick up the whole rear of tractor or breaking the mower in half trying to pick up the tractor.

as others said.. adjust the top link so that when you pick up the mower abit, it comes up level with the ground.. and

remember that if you pick it up too high, the drive shaft may bind and bend or break.

 

[WhiteStar]

Thanks everyone!