How do I hook up a shredder

[bdoss]

This is an absolute NEWBY question- be gentle with me...

I purchased a Ford 8N with a shredder- The hydraulics are not good enough to use as a leveler- They will lift fine but won't hold position- so I have chains to set the level..

I want to be safe with the tractor and hope I'm stating the questions right.

Two question sections (for now)

1: do I use the top link to take the weight off the wheel or do I let the weight of the shredder ride on the wheel? How much adjustment should be given to the top link?

2: I'm having a devil of a time leveling the shredder- one chain link makes about 2 inches difference in the height and I can't get both sides even- I have a crank on the right bottom link and I can adjust it only so far- It helps but doesn't get the shredder straight- Either the right side ( facing front sitting in the seat ) is too high or there is no weight on the left chain and the left side is too high(?)... The left bottom link was busted and been rewelded so it is shorter then the right.
Does anyone have any advice, documents, or sites that would help me? I can get it adjusted where I can use it but it is too low- I want to bring it up about an inch.

 

[Mark777]

The way I set mine is by relaxing all the hydraulics and the top link pressure. I level the shredder…less about 5° lower in the front. Then I attach the top link and rock shaft lift arms and drive shaft. I don’t use the chain system when I use the top link.

I’ve blown up your picture and the lower lift arm pins seem unusually high…as though someone has repositioned them. (It could be my imagination but if not, that can be problematic when setting up the mower). I don’t have a Ford N model and maybe someone else, hopefully, can give you (us) a better explanation.

Mark

 

[bdoss]

Thanks Mark.

I had to remove the shredder and didn't pay close attention to how it was originally hooked up (unhooked it in the rain). I thought I hooked it back the way it was but I'm called "the dyslexic" by my wife

If I don't use the chains the mower drops all the way to the ground (front drags). I've got the top link taking most of the pressure off the wheel and the chains taking all the weight of the front of the mower.

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Mark777]

You know…I’ve never had the pleasure to own a Ford N tractor like yours, and so, some things look kind of strange to me. I mean the way it’s set up - and it could be the proper way or acceptable as everyone does it slightly different. For instance and certainly my humble opinion:

The hydraulic lift arms on the rock shaft look like they are nearly fully upright (?) or close to it and I think they should be much lower, or almost all the way down. Then, when you engage your draft control, you can feather the draft much easier while mowing different terrain….If that’s the case…the link rods (like the one with the large weld on it) seem to be too long and may negate the full use of the hydraulic lift of the rock shaft (In the second picture)

My lift link arms are closer to 90° with my shredder front fully resting on the ground…yours are near 45° with your shredder front lifted off the ground. I think I’m asking ’if’ you link rods were shorter and your rock shaft arms were fully rested (all the way down) wouldn’t your lift, control and height be improved on the front of the shredder??

(In the first picture)
The shredder is sitting on uneven ground and the tail wheel is slightly lower - sitting in a ditch - So, I’m having a difficult time understanding your set up. And of course, I could be completely full of crap .

 

[bdoss]

Thanks- These tractors don't have draft control- I'm thinking about getting a ZANGTHANG but that may be down the line. The lift rods are original to the tractor. These are simple 3 forward 1 reverse trans and up or down hydrolics....

The wheel is in a ditch ( about 4 inches) low. but the front of the mower is on level ground. We got lots of rain Thursday and Friday and are expecting more tonight so it may be a week or more before I can move-- Once I can, I'm going to move to the driveway and do like you suggested- drop everything - release pressure everywhere- then hook up again to see where everything starts getting pressure..

The previous owner said he used the chain system to keep the mower level and he didn't have any issues- He's willing to come look at it but it may be a while before he's in this part of the state.

Thanks again

Here is the chain system I use -

 

[Mith]

That looks OK to me. You might have to get a new bit of chain, or some longer adjusters to get it to hang level. If you put one on each side you could adjust the hieght of the front of the mower and the side to side level.

I always used mine with the tail wheels on the ground. The toplink is just used to lift it. You'd want the toplink adjusted to the pin is in the middle of the slot on the mower when its sitting level.

 

[PBinWA]

I used chains just like yours on my mower AND I removed the top link. The "safety police" may have a fit over that but it sure worked well. I'm not sure I would do it if I was mowing unknown areas where you could hit something that might cause the rear mower to jump up. But for relatively flat areas of "known" content the extra flex in the top link area allows the mower to follow the contour of the ground and give a good cut.

It looks to me that you have everything hooked up right. You do want to make sure that the extra chain doesn't touch the PTO shaft. It would be ugly if the extra chain somehow got wrapped up in the shaft.

Finally, it is not the safest way to mow. Disconnecting the top link is probably not recommended so do it at your own risk. If you are concerned about safety then leave the top link connected.

 

[PBinWA]

If you can't level the mower side-to-side then something isn't right. Are the chains different sizes? You should have two lengths of identical chain so the adjustments are identical.

Mith's idea is also good.

 

[bdoss]

I think I've found the problem

I changed the configuration on the chains to have them outside the bottom link and stabilizer bars as in the drawing above- That didn't make a difference (pic 1 is the way I had the - pic 2 is the way they are now).
I moved the mower up to get the back wheel out of the ditch - dropped everything (on bricks so I knew the deck was level side to side- hooked everything back up and got the deck as level as I could.


I think the two bottom links are my problem-- You'll notice (pic3) that the right side is lower than the left and I've ratcheted it up as high as I could- If I adjust the side so the chain is taking all the weight then it's higher than the left... I can live with this for a while until I can get new links..


Mith-thanks for the info on the top link- I totally misunderstood it's use- I had it taking all the weight with the deck down.... I may try the adjusters as an interim fix to the links...


PBinWa- Found out about the extra chain the first day-- wacked off the grease zert from my overrun pto.. I keep the excess clamped on top the top link now... My land is fairly flat but the neighbor (who I knows I have a shredder now . Has 2- 3 foot holes everywhere (Darn teenagers and their mud trucks) so I'd better keep the top link for a while...

Many thanks and if there's any thing else you guys can think of ( or anyone else) I appreciate it...

 

[bdoss]

Was scrolling youtube and found a video of my exact hookup on a 9N
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brgSMSxQKws