Whats going on with this deck?

[moparado]

Paul,
that lift arm is part of the deck height-stop adjustment located outside the frame which all works perfect as it is now.
The way this lift arm/shaft and the deck lift arm sleeve is designed, there's no way that i can see it'll fit inside the frame. Take a second look at the last pic i posted, the hydraulic ram and its pivot arm is right in that general area. From memory, there no room for it and i believe the tranny would block any linkage to a hitch, then again maybe not. I'll have a second look tomorrow.

The lift arm parts diagram shows the lift arm outside the frame in a downward position same as its now on the tractor. It took a while but i finally found a picture of this model tractor on the internet and that lift arm is in the same downward position. Unfortunately the tractor in that picture had a different deck.

I suppose if i re-installed that thing 180 deg. out and removed the deck lift height-stop cam, that might solve the problem and maybe just maybe the arm is designed to work with the deck stop whether its roll-pinned in either the up or down position.
I'm planning on changing the tranny filter and fluid tomorrow and i'll see if all this is feasible and maybe a pic of that arm/deck-height assembly.

From all indications, you guys are right, it does look like those roll pins have been monkied around with. If i had an installation manual for if i remember correctly a model 383 3-pt. hitch which this tractor takes, that might also be a big clue.

I gotta say, i've rebuilt car and motorcycle engines and manual transmissions but this whole thing has got me puzzled.
Ken

[klejeune]

I took a look at the 3pt and PTO installation instructions to see if I could tell what was up. The 3pt lift arm attaches directly to the hydro lift clevis inside the frame and doesn't have anything to do with the lift piece outside that's interfering with the deck hanger. You got me dude. Like you said, maybe everything is just tweaked out of kilter.

Keith

[moparado]

Keith, holy smokes! A 383 hitch manual!
I've been geussing wrong all along here. Paul was right about the hitch linkage running from the inside albeit not from that lift arm in question.
And both you guys were right about the roll pins.

Just printed out that manual and will look at it in detail.
Then that doesn't leave many more implements that thing could control. Plow blade, tiller or snow blower maybe. Or maybe a lift for another style deck?

This whole thing is gettin mysteriouser and mysteriouser!
Ken

[old-man]

Hello I currently own:
2072 with 60' Deck
1772 with 50" Deck
1872 with 50" Deck
1572 with 60" Deck
1872 with 60" Deck
982 with 50" Deck
And all have the exact same interference. This is the lift attachment for
the 54" snow and dirt blade. If you find a fix I would like to know


None of my tractors are for sale. Robert

[moparado]

old-man,
thank you!
You've just nailed it! Just what was needed a second opinion from another 1872 owner with a 50" deck. As of now others who participated in this thread including myself have an important new piece of the puzzle, my tractor isn't the only one with this problem.
You've just confirmed one of the 'back burner' theories...the deck lift kit IS most likely a bad design after all!

Far as fixing it:
1. pull out the cutting torch and lop off that lift arm! Nah!!
2. cut off the interfering section of the deck lift bar and weld in a U shaped piece to avoid hitting the lift
3. Bend the deck lift bar and relocate the deck latch pin assembly
4. Bend the deck lift bar and weld an extension tube to it in order to reach the deck latch
5. I noticed a thick spacer in the deck lift assembly which pushes the interfering deck lift bar out towards the lift arm. Maybe removing that spacer would provide enough clearance, but mating with the deck latch might still be an issue. This is the area i'm gonna look into first.
Maybe just replacing the stock latch pin with a longer one would work.

At this point i see no easy 5 minute fix but still brain storming - stay tuned!
-Ken

[moparado]

For anyone still interested, the problem is fixed! Caution for you slow dial ups, lots of pictures to follow!
The fix was relatively easy which basically involved moving the entire deck support brackets to the left relative to the deck's main front mounting bracket. The fix required some new hardware namely a 3/8" spacer, new longer 3/8" bolt with sleeve and a new left lift linkage to compensate for the deck shift and also to somewhat keep the deck to the left.

First, i took some rough measurements and fabricated the new left linkage for the left lift arm. I used 1/4" X 1" mild steel bar stock.



The new linkage blasted and ready for painting.



The new linkage has roughly 1/2" more reach to the left compared to the original lift linkage.



The parts for the 'Fix Kit' includes the new linkage, a longer bolt with a sleeve and a 3/8" thick spacer.



The new lift linkage installed and ready for testing.



An overview of the main front deck mounting bracket and the deck support brackets shifted to the left by the spacer pointed out by the red arrow. Since the deck support bracket was designed to fit between the main front mounting bracket, no spacer was required for the left side.



A closeup of the spacer.



The final result. The picture doesn't show it clearly but there's about a good 1/8" clearance between that right lift arm and the deck support bracket. There was enough slop in that right lift linkage where no modifications there were necessary.


I mowed for a while making tight left 'n right turns to test the fix. It worked perfectly giving the right side of the deck another inch or so of lift. Finally after 8 years of owning this tractor, when the deck is raised its not lop-sided anymore!
-Ken