L-22 Mower Drag Bar Failure

[Jim Becker]

I was doing some clean-up yesterday with a Lo-Boy and sickle bar mower. I was next to some trees in an area that has a few tree stumps that were left for me by the previous property owner (or maybe an electric company right-of-way crew). They are almost at ground level, barely high enough to catch the cutter bar. I know the location of a couple of them, have dug out a couple others. I try not to hit them. If I do, the tractor usually makes a hard right turn as it comes to a stop.

I got a different result this time. Everything was fine. Then all of a sudden there is a bit of a lurch and a loud BANG. I get it stopped by the time the rear tire caught up with the mower hinge. The hook broke off the front end of the drag bar. Since this mower came to me without a drag bar, I had paired it up with one from a C-22 mower. It was one of the later ones, based on the drag bar support having the long drop. The broken bar was 33-3/4 overall length. I looked to see what I have for a replacement and came up with an early version. It is on a short drop drag bar support and is a half inch shorter at 33-1/4 overall. I think everything will work out with the shorter parts. But I am still curious as to the length of the proper L-22 drag bar. We have discussed these parts before. But I don't think we ever got definitive measurements or did any better than guesses for why the differences.

 

[LeeC]

Jim, you and I actually exchanged PM's on this subject back in 2014. Here are the drag bar lengths (outside to outside) that I discovered by measuring several examples and getting input from some others.
33.25 inch bar (451381R1) w/short drop support (451382R92/451382R93) - (pre-1951 Cub-22's with the asymmetric bracket at the front of the flywheel shaft tube)
33.75 inch bar (453029R1) w/long drop support (451382R94) - later Cub-22's
32.50 inch bar (457192R1) w/long drop support (451382R94) - L-22's
I am currently using a 33.75 inch bar with my L-22. I mounted it before I knew the different bar lengths and never swapped it. It extends pretty far out of the square socket of steering gear housing base because it is longer than an L-22 bar, but works fine. Hope that helps.

 

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for the information. I often lose track of information exchanged via PMs. With my current set-up, my drag bar support also ended up sticking quite far out of the square socket. I will measure how far next time I am under there, before I remove it. I would rather use the longer support but not enough to try to change it to the shorter bar. At least the shorter bar should be a slight improvement.

Maybe my broken one is long enough to make one 32-1/2 long.