JD 350 sickle mower on a Kubota B7610

cityboy · Aug 12, 2014

Hello. Im Don. Few months back, bought our first tractor. A used Kubota B7610 with a front loader, woods finish mower, and tiller. All have been working very well. Wife is wanting animals, we have a 2+ acre field out back, looking to do some hay. To that end, I have searched this site for tips, things to look for.

I bought a JD 350 sickle mower for $500. Seller did not have a tractor, so I did not see it run. Sickle bar moves easily. Knives will need to be replaced. Everything looks solid. PTO shaft did not slide, coupler was rust froze.
Both of these items have been corrected.

I get it connected to the tractor 3pt.
3pt does lift it, albeit tilted to bar head side.
I think this might be related to the mower being set to the Wide position.

An issue I've encountered, the kick back bracket is to tall when I use the drawbar. It hits the PTO shaft.
Could I use this drop down trailer hitch:

Your thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks.

GordoSD · Aug 12, 2014

You really need a manual to set that 350 up right. A chain goes under the drawbar, that lifts the mower bar when you raise the 3-t.

cityboy · Aug 12, 2014

(quoted from post at 13:12:55 08/12/14) You really need a manual to set that 350 up right. A chain goes under the drawbar, that lifts the mower bar when you raise the 3-t.

The seller has given me a 2 week guarantee that ends this weekend, to see if it will work on my tractor. Once I can prove that it will work, a manual is a high priority.

Since my original post, I have ran the mower, at idle, in the barn.
Seems quiet but I did not run it very long.

Thank you.

Bob · Aug 12, 2014

I don't know why you are calling it a "kick back bracket", it is simply part of the cutterbar lift mechanism.

2 things... first you need to swing the drawbar to the side so it is NOT directly under the PTO shaft, then you need to set up the lower chain so it holds the mower frame the correct distance above the ground and stops excessive lowering of the 3-point.

THEN you set up the upper chain so the cutterbar lift works correctly as the 3-point rises.

You REALLY need a manual, as it details all these steps.

All that being said, I hope it's not a nine foot mower set in the wide position, because I have one on an IH 424, a tractor twice as big, and that's plenty of mass flopping around behind my bigger tractor.

cityboy · Aug 12, 2014

(quoted from post at 15:05:09 08/12/14)
you need to swing the drawbar to the side so it is NOT directly under the PTO shaft,

Drawbar does not move side to side.
Maybe this mower does not fit on my machine, which is a 2003 or 2004 model year.

Thank you.

GarryinNC · Aug 12, 2014

I think that the B7610 is not enough tractor for that sickle mower. In the Kubota line you would need to be in the L series of tractors for a better match up. I have a 350 mower and use it behind a Kubota M4030. The mass of that cutter bar in the grass and cutting will probably pull your 7610 around to the right. Your tractor weighs about 1,400 pounds and the additional weight of the loader will help some. When mowing with a sickle mower, it will not mow in a turn. You have to square off the turns and raise the bar and back up or raise it and do a 270 degree turn to mow down the next side. That probably did not make very much sense, I know! Some operators on larger tractors lock the brake on the inside wheel to make a fast turn while the cutter bar is still in the crop. I have never had that work very well. I realize that you only have a couple of acres, so you might get by with your combination.

There is a Kubota dealer on here with the handle of jm, you might post a call out to him and see what he thinks. He has a lot of Kubota knowledge. You do have a very nice tractor.

Garry

Roger in Iowa · Aug 12, 2014

Drawbar has to move to the side or it will not work properly!

JB Dyer · Aug 12, 2014

Is this a 9" mower? if it is and a bit too much for your tractor you could cut it off to a 7" mower. I twisted my 9" bar and swapped to a 7" bar many years ago. Where are you located, I have wore out two of those mowers in my youth and still run a New Idea Sickle. Setting one up takes a little time and experience, but when properly set up and sharp, you can put down a lot of hay with a small amount of fuel. Johnny

James Howell · Aug 13, 2014

Take a look at the photos below of <a href="http://youtu.be/k63x3K_3AM4?list=PLCUEeGboEbi9lZeitHoI9GA2HKYB2_Zyg">"Nelson" one of our JD 350 sickle mowers</a>.

When we bought "Nelson", it did not have the drawbar clevis, lift chain, or lift clevis displayed in your photo above.

The drawbar chain is secured to the pivot arm.

The pivot arm is secured to the drawbar.

There is no contact between the PTO shaft and pivot arm at any time during operation.

Either a "sway bar" or "sway chain" will help keep your mower in position.

You might consider setting the height on your mower as displayed in the photos below.

Adjust/raise each 3pt lift arm until you can slide your fingers under the subsole.

With the mower "level", there should be ample inner shoe float.

Hope this helps and good luck with your mower.

cityboy · Aug 14, 2014

Mr Howell.

They say a picture is like 1,000 words.
I can only think of 2.
Thank You!

I found some links, clevis, made my connections similar to yours.
The entire implement lifts off the ground.
In my case, I had to slide the factory draw bar most of the way in, to better align the connections

Next is to get and read the manual.

A hardy handshake, and a tip of the hat to you.
Thanks again,
Don

James Howell · Aug 15, 2014

The operator's manual will be a great help "setting up" your mower.

Just let us know if you need any other help.

JD 350 sickle mower on a Kubota B7610

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