Bern
Well-known Member
- Location
- Mount Vernon, WA
A few months ago I asked how many fellow 6000 owners had stuck 3-point lift linkage. I discovered that I was not alone. Mine was stuck so bad that it would take a decent size loader bucket to force the arms down. Hooking up a rotary cutter and doing some mowing while raising and lowering it a few dozen times did nothing to free it up.
I set out to fix my problem. A 10-ton porta-power was helpless in pushing the shaft out. I could have used a bigger bottle jack and some wood blocks I suppose, but I thought of a better plan. With the porta-power maxed out on pressure, I used the loader bucket to raise the arms a few inches at a time. Each time I did that the shaft moved, barely at first but then maybe 1/8 inch or so at a time. It was a slow go because I was by myself, but after about a dozen back-and-forths between the loader bucket and the porta-power, I knew that I was home free.
As you can see, the bushings and shaft surfaces were nasty, but cleaned up very nicely with a wire wheel on the shaft and a hone for the bushings. It's as if the 50-year old grease turned into a gummy glue that would not let go. Throw in a little water and some rusting action, along with sitting outside for a dozen years and you have some seriously stuck parts.
I added some grease zerks to the lift cover so this does not happen again. The factory set-up used felt seals around the OD of the bushing that was to be soaked in oil, but neither it nor the owners manual spoke to putting oil in the drilled plugs in the lift cover, which I'm sure most owners don't do.
Imagine driving a nail half-way into a piece of wood before you decide it needs to come back out. You can grab the nail with a vice-grips and pull, but it probably won't budge. Pull and twist at the same time and you'll likely have success.
I set out to fix my problem. A 10-ton porta-power was helpless in pushing the shaft out. I could have used a bigger bottle jack and some wood blocks I suppose, but I thought of a better plan. With the porta-power maxed out on pressure, I used the loader bucket to raise the arms a few inches at a time. Each time I did that the shaft moved, barely at first but then maybe 1/8 inch or so at a time. It was a slow go because I was by myself, but after about a dozen back-and-forths between the loader bucket and the porta-power, I knew that I was home free.
As you can see, the bushings and shaft surfaces were nasty, but cleaned up very nicely with a wire wheel on the shaft and a hone for the bushings. It's as if the 50-year old grease turned into a gummy glue that would not let go. Throw in a little water and some rusting action, along with sitting outside for a dozen years and you have some seriously stuck parts.
I added some grease zerks to the lift cover so this does not happen again. The factory set-up used felt seals around the OD of the bushing that was to be soaked in oil, but neither it nor the owners manual spoke to putting oil in the drilled plugs in the lift cover, which I'm sure most owners don't do.
Imagine driving a nail half-way into a piece of wood before you decide it needs to come back out. You can grab the nail with a vice-grips and pull, but it probably won't budge. Pull and twist at the same time and you'll likely have success.