|
Speaking as a fellow-newbie, I think you'll figure out a way to hook it up. What you won't expect, however, is the flywheel effect of the mower's blade. It is connected by gears directly to the tractor's drive wheels and get this: your clutch and brake will not stop you until the mower quits turning. This can produce embarrassing and even dangerous situations ranging from stopping halfway through the garage door to driving off a cliff. The device called "over-running connector" will not mean much to you at this stage. What it is, though, is a built-in ratchet on the power take-off shaft which lets the blade on the mower turn without propelling the rest of the tractor along with it. You owe it to your family to add one of these before you go any further with your experiment. The part you are asking about is called a top link. It is an adjustable, threaded bar with eye-type ends held by large pins to the upper link on the tractor and to the frame above the bush hog, most likely tethered by a chain to the back of the mower. Watch this A frame. If it pivots it will like to fall forward and hit you on the knee while you are hitching up the rest of it. Also, avoid the temptation to put a length of chain in place of the top link until you get set up. A bush hog is basically a large flywheel with cutters, and if it hits a concealed boulder and goes airborne, guess whose head and shoulders it hits if the top link doesn't stop it? You can't push on a chain. On the frame of the mower, the two pins about two feet apart, sticking out horizontally, fit into the two eyes on the moveable part of the three point hitch on the tractor. Little pins on rings called lynch pins keep them from falling off again. They are available at the same place you got the over-running connector. The power take-off shaft runs from the gearbox of the mower to the back of the tractor. The end on the tractor might have a cover to protect the operator. Hooking up a pto shaft is a black art perfected only by veteran farmers. Be patient and lubricate, as necessary. It should click on securely, but don't forget to put the over-running connector on before you forget about it. An old gray tractor with a bush hog is an inexpensive and very useful piece of equipment, but it is much scarier to operate than the same implement on a slightly more modern tractor with lower gears and live p.t.o. My 1960 Massey Ferguson 35 goes into battle at 1 mph in low gear at pto speed. The 1951 Ferguson TEA20 (like your N) it replaced clocked almost 6 mph in the same situation. Scary fast in tall weeds. Another thing to watch for is dust and weed seeds accumulating in the radiator of the tractor. Wash it out with a hose periodically. You should be able to see through the vanes on the radiator. Overheating is not good. Mow early and often. Best wishes. Rod
| 
