ford 501 mower

I had to replace all of the guards, cutter, & adjustment plates to get mine into decent shape (read I didn't know what I was doing when I bought it).

You can make a pitman arm if yours is rotten or cracked. Just get the length right so the action is timed right.

I use mine behind a 960 ford tractor.
Mike Sa

I have a Ford 501 that I use on my Ford 2000 tractor. I am not in the habit of using foul language, but the closest I've come in the past few years was when I began using the 501. I had a terrible time mounting and dis-mounting it. The performance stunk, and I dreaded ever time I had to use it.

Fortunately, I had a users manual, and I had advice from guys on this forum. After replacing the ledger plates, adjusting the bar clips, adjusting the stone guards, and setting the bar angle, the machine is a dream. I finally figured out the system for mounting and dis-mounting it and can now do either in about 5 minutes.

The mower still clogs occasionally, and it still misses some grass occasionally, but it does a very good job overall and it was really cheap. I cut about 20 acres of hay twice a year, and I wouldn't even consider replacing it with anything else.

Good luck,

Tom in TN

Unfortunatley, I do not have access to a reliable FAX machine, however, if you send me your mailing address, I'll gladly copy the book and send you a copied version of it.

Here's the step-by-step process I go through to mount my mower:

1. back the tractor up to within about 6 inches of where it needs to be to attach the lift arms on the tractor to the attachment points on the mower

2. attach the mower's PTO shaft to the tractor's PTO

3. back the tractor the rest of the way back so that the lift arms can be attached to the mower

4. attach the lift arms to the mower

5. attach the stabilizing arms on the mower to the lift arms on the tractor by forcing them into position and then tightening the attaching clamp bolts to hold them into place

6. lift the mower and then use a screw jack to lift the back of the mower a little bit higher so that you can attach the top link on the mower to the top link attaching point on the tractor - be sure that the big hairy spring is not yet attached to the top link

7. with the mower still raised, attach the big hairy spring to the top link using the pin and clip that go through the spring and top link

8. remove the screw jack that is holding the back end of the mower up and you're on your way

All of this is predicated on the fact that the main part of the mower is resting on a cement block and that the bottom of the sickle bar is resting on a surface that is about 3 inches lower than the surface that the mower is resting on. If you don't have it sitting on a stable block that is approximately level, you'll never get the lift arms attached and the mower will have a tendency to fall over either backwards or toward the sickle bar.

So, maybe you've had better luck than I did when I started mounting it, but I have had the machine tip over, fall backwards, and generally been uncooperative with trying to get attaching points lined up.

Good luck, and send me your mailing address if you'd like a copy of the book. It will take a couple of days to get it copied and mailed, but I'll be glad to do it.

Tom in TN

To rehook, back up, attach the lowest lower arm (the left one), raise the 3pt slightly, attach the other lower arm. My 960 has inner stablizer arms, so none are used on the mower itself.

Raise the 3pt slightly again until the upper arm (without that spring attached) aligns & attach to tractor upper mount.

Attach pto.

Raise 3pt all the way up, pin that big spring into it's slots & hole on the upper arm.

Lower the mower, clamp on the lift bracket on the left arm.

Good to go. Takes about as long to do as to type. No jack needed, mower will tug around fairly easy for minor adjustments. Be careful of course, things can move & flip & hurt you...

--->Paul

--->Paul

Otherwise, they don't like short fine grass, or wet grass, and you can't cut what's already cut - it will plug & drag.

Sharp sickle with bottom serated sections (new from any of the farm supply outlets for $75 or so) and new ledger plates (or guards) will make a lousy mower a good one again.

--->Paul