Guest Posted January 2, 2000 Share Posted January 2, 2000 Need to know what goes from lift handle to lift hitch. Just picked up rear tiller and hitch but no way to lift it. It is a sov. 7018 . Any imfo would be apprieciated. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted January 2, 2000 Share Posted January 2, 2000 A new lift kit from a dealer is $195. If you have the rear "one point reciever" then all you need is some aircraft cable(of the right length) with clevis' and pins on each end, which should be available from any hardware store. They used rods on the older models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 3, 2000 Share Posted January 3, 2000 Does anyone know why they switched from a rod to the cable. The rod was nice for forcing the tiller down into the ground when the ground is dry and hard (as in red clay which is like concrete when dry)? Thanks, Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tej Posted January 4, 2000 Share Posted January 4, 2000 Roy, Putting down force on the tiller will take weight off the back wheels of the tractor and since the tiller is turning much faster than the rear wheels and has a much better bite in the ground you can find yourself taking a very high speed ride across your yard. I know from first hand experience and a flattened garden fence. I now only use the tiller with the hydraulic lift in the float position. I have heavy clay and the tiller will dig it's self down with no added down presure. I think Simplicity switched to the cable for this reason. Take this as a warning to anyone with a lift rod on their tiller, do not put down force on the tiller. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 4, 2000 Share Posted January 4, 2000 Tim, I've been using down force on my tiller for years with no problem. But I also use the holes in the lift lever sector to limit the tiller depth (another option I miss on my new tractor). Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2000 Share Posted January 5, 2000 Roy, You've had better luck than I with forcing the tiller down. Here in PA where we have nothing but rocks and clay if I have the tiller locked down and not in float it will climb up when it hits a rock and I'm off to the drag races. Sounds like you had manual lift on your old tractor. I tried limiting the depth with the hydraulics but found that the tiller would dig it's self down in the float position. However the old B-12 is way to fast for tilling so I have to inch it ahead with the clutch. I have the optional larger transaxle pulley to slow the tractor down but I have not yet succeeded in getting the original off. I still think that Simplicity changed to the cable for safety to avoid the drag race scenario. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2000 Share Posted January 5, 2000 Tim, Maybe I'm getting to old to accept change. The change from a rod to a cable probably was for safety but it removed any possibility of using the lift lever to force the tiller down into the soil. Simplicity also changed other things that make no sense to me. For example, they went from the center PTO on the bottom with a short mower drive belt to the PTO straight off the bevel gearbox and idler pulleys with a long drive belt. I think the old B-1 method worked better. I also like the B-1 foot rests better than the newer floorboards. I could stand and stradle the B-1 which is impossible with the newer tractors. But, who am I to impede progress (?). ;-) Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Posted January 6, 2000 Share Posted January 6, 2000 I love my old B-112, it will be the last tractor that I ever part with, but I am becoming a hydro convert, esp. for tilling, much easier to control speed. I dont like the hydraulic lift for tilling though, it works too fast and everytime I step on the clutch I lose lift power, I much prefer the electric lift even though it is slower. I cant see any operational difference tilling with the rod on the B-112 or the cable on the 918. Simplicity puts plenty of iron in their equipment and therefore enough weight to dig right in. And I am not tilling the good Illinois black dirt either, but the old dirt and rocks that the glacier left on top of the knob. Oddly, I dont like to mow with the hydro, I guess I am afraid of going too fast and not getting an even cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tej Posted January 6, 2000 Share Posted January 6, 2000 Roy, Well I don't know if all the changes are progress. I still have my old B12 and B112 and have no plans to trade them in on newer models. I like the old ones best. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted January 9, 2000 Share Posted January 9, 2000 The reason they changed from a rod to a cable in 1971 was because they no longer offered a hydraulic lift with a "float" position. The manual lift prior to 1970 also "floated". In 1971 they went with the electric lift and the manual with the "notches" on the quandant. You no longer had a "floating" lift system. From then on the deck lift and rear hitch are cable and the front attachements had a spring slide. This is when the deck lift reversed (pulled back) to raise. The latest hydraulic lift Sovereign do not have a float position. MS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 10, 2000 Share Posted January 10, 2000 MS, Was there a reason the hydraulic "float" position was eliminated? It sounds like the new models offer fewer and fewer of the features that made the older models so desirable. Thanks, Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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