Front Blade Lift Rod Ideas

[stevenj]

I know how you all like pictures to look at so here goes. I thought that I’d share some pictures of lift rod improvement ideas that I’ve incorporated into my tractors. Here is a photo of the end of the lift rod on the tractor side from my B-210 that got me started on thinking how to make some improvements. The end was heavily grooved and the hole in the lift arm was a little oval also.

I ended up making a new lift rod and using a 1/2” clevis. This worked pretty well although I needed to use washers to “shim” the clevis away from the tractor so the end of the clevis pin would not rub on the side panel. Because the clevis pin is 1/2” and the hole in the lift arm is 9/16” (and gets bigger with wear), there was still quite a bit of lash when moving the manual implement lift arm forward to apply down pressure to the front blade.

When I mounted the blade on the 17 GTH-L I decided that I needed to improve on the clevis design. I thought that I could use a rod end heim bearing. I checked one of the local bearing distributors and they wanted about $20 each. I found a 1/2” rod end bearing in a Simplicity Attachments Parts Manual, P/N 1676697 which was superceded by P/N 1702779, which runs about $11.04. I used a straight length of 1/2” HR rod and added a short offset to clear the engine so the lift rod did not contact the cooling shrouds. I had to add a 1/2” lockwasher between the rod end and the lift arm to prevent the body of the rod end from hitting the lift arm and this also gave me a little more angular articulation.

One thing to remember when fabricating new lift rods is to check the articulation and make sure the rod doesn’t hit anything. I installed the front hitch only and connected the lift rod to the hitch and the lift arm. Then I jacked up the front of the tractor frame so the front axle could pivot up and down. Then I made sure that the lift rod did not contact anything when the axle was pivoted from metal to metal in the up position to metal to metal in the down position. I repeated this articulation with the lift rod arm in both the full up and full down position. If you do this you don’t have to worry about the lift rod contacting the tractor when in use. One other item to make note of is to check and make sure you can turn the tires lock to lock without having the tire hit the lift rod or the spring on the lift rod used to apply down pressure to the blade. After this was completed I ran across a 1/2” tie rod end on E-bay so I purchased it to give it a try. These looked like I might be able to use a straight rod without having to bend an offset into the rod to clear the engine. These tie rod ends offer much more angular misalignment than a rod end heim bearing. The first picture shows the tie rod end attached to the rod. The second picture is of the rod with the tie rod end placed on top of the offset rod with the rod end bearing. The next couple of pictures show the rod in the installed position. I've added a couple of 1/2" flat washers between the lift rod and the shoulder of the stud to make sure that the end of the stud did not hit the tractor frame. I'll probably eliminate the washers and cut down the length of the stud when I finally try this design. Of course I'll have to check and make sure that the rod does not hit the engine shrouds.

Right now I'm still using the offset rod with the heim rod end bearing so I don't have any experience with the tie rod end design, but based on the load ratings of the tie rod ends, there should not be any problems. Next on the list of things to try is a slightly taller lift rod arm. I plan on using a piece of 1/2 thick steel and extend the lift arm, but also move the attachment point forward so it doesn't move back towards my right foot as much. I think I'll be able to still use the heim rod end bearing and eliminate the offset in the lift rod without having the rod hit the engine shrouds. When I get that done I'll update the post.

[D-17_Dave]

Looks like some pretty neat and clean work. My only concern would be the tie rod end not takeing the shock load from something like the blade. But of course the spring loaded lift arm would help. It all looks real good. Some good advise on checking for proper alignment and full articulation. Looks like a candidate for the techs and tips room.

[stevenj]

quote:

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Originally posted by D-17_Dave
My only concern would be the tie rod end not takeing the shock load from something like the blade. But of course the spring loaded lift arm would help.

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The rated max tensile and shear load is 3390 lbs and the force to remove ball stud is 2700 lbs.

[clyde]

Nice work, and perfect timing as I have to repair a lift rod. Now I have a couple of new ideas! Nice looking tractors too, by the way.

[Ronald Hribar]

Nice job, especially interested as I have the 17 GTH-L also. For applications where downforce is not required, I found cable works well also. I remade lift levers, extended them for higher lift. Put one on each side of tractor with enough offset to clear motor. So I could use straight rod and clevis arrangement as your original idea.

[comet66]

Some more nice work, and good ideas to file away for future reference. I wish I could keep my tractors that clean and nice looking. Thanks for sharing this info.!!

[TomMaryland]

Looks like nice work! As Dave mentioned, I would also wonder about shock or impact loading on the pieces. If they hold up, there's another fine example of $10 well spent!

[HubbardRA]

Very nice job! Looks a lot better than the lift rod that I made from flat bar. Mine works but is not as clean looking.

[Chris727]

That 17GTH-L looks like its still a new tractor! Very clean.