BX2750 snowblower / T-bolt holders on QuickAttach

[rocinante]

I have a BX2750 on a BX24D, front-mounted snowblower on the quick attachment. While working on an 18" snowfall, an odd thing happened - the quick attachment, held by the T-bolts and those funny little quadrilateral-shaped blocks fell off. Literally.

Much grunting and groaning later I managed to get it remounted, wrecking my back in the process (ugh!), but this brought up a question. As one of the retaining blocks was now stripped, I jimmy-rigged a carriage bolt to work and hold the attachment in place. I now have new T-bolts and blocks, but "how" they should be attached seems to be a matter of some debate.....

This is one way - and seems to match the very poor picture in the manual - see attachment.

But I've also seen them mounted with the "long side" directly on the front of the chassis, and with the "short side" that way as well, essentially pinching the chassis to hold it on, instead of riding on the angled portion.

Any thoughts about what is actually correct?

(On my fifth year with this rig -- first year though where I dismounted/attached things myself...)

 

[DustyRusty]

That is how my BX22 Quick Hitch attaches. Mine has 2 rods that go across the bottom of the hitch, and when you tighten the part that you have shown in your picture, it pulls up and cinches the hitch tight. I use a box wrench on the T part of the T handle to make sure that they are snug, and have never had one come loose in approximately 15 years that I have had my snow blower. I have never stripped one of the blocks either. I retighten and check to make sure that everything about the hitch is correct after running the blower for 10 or 15 minutes. It will usually take a half of a turn on one of the T handles.
I would guess that you didn't have it tight enough when you mounted it, and it worked itself loose. Just consider yourself lucky that you didn't damage the driveshaft when it came loose. That is one very expensive part!
The way that you have it mounted now is correct.

 

[sagor]

Dusty is correct, the block as shown in your picture forces the hitch to be "pulled up" as you tighten it, and that forces the two rods on the bottom to tighten up. It is the two rods that really hold the hitch in place, the two blocks on screws are to simply force the rods "tighter" so there is no vibration, etc.
Those angle blocks are not meant to hold the hitch on itself... If your hitch actually fell right off, that means you did not have the two rods installed on the bottom, which take the weight of the attachment.

I've never seen my clamps come loose under regular use.

 

[rocinante]

Thanks to both of you DustyRusty and Sagor.

Yes - both bars were in the hole sockets below although I think one of the cotter pins must have broken as when the QA fell off, the cotter pin (now replaced) was nowhere to be found!

I get the general idea of why they did it that way, but it does seem a bit odd...though it does allow for some "flexing" I guess of the whole unit as it moves around. Would seem a lot easier to just put the pins right through the steel plate at the front of the tractor. (I'm no engineer though so I'm sure there is a reason they didn't do that.)

 

[DustyRusty]

Should have a steel roll pin at one end of the bar, and a steel retainers hair pin at the other, not a cotter pin. Cotter pins are soft iron, and are easily sheared.

 

[rocinante]

Should have a steel roll pin at one end of the bar, and a steel retainers hair pin at the other, not a cotter pin. Cotter pins are soft iron, and are easily sheared.

Just want to make sure I understand the terms...

By hair pin are you referring to the round pins (also quite common on the Kubota) with the thick steel rod?

The one end of the bar definitely has a built-in steel pin as a "stop", with the hole for the retaining pin at the far end.

(A cotter pin to me is the longish kind of pin usually used for holding on a trailer hitch. But that's just me...)

 

[DustyRusty]

1... cotter pins
2...roll pin .. notice the slot in the pin. It is spring steel and is pressed in
3...lynch pin
4...clip pin, sometimes called a hair pin
5...locking pin or hitch pin

I incorrectly referred to it as a "hair" pin, and it should have been called a lynch pin.

 

[rocinante]

1... cotter pins
2...roll pin .. notice the slot in the pin. It is spring steel and is pressed in
3...lynch pin
4...clip pin, sometimes called a hair pin
5...locking pin or hitch pin

I incorrectly referred to it as a "hair" pin, and it should have been called a lynch pin.

Great -- thanks!! I knew there were quite a few types and have a variety of those in use. Guess I just assumed they were all "cotter pins"!! Much appreciated.