Bent Top Link

[19thSF]

In the woods making a new trail. Had the front bucket and a rear blade attached. Backing up, sudden stop.............didn't think too much about it until I was was taking off the rear blade, and there it was, a bent top link.
My question is the threaded ends. You would think that they would unscrew all the way out, and you could just replace the end. You would think..............................but they don't. They come to a stop before they come out. I can't see how they made the assembly to do that. Lastly, what are the two small screws for? There is a grease fitting in the middle, the stop nut fixes the adjustment position. I don't see what they do.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[BigG]

Go to Tractor Supply, Rural King, farm store, or dealer to find a replacement top link. They are not expensive. If you have not bent one before you are lucky. Often you will need to touch the edge of the hole were the pin goes with a grinder to fit it on the tractor.

 

[Fordtech86]

My guess is pull the screw and the zerk out and spin the end in or out and there is likely a roll pin you would drive out to remove the end.

I did not look up to see if you could get just the end from kubota though. BigG suggestion would be the quick fix.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

never seen one 'screwed' like that...
Remove the philips headed screw, see what happens then ?? I've straightened out a couple in vice and length of pipe as a 'helper'.

 

[Roadworthy]

I'd try to straighten the threaded part. It's not a critical component and if you blow it new top links are pretty common. Check the length, they come in different lengths.

 

[UpNorthMI]

If you have rear hydraulics could be time for a hydraulic top link, great excuse for another investment, otherwise time for a new one at tractor supply. At least it did not damage anything else, so it is a happy accident.

 

[19thSF]

I did a little more research on this. The L2501 parts list shows the Top Link with the springs and pin, and the ends have separate part numbers for the right and left thread. It also has the same screws in access holes.
If there is a pin, I couldn't see it as I screwed the end in and out. I still don't understand how to do this disassembly. It seems like you would need to push the pin in a a point beyond the access hole. I can see where screwing the end IN would be easy in would be easy. When you are at the pin push it in and keep screwing in the part. When it clears, the spring would push the pin out. This is just a guess, and I guess that I will buy a replacement (cheap enough), but I really like to know how things work, and not being able to figure it out bothers me. Maybe the answer is just this simple..................................you can't take it apart. Kubota wants you to buy the complete assembly.

 

[GeoHorn]

Perhaps the screw is actually to facilitate an assembly... not disassembly. If the rod-end is scewed into the tube and a pin is inserted into the rod-end threaded portion via the screw-hole...then the screw-hole is filled with the screw...?? (The pin being intended to prevent accidentally extending the top-link too-far and thereby weakening it.?)

 

[MPM1979]

In the woods making a new trail. Had the front bucket and a rear blade attached. Backing up, sudden stop.............didn't think too much about it until I was was taking off the rear blade, and there it was, a bent top link.
My question is the threaded ends. You would think that they would unscrew all the way out, and you could just replace the end. You would think..............................but they don't. They come to a stop before they come out. I can't see how they made the assembly to do that. Lastly, what are the two small screws for? There is a grease fitting in the middle, the stop nut fixes the adjustment position. I don't see what they do.

Anyone have any experience with this? View attachment 51193

Bent mine as well. In case you don't know if you raise the rear blade all the way with the ROPS down the top link will hit the ROPS and bend in the middle. For replacement there are less expensive links at places like Tractor supply, but as others stated length can be an issue and a grinder might be necessary to get the threaded end to fit. Kubota seems to use a narrower set up. I elected to not go through the effort in matching lengths and needing to get the grinder out, lol. While expensive I dropped the $100 on a Kubota replacement. Good luck

 

[bcp]

I accidentally left a quick hitch top link adapter in place and bent one just like that when lifting. I simply turned the end 180 degrees, reattached it, and lifted again, carefully, and stopped when it was straight.

Bruce

 

[Russell King]

Here is how I got mine apart on my older L185.

There is a hole through the tube, probably why you have a screw on in yours.

There is a roll pin driven through the threaded rod. You get the pin aligned with the hole and drive the roll pin out through the opposite side. Grab the roll pin and pull it out of the threaded rod.

Unscrew the rod and replace it. Install a new pin and you are done.

If you don’t have a through hole then I don’t think you can drive the roll pin out but I imagine they still have something involved so you can’t unscrew the upper link completely under a load.

 

[Lil Foot]

I straightened one for one of my bosses years ago, don't remember the brand. The threaded portion would not screw all the way out as you describe. Turns out there was a large zerk in the middle of the tube. (1/8" pipe?) When I removed the zerk & screwed both ends all the way in, there was a spot where they had staked the end threads on both threaded parts. A little cleanup with a dremel and they came right out.

 

[Magicman]

Sometime it's not the threaded end that bends.

But even that is repairable.

 

[SidecarFlip]

25 years of hooking and unhooking implements of various kinds and I've never bent one..... Fingers crossed.

 

[19thSF]

Happy Thanksgiving Geohorn, and everyone else that replied .

I thought about the access hole being used during assembly to insert the pin, but it would seem that as you screw the end out, the pin would be able to come out of the same hole it went in. I must admit that I like the challenge of solving a mechanical mystery, although I just wish that I didn't break stuff to provide the challenge!

I am going to use q-tips to clean out the grease and really try to find the pin and spring. If I figure this out, I will post an answer.

By the way, this guy asked me to invite him to dinner. Sure, you can be there! Turkeys are so dumb ................................!!

View attachment 51253

 

[Magicman]

Mine will screw out but of course they are not OEM Kubota.

You could "practice" with the unbent end to try to determine what needs to be done. After that you could straighten out the other end in a press. Heck, maybe you can heat and straighten it and not need to do anything else but that would not be my luck because I suspect that the threads will be deformed enough to prevent smooth operation.

 

[Lil Foot]

I would be reluctant to heat it in place unless you can get it really clean, otherwise the oil/grease would bake on, making it difficult to turn. The thread will probably have to be re-chased in any event after straightening anyway.

 

[Magicman]

I said to use a press in the previous sentence did not mean to imply to heat in in place. I would not attempt any straightening without using heat and a press to control the bending/straightening.

 

[B737]

Bent mine as well. In case you don't know if you raise the rear blade all the way with the ROPS down the top link will hit the ROPS and bend in the middle.

My machine was delivered from the dealer with a bent top link. I pointed this out and they replaced it. But I was scratching my head, how on earth they managed to do this. Now it makes sense because the machine was delivered with a box blade and the rops fully folded. I've seen some ROPs with 'stand offs" on the rear facing edge to prevent the rops from coming fully down, makes sense now.

 

[whitetiger]

I thought about the access hole being used during assembly to insert the pin, but it would seem that as you screw the end out, the pin would be able to come out of the same hole it went in. I must admit that I like the challenge of solving a mechanical mystery, although I just wish that I didn't break stuff to provide the challenge!

They are assembled using one of two methods,

(1) A short roll or spring pin is placed in a cross-drilled hole, the shaft screwed in. Then, through the hole, it is partly driven out of place. To remove this style, you simply drive the roll pin back into the shaft just below the threads.

(2) The shaft is screwed into the tube and a roll or spring pin is installed into a cross-drilled hole through the shaft. To remove this style, you have to drill another hole opposite the existing one to remove the pin.