L185 3-point hitch question

[ventiman]

Well I just ended up getting new Agmate em4 finish mower 48" cut
( I use to have a Caroni)
Have discovered I cant lift it very high maybe a foot off the ground. Before the front deck wheels bang in to my rear ag tires.

DO I need to get longer lower links? As well as probley a top link.
Are there longer links for the L185 ?
Or do I just have to be careful and not raise it much at all and just keep it as is?

 

[Daren Todd]

Well I just ended up getting new Agmate em4 finish mower 48" cut
( I use to have a Caroni)
Have discovered I cant lift it very high maybe a foot off the ground. Before the front deck wheels bang in to my rear ag tires.

DO I need to get longer lower links? As well as probley a top link.
Are there longer links for the L185 ?
Or do I just have to be careful and not raise it much at all and just keep it as is?

Not sure about the 3ph, but am interested in how the mower works. Been looking into ordering one for my tractor. Can you post back your good and bads with how your mower works i would really appreciate it

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Three fixes:
Replace the tires with turf tires.
Rework the front float arms to miss the tires.
Add a quick hitch that will move the implement back enough to miss the tires.

 

[Tooljunkie]

From what i see in the picture, the two links that connect to the lift arms could be replaced with longer ones.looks like the easiest thing to try.
Just my .02 cents worth.

 

[hodge]

Replacing the lift arms with longer ones will reduce your lift capacity. To answer your question, you can purchase longer lift arms- Weaver's Compact Tractor Parts is a good example of where to find them.
In my humble opinion, the problem is the design of the mower. The two frames for the float tires are too long- they could stand to be located closer to the body of the mower.
The simplest solution, as suggested, would be to make (either yourself or someone who can) longer lower links on the mower frame. You should be able to compensate by lengthening the top link or getting a longer one. You also need to look at the pto shaft- is there enough extension to allow the mower to move back?

 

[gpreuss]

When I upgraded from my L185 to the newer L3200 I was surprised to find that the lower arms were about 4" longer than on the L185. I had to get a 4" PTO extension to make my tiller fit. The L3200's R4 tires were about the same diameter as the L185's R1s.
So, I'd get longer arms if I were you. I used to have a problem with my brush hog catching the tires if the top link was too long with the L185, as well. Probably that mower would fit one of the new L's without issues.

 

[ventiman]

Long time for a follow up. I ended up not adjusting anything and just learn not to lift the mower deck real high and that did fine. But your answer a question if someone ask about the agmate mower deck if you get what you pay for. I had an issue last year of my blades getting loose and then the spindles or should I say the threads on the spindle would strip. Least two of the spindles or pains in the butt last year. Granted new spindles Don't cost that much. But I'm somewhat pressed for time most weeks and can't play a mechanic every time I want to mow. This year I went back to caroni. I never ever had any mechanical issues with my first caroni. So I'm back to a caroni again.

 

[ventiman]

Three fixes:
Replace the tires with turf tires.
Rework the front float arms to miss the tires.
Add a quick hitch that will move the implement back enough to miss the tires.

Long time to reply. Nope on turf parts of my big back yard borderline rice field. Those current tires do what thier meant for. Otherwise I would have had to have the neighbor pull me out often.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Well I just ended up getting new Agmate em4 finish mower 48" cut
( I use to have a Caroni)
Have discovered I cant lift it very high maybe a foot off the ground. Before the front deck wheels bang in to my rear ag tires.

DO I need to get longer lower links? As well as probley a top link.
Are there longer links for the L185 ?
Or do I just have to be careful and not raise it much at all and just keep it as is?

Shorten the top link.

Dan