Farmalls with Loader Break at Split Location

It is not just the IH tractors that break. Talk to anyone who has raised alfalfa hay and they'll tell you that all tractors, loaded heavy enough, will break in two.

There was a fella talking here about a month ago, who said he had a 4020 John Deere split right up the middle of the engine block and the old heifer laid down on the ground. A 4020 is a fair sized tractor.

And it is not just the weight. When put into service, a loader tractor is always trying to "twist" across it's midline every time one of the wheels hits a high/low spot in the ground.

So anyway, the idea is to move the stress of this added weight and twist to a linear 'for and aft' form "under" the tractor instead of making the chassis take the heat. Kind of a "sub-frame" like Hugh says.

Something is needed that will tie the front of the tractor to the rear and eliminate the weakest link in the chain, the tractor's midsection.

Here's a picture of a tractor out of the hay fields of South Dakota.

Allan

I remember going to a local welding shop once with broken cast portion of Farmall 300 front wheel. This was quite amusing as our local welding shop guy was an alcoholic. I had the misfortune of getting him on a 40 ounce day. He said," running with rim loose on hub, no man alive tough enough to stay on a Farmall long enough to break that hub if wheel is tight." I must admit he was right. The cast wheel was broke rght through one spoke and right into bearing journal.

That welder was drunk when I left the wheel, he was still drunk two days later when I went back for it. In fact he was sitting on the same 5 gallon pail. That would have been 45- 47 years ago and last time I saw the 300 the wheel was still going. He must have sobered up for the welding, but I'm not sure.

I would love to have a loader on my 230. Even an old trip bucket would be lovely.

Seems to me that there are flat areas to bolt things on to all up and down the sides of the tractor. A fella could bolt a piece of 4" channel iron from the front of the tractor down along the sides running all the way to the rear wheels on both sides, and that would keep the tractor together. This would serve as a sub frame for attaching a loader.

What is wrong with that?

Randy in Pa

In all the years(50+)we only upset one loader tractor and that was due to a bolt that broke. Nobody got hurt.

It seems the loaders do twist alot and afterwhile,for whatever reason the F-10"s seem to hang to the left.

Ya"ll be careful out there. steveandmary