Upgraded 401 54" Snow Blade lift bracket?

[1811woody]

After asking what a bracket was for my snow plow and getting an answer that lead me to the parts break down, I noticed the lift bracket wasn't the same on my tractor as on the parts break down so I'm wondering if this is something to P.O. did if so he appears to have done a pretty good job or if this lift bracket is from a different manufacturer? As you can tell by the pictures it has two lift brackets.

[Tom Scott]

Woody - That is not the factory set up. The Haban blade should be lifted by the outer arm of the rockshaft.

A PO somewhere along the way decided to fabricate what you have and he used the mower deck lift arms.

The outer arm is further back than the mower deck lift arms so you will get more usable lift. There is nothing wrong with fabricating something yourself, but he used the wrong lift arms.

The factory Haban lift tube is just a piece of round tubing that is flattened with slots cut for the pin connections at each end. The slots provide a significant amount of extra float in addition to the float in the rockshaft itself. You will never need hydraulic downforce with the Haban for dirt work due to the weight of the blade itself. The extra float is a good thing.

I would suggest making the proper length lift tube and use the outer arm as is intended so you get the proper lift height of the Haban. At the same time I would install the reinforcement bracket that ties the lift arms to the outer arm for additional support of the outer lift arm.

Also, the angle (grass catcher) between your mower deck lift arms is not factory. No harm in having it, but if you don't clean it out occasionally it will hold moisture and start to rust. Paint would be a good thing here.

Also, also, most of your frame screen is gone anyway so you might as well just unbolt that and throw it away. I believe they stopped putting them on later tractors because they really didn't keep any grass out and mostly just kept the dirt in. I went to great lengths to weld the broken pieces of mine back together and threw it in the recycling bin after I realized it was just in the way of maintenance work and didn't help the tractor at all.

[1811woody]

Thanks for the info, I was thinking it was home made. I don't have much experience with these plows, after looking at drawings of the original single point plow lift I think in this case this lifting bracket is probably better then the oem. Its using two lift points instead of the one so therefor its stronger. With this setup theres no need for the bracket that ties the outer arm to the inner mower lift points? which as far as I can see has been a weak link. As far as how high with this set up I get 8.5 inches which so far seems to be good although I can see where that may not be quite enough height in some cases. Now the down ward force issue I do find I have to feather the valve so I may take these lifting arms and elongate the mounting holes to allow it to float but I'll have to kick that one around awhile. I agree about the screens I find them to be a P.I.T.A. I'll be more then happy to see them gone.

[Tom Scott]

Woody - Just a different opinion on my end...

Using the correct outer lift arm will not only give you more lift height but it will raise the blade faster due to the different length and angle. When I compare the Haban on a Super to the blade on a regular GT, the speed and height are something I consider to be a big advantage.

You already have the correct tie strap to add the extra support to the outer lift arm and I believe it is plenty strong with the tie strap in place. I see the outer lift arm being more susceptible to damage with the snowblowers due to their greater weight. I use the Haban tie strap with both attachments.

You are probably in greater danger by far of damaging something with your present setup, as you may run out of float with just the rockshaft. In addition, due to the different lift arm position, the angle with your current lift tube is also severe at the top of its travel. Lastly, I am surprised you are not hitting the tractor frame at the highest point.

If you had a duplicate of your tractor setup with the correct lift tube to compare it to in use I doubt you would go back to your present system.

If you decide you want to make one I can get you pictures and dimensions. If you have access to a shop press you would just need a length of the appropriate tubing and crush each end flat. Drill the right size hole at each end of the slots at either end of the tube and then use a Dremel with a cut-off wheel to connect the two holes to make the slot. You could probably get away with a large vice and the careful application of a hammer to flatten the ends if you had to. If needed, a propane torch will heat it enough to make it easy to flatten with a hammer. (Who doesn't like a little blacksmithy work from time to time? )

There are other ways and materials, but I think the factory tube would be the easiest to recreate.

Again, just trying to help, let me know if you want the pics and dimensions.