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top link patheticness

T

Teakettle

Member
Around here we have a variety of adjustable top links on our tractors. They come from a variety of far-off places like China and India, and they're painted a variety of attractive colors like red and blue. But they all have in common that the threads are machined so loose that an hour of mowing or even a drive on a bumpy road is sufficient to make the center tube rotate out of adjustment, no matter how hard I tighten the jam nut. I'd considered Loctite-ing, but that would take a lot of Loctite and would add grief when I actually want to adjust the thing.

Has anyone found a good adjustable top link that stays in place? I notice that Surplus Center sells a hydraulic one where the user loosens a valve, pulls it to the desired length, and tightens the valve again -- does anyone have experience with that unit?
 
What I've done is forget the lock nut, just brace / tie down / secure / hold the center pivot lever, so it cannot rotate. You gotta invent your own method, but it works.
 
I whack the 'locknuts' with a hammer to tighten them down, seems to hold.

This is assuming you have the type of locknuts that look like a metal tab.

Fred
 
As Fred says,I smack em with a hammer a couple of times. If they are snug,they dont move.Also welded a weight to a longer handle trick too. that works
 
I wouldn't recommend loctite. All the suggestions will help. I tie mine so it won't turn. A few years ago I made a 3rd arm. It was the best that I've had. I let a slick talking tractor jocky talk me out of it when I sold him a tractor.
 
Lock nuts come loose? How about buying some plastic lock nuts? Tread them first then revers them onto the two shafts and that should fixer up. Had to do that on a drag link on the steering.
 
split the threads on one end with a hack saw about 2 inches down both sside of one end, and put a stout muffler clamp on the end to tighten it for no movement. Small handles could be put on the clamp nuts to allow "no wrench" adjustment. Jim
 
The old Ford toplinks had a flip-over lock that snaped on and they did not turn.. I looked for a photo on line & couldn't find one, I have several and No not for sale. joe
 
I keep stubby ball-peen hammers in my on-tractor toolkits specifically for whacking the locknut tab, but even so it still sometimes manages to come loose. My favorite suggestion so far is the hose clamp one.

Still, it's sad that everyone who replied admits that some rude hack or other is necessary because these things are so poorly designed. We maybe ought to convince the site sponsor to have a proper one manufactured with a flip-over wire bail that engages the locknut tab, or some other no-loosen mechanism.
 
That's called a "Hydrau-link.". I don't have any experience with one but I bet there are plenty of guys around this forum that do use it.
My top link has a jam nut that when tight will keep the top link from moving9

Scott
 
1. Buy a cheap top link for every implement 2. adjust accordingly 3. weld pipe to threads on one side only 4. you still have some adjustment on the other threads, you just have to remove the pin and replace. That's what I do 5. don't do this to a good old OEM style top link!
 
I had the same problem, but with only one Top Link.

SOLVED the problem - bought a couple of LARGE, INTERNAL STAR Washers and put them under the Jamb Nuts. Problem SOLVED!

:>)
 
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