Posts by eepete
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Well, let see if I'm smart enough to embed a link here:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/167302-jd-4520-weight-bracket-design.html
In a nutshell, I don't have a loader on my 4520 so when I have the MX6 on there I need weight up front. I bought the weight bracket for the 4520. The bar that goes through to hold the weights on gets pushed on and bent out by the weights, and then they were not held in. So the problem then was to figure out how to add some holders for the bar. Today I finally got it all working, so I posted what works. The fix took me two tries, but it is simple. Just wanted the problem and solution posted for the next guy.
So that TBN thread is a blow by blow of my muddling through to a solution. While I do a lot of small aluminum chassis work, I don't do much with steel (or anything over .090 aluminum) so for me it was probably more of a challenge than for most. :think:
Pete
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/167302-jd-4520-weight-bracket-design.html
In a nutshell, I don't have a loader on my 4520 so when I have the MX6 on there I need weight up front. I bought the weight bracket for the 4520. The bar that goes through to hold the weights on gets pushed on and bent out by the weights, and then they were not held in. So the problem then was to figure out how to add some holders for the bar. Today I finally got it all working, so I posted what works. The fix took me two tries, but it is simple. Just wanted the problem and solution posted for the next guy.
So that TBN thread is a blow by blow of my muddling through to a solution. While I do a lot of small aluminum chassis work, I don't do much with steel (or anything over .090 aluminum) so for me it was probably more of a challenge than for most. :think:
Pete
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973 Posts
So here's the problem: I got the front weight bracket for my 4520 which can hold 12 weights. As a side note, I mistakenly thought it was supposed to hold 10 weights.
The problem is that the bar that is supposed to hold the weights in has such a long span that it bends and the weights in the middle are not held in.
The picutures here are the bent bar. There is also a picture of the weight bracket for my JD318 garden tractor from back in 2000. That bracket had a way to keep the bar from bowing out. Too bad they didn't do that for the 4520.
So I needed to add some holder on the 4520 bracket so that the bar would not bow out.
The problem is that the bar that is supposed to hold the weights in has such a long span that it bends and the weights in the middle are not held in.
The picutures here are the bent bar. There is also a picture of the weight bracket for my JD318 garden tractor from back in 2000. That bracket had a way to keep the bar from bowing out. Too bad they didn't do that for the 4520.
So I needed to add some holder on the 4520 bracket so that the bar would not bow out.
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I took a trip to my local welding shop, and had them make and add on brackets to hold the bar on. As you can see in the picture, it's time to unfurl the "Mission Accomplished" banner.
Remember I said I thought the bracket held 10 weights? Well, I kinda wondered what the gap on each end was (again, see picture). Then I looked up the part number and it should of held 12 weights but I could not put any more on.
Remember I said I thought the bracket held 10 weights? Well, I kinda wondered what the gap on each end was (again, see picture). Then I looked up the part number and it should of held 12 weights but I could not put any more on.
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So the problem is I added my bar holder on the side of the existing bracket instead of the top. The weights have a cut-out below them so that the weight bar can have a bracket running under the weights. See the 1st picture.
Now looking at the 2nd picture, you can see where the weight on the top has the existing bracket support nicely underneath the weight. But the weight on the bottom is blocked by my added on bar holding piece of metal. That loss of width is why I could not get 12 weights on there.
So it was time to modify my modification :think:.
Now looking at the 2nd picture, you can see where the weight on the top has the existing bracket support nicely underneath the weight. But the weight on the bottom is blocked by my added on bar holding piece of metal. That loss of width is why I could not get 12 weights on there.
So it was time to modify my modification :think:.
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So I market what to cut off of the top of my add-on so that I'd get some of that space back (1st pic).
Then I cut it out. Got to buy a grinder and come up to speed on that... 2nd pix shows the cut-out.
3rd pix shows that even with that top cut out, I lost the width of my bracket. The weight wouldn't quite fit. So when you have a new grinder, every solution looks like grind it so I did (4th picture). The weight I ground down was a 40# weight that I had from the 318 and was using on the end of the bracket to get the weight up.
Then I cut it out. Got to buy a grinder and come up to speed on that... 2nd pix shows the cut-out.
3rd pix shows that even with that top cut out, I lost the width of my bracket. The weight wouldn't quite fit. So when you have a new grinder, every solution looks like grind it so I did (4th picture). The weight I ground down was a 40# weight that I had from the 318 and was using on the end of the bracket to get the weight up.
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While initially the right side fit OK (the bracket was about .125 wider on that side than on the left side), when I tried to put it together I found the right side didn't fit. There is a slight variance in the width of the weights. So I ground down a 40# weight for the right side.
Note that this grinding and cutting was easier than my trying to remove the brackets and put them on top of the existing brackets where they should have been from the start if I had been paying attention.
Final pix shows the final product- the weight bracket with all 12 weights on it. The left and right 40# weights are the ones with a little grinding on them. Painted everything, put it together, happy, got to learn to think ahead more and figure out why things are they way they are.
So in summary on this mod, the weight bracket for the 12 40 or 70# weights for the 4520 lacks proper support for the retaining bar. If you get the bracket, add supports for the bar on top of the two existing supports.
One last item, why am I doing this? When I have the MX-6 mower on, I have a few places where I am on a 10 degree slope, and have to turn uphill. The front tires were sliding a bit (grass was dry). That was with 6 40# weights. Tried 6 70# weights, still had problems. Added the bracket, tried 6 70# and 4 40#, still slipped a bit. Got 2 more 70# and then figure out the "this should hold 12 weights". So now I'm up to 8 70# and 4 40# and next time I mow in this one area, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably live with it since it's a lot of $$s to change out those last 4 40# weights for 70# ones, and the weight gain isn't that much.
The Deere book shows that the proper ballasting for the MX6 is 12 70# weights or 840#s. I now have 720#s. Using only 6 70# weights is #420. Just for grins, I tried no weights. Even on flat surfaces, sharp turns had things sliding. So if you have a MX6 on a 4x20, you need either front weights or a front loader for weight.
That's my long story and I'm sticking to it.
Pete
Note that this grinding and cutting was easier than my trying to remove the brackets and put them on top of the existing brackets where they should have been from the start if I had been paying attention.
Final pix shows the final product- the weight bracket with all 12 weights on it. The left and right 40# weights are the ones with a little grinding on them. Painted everything, put it together, happy, got to learn to think ahead more and figure out why things are they way they are.
So in summary on this mod, the weight bracket for the 12 40 or 70# weights for the 4520 lacks proper support for the retaining bar. If you get the bracket, add supports for the bar on top of the two existing supports.
One last item, why am I doing this? When I have the MX-6 mower on, I have a few places where I am on a 10 degree slope, and have to turn uphill. The front tires were sliding a bit (grass was dry). That was with 6 40# weights. Tried 6 70# weights, still had problems. Added the bracket, tried 6 70# and 4 40#, still slipped a bit. Got 2 more 70# and then figure out the "this should hold 12 weights". So now I'm up to 8 70# and 4 40# and next time I mow in this one area, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably live with it since it's a lot of $$s to change out those last 4 40# weights for 70# ones, and the weight gain isn't that much.
The Deere book shows that the proper ballasting for the MX6 is 12 70# weights or 840#s. I now have 720#s. Using only 6 70# weights is #420. Just for grins, I tried no weights. Even on flat surfaces, sharp turns had things sliding. So if you have a MX6 on a 4x20, you need either front weights or a front loader for weight.
That's my long story and I'm sticking to it.
Pete
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