BX 3 point operation and adjustment

[Grouse Feathers]

The BX operating manual does not give a good explanation of how the 3 point ¼ inch function works. To use the ¼ inch function you need to pull the three point lever towards the seat and then move it in the up or down direction and you will contact a stop at about ½ of the full lever travel (picture 1 if you look close at the picture the down stop is just to the left of the black 3 point knob). If you hold it against the stop the 3 point will go up or down slowly. If you just bump the stop and release the lever you bump the 3 point in the up or down direction about ¼ inch.
The ¼ inch function on my 3 point hitch never seemed to work and then I noticed an adjustment for the stops under the fender. In the up direction the 3 point would not move when the lever was against the ¼ inch stop. In the down direction it would move too fast or when bumped would move about 1 inch. The adjustments for the stops are between the fender and wheel (picture 2). In the picture you can see the up direction stop, the down direction is behind the shift lever. I adjusted mine to give me about ¼ inch of movement at the implement, and this is probably closer to 1/8 inch at the lift arm. I am sure some of you are aware of this adjustment, but for the others you might find this valuable.

 

[skeets]

I didn't know the BX had a 1/4inching 3pt

 

[Grouse Feathers]

skeets, if you have any 3 point attachments you need to check it out and adjust if needed. When I adjusted mine so it was working right it made the rear blade grading on my driveway a lot easier. It was driving me nuts turning around to watch the blade move as I tried to adjust for bumps and holes. The BXers using a box blade must really be good with the 1/4 inching. I am not sure if we really give up a lot not having draft control if you get good with the 1/4 inching.

 

[cerlawson]

It's a damn touchy adjustment task...... and time consuming!!!! You are lucky it was even close from the factory. Mine was way off. What can you expect from such a crude way to avoid the real thing.

 

[skeets]

Well I ll be dipped,, now how do I adjust it I didn't see any thing in the book though I may have not been looking in the right place

 

[Grouse Feathers]

First check to see if yours is adjusted by testing it. Move the lever up and down against the stops, you should be able to see the stops by looking in the slot. You have to pull the lever toward the seat while moving in the up or down direction. Just bump the stop and return to the neutral position and the 3 point should move up or down 1/4 inch. If you need to adjust look at the picture the bright metal bracket with a 12 mm nut near the bottom left the the picture is the up stop, on the tractor you can see it between the fender and tire. With the nut loose I was able to hold the stop while bumping the 3 point lever against the stop. When I had it adjusted where I wanted it I tightened the nut. It took maybe 5 minutes to adjust both stops.

Larry

Nothing I can find in the operator's manual or the WSM (2360 manual)

 

[lakebota]

the feature is not present on a bx2230. It's pretty easy to learn to bump it to raise or lower, just remember to re-center or it will continue to raise (or lower). I believe it may be possible to set (adjust) the springs on the linkage to never "lock in" when raising (or lowering) the 3 pt if they are set with no free-play. I noticed this when trying to get the linkage to self-center.

 

[OranjeBX25]

Strange. I was playing with mine last night, attaching my new mower deck. I was able to raise and lower to any point I wanted. I didn't notice it only going a 1/4" at a time. Is this something different on a newer unit?

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Strange. I was playing with mine last night, attaching my new mower deck. I was able to raise and lower to any point I wanted. I didn't notice it only going a 1/4" at a time. Is this something different on a newer unit?

You would probably never use the 1/4" at a time for a mmm. It is useful for rear mounted implements like rear blades and box blades. The 1/4" inching is basically two adjustable stops for the 3 point lever. You only hit the stops if you pull the lever over to the side of the slot next to the seat and then move the lever for up or down operation.

Larry

 

[OranjeBX25]

You would probably never use the 1/4" at a time for a mmm. It is useful for rear mounted implements like rear blades and box blades. The 1/4" inching is basically two adjustable stops for the 3 point lever. You only hit the stops if you pull the lever over to the side of the slot next to the seat and then move the lever for up or down operation.

Larry

I see. I'll have to look again. I don't recall seeing the stops on the lever, but I am quite a noob with this tractor.

 

[85Hokie]

the feature is not present on a bx2230. It's pretty easy to learn to bump it to raise or lower, just remember to re-center or it will continue to raise (or lower). I believe it may be possible to set (adjust) the springs on the linkage to never "lock in" when raising (or lowering) the 3 pt if they are set with no free-play. I noticed this when trying to get the linkage to self-center.

After reading this post - I looked at mine - there are stops - but I would have to bend the lever to hit them - my lever seems to ride more towards the outside then the middle if that makes sense. the stops are tucked in towards the seat, even if I grabbed the $#@# out of the lever - I could not hit them ......have not looked deeper than just looking through the slot to see the stops.....,more to come

 

[armylifer]

The BX operating manual does not give a good explanation of how the 3 point ¼ inch function works. To use the ¼ inch function you need to pull the three point lever towards the seat and then move it in the up or down direction and you will contact a stop at about ½ of the full lever travel (picture 1 if you look close at the picture the down stop is just to the left of the black 3 point knob). If you hold it against the stop the 3 point will go up or down slowly. If you just bump the stop and release the lever you bump the 3 point in the up or down direction about ¼ inch.
The ¼ inch function on my 3 point hitch never seemed to work and then I noticed an adjustment for the stops under the fender. In the up direction the 3 point would not move when the lever was against the ¼ inch stop. In the down direction it would move too fast or when bumped would move about 1 inch. The adjustments for the stops are between the fender and wheel (picture 2). In the picture you can see the up direction stop, the down direction is behind the shift lever. I adjusted mine to give me about ¼ inch of movement at the implement, and this is probably closer to 1/8 inch at the lift arm. I am sure some of you are aware of this adjustment, but for the others you might find this valuable.

Although my BX1860 does not have an adjustable stop for the 1/4 inch adjustment, I found your writeup very useful. As it happens, my stops are adjusted correctly from the factory. I do not know if that was by design or accident. In any case, I tested mine a few minutes ago and it works properly. I did not know about this feature previous to your post. Thank you.

 

[kenbx1860]

i have never used the stops but did see them when i removed all tin work to change cv boots and hydro cooling fan. did not know what they were for. will have to play with them now but have not used them in 400 hrs of tractor work. thanks, i need to know eveything my orange buddy can do.

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Follow Up Experience
I just bought a Land Pride Grading Scraper and have been using it to grade a mile of driveway and shared road. I found the dirt they used to build these roads does not flow as well as crushed limestone when grading, and I had to do a lot of adjusting of the 3 point to keep from filling up the grading scraper to the point the tractor would bog down. As I got better I could easily control the volume in the grading scraper on the fly by using the ¼” function (sort of like using a box blade). I did find in the down direction adjustment of the stop is sensitive to the weight of the implement and the setting of the 3 point down control valve.
Since we don’t have draft control on the BXs the ¼” function can work pretty good if adjusted and if you can hit the stops with the lever. It would be nice if Kubota made the stops easier to adjust for different implements and easier to use.
Thanks for the comments I am beginning to feel like a contributor instead of just a sponge. Not that there is anything wrong with being a sponge as you should learn from others, it’s safer, faster, better, more imaginative and did I say safer!

Larry

 

[Grouse Feathers]

Another Follow Up
I was looking at the handle for the 3 point control and I noticed it is bolted to a galvanized angle and the galvanized angle is bolted to a lever on the transmission. The bolt holes in the galvanized angle for connecting to the handle are slotted. If you loosen the nuts you may be able to move the handle closer to the seat and closer to the stops for the 1/4 " function. I was able to move the handle about 1/8" and the stops are now a little easier to hit. If you take the nuts completely off and remove the handle you could bend it a little more to make it easier to hit the stops.

Larry

 

[armylifer]

Another Follow Up
I was looking at the handle for the 3 point control and I noticed it is bolted to a galvanized angle and the galvanized angle is bolted to a lever on the transmission. The bolt holes in the galvanized angle for connecting to the handle are slotted. If you loosen the nuts you may be able to move the handle closer to the seat and closer to the stops for the 1/4 " function. I was able to move the handle about 1/8" and the stops are now a little easier to hit. If you take the nuts completely off and remove the handle you could bend it a little more to make it easier to hit the stops.

Larry

On my BX1860 the stops are bolted to a part of the inner fender. I just pulled on that part where the stops are bolted on and bent it closer to the lever. The lever hits the stops now with minimal inward pulling of the lever.

 

[Craiger265]

Thanks for the info, now I know what that is when I looked in the lever slot and noticed the "ribs" actually looks like a lawnmower wheel height adjuster

 

[Pap]

After reading this post - I looked at mine - there are stops - but I would have to bend the lever to hit them - my lever seems to ride more towards the outside then the middle if that makes sense. the stops are tucked in towards the seat, even if I grabbed the $#@# out of the lever - I could not hit them ......have not looked deeper than just looking through the slot to see the stops.....,more to come

That is how my BX2360 was. I took the stops off and welded small pieces of metal to each stop. There was no way the handle would have touched the stops. There was at least 1/4" between the handle and the stops.

 

[skeets]

I would like to see pictures of that

 

[Little Orange]

me too. seems just too much space, for a tractor that simply doesn't have a 1/4" to spare.
However, did find a rather interesting spot for a horn and will post whenever get the wiring done.