Mower too wide, chain rubbing tires!

Hai

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400 HST
Mar 2, 2014
61
0
0
Virginia
I had no problem pulling JD 272 6ft finish mower behind my Kubota L3400HST. When making a sharp U turn, the tension chain on the lower links never touches the tires. Just got a used Befco C50 6ft finish mower, the tension chains now rub against the tires when turning. I measured the distance between the mower's connecting posts: about 24" for the JD and 28" for the Befco. What options do I have to make the Befco work? and what would be the best options? Many thanks in advance.
 

cerlawson

New member

Equipment
rotiller, box scraper,etc.
Feb 24, 2011
1,067
3
0
PORTAGE, WI
28 inches is reasonably standard for me . Thus a common width. I'd bet you do not have those turnbuckles tight enough. They should be almost to the point that you can barely shove the three point arms from side to side with the mower off the ground.A little slack is necessary because the location of the attachment to the tractor likely is not on the same axis as the arm pivots. When changing from the JD did you tighten them up to allow for the difference?
 

hodge

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
John Deere 790 John Deere 310 backhoe Bobcat 743
Nov 19, 2010
2,854
367
83
Love, VA
The turnbuckles being tighter won't change the dimensions- it all depends on the offset of the rims, the tire width, and the width of the mower frame. This is a common issue on the older L series Kubota's- I run into it a lot building telescoping stabilizers.
Can you turn the links pins around, so that they are on the inside of the frame instead of outside? That would net you plenty of room.
 

gpreuss

New member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3200DT w/FEL, K650 Backhoe, 5' Rotary, 40" Howard Rotavator, 6' Rhino blade
Oct 9, 2011
1,166
6
0
Spokane, WA
I had to turn the link pins around on the 60" rotary mower so that they were pointing inward for my old L185DT.
If you are running R4s on the 3400 you may want to do the same, or put on wheel spacers to widen the gap.
 

Bluegill

New member

Equipment
L3750DT Shuttle, L3800DT FEL both
Jan 11, 2012
1,560
3
0
Success Missouri
The stabilizer bars are the chit! I'll never use turn buckles again!

If you have ag tires, set them out wider...If R-4s' get a set of wheel spacers.
 

Hai

New member

Equipment
Kubota L3400 HST
Mar 2, 2014
61
0
0
Virginia
Try reversing just 1 pin.
That's what I've done with tiller.
I did not have a chance to reverse just one pin until yesterday. The mower fit on very well. I mowed for an hour and no chain rubbing on tires. Thank you.:)