# fixing a bent lift arm?



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Well one of my lift arms is bent. The eye that hooks to the tractor, is bent from its normal bending out from the tractor, toward the wheel, to an opasit bend toward the tractor. Heres a picture to better show.....

<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=12883>


Can this be bent back? Or is it beter to replace it? If bent back, would I heat it first, or is that bad for it? I have a lot of small stuff to fix on this tractor, and have to spend money wisly, so if it can be fixed, that would be good.


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

You should be able to straighten that without heat if you use a hyd shop press. Lacking a shop press, suppoprt the shorter end on a block of wood, and place another block within about 2 or 3 inches of the bend, with the bend facing up, and hit it a few times with a sledge hammer. That steel is not all that hard of material.

I would use heat only as a last resort as sometimes applying heat to steel causes it to do some strange things, and since you do not know what alloy it is, I would steer clear of heat. No reason why it won't straighten without heat. If a crack appears anywhere after its straightened, its easy to run a bead of weld on it. Odds are though it will not crack at all, as its really pretty soft.


----------



## psrumors (Apr 25, 2004)

I wouldn't try straightening it on the tractor. The pin it attaches to is a pain to replace, you have to remove the axle trumpet.

But like Chip said, it should be a fairly easy job.


----------



## slipshod (Sep 19, 2003)

*tool*

About 40 years ago my father made a tool we always a "Cow Hook". It would be ideal for straightening your lift arm. The tool is a rod about five feet long with a large U welded on one end and a narrow one on the other end. There is no end to the uses for this tool. The third generation in my family at times find this thing indespensible. I am not sure but I think dad must have used tool quality steel to build it, as with everything we have used this thing for it has never bent or broke. Leverage is a wonderful thing and if I had your "N" here I sure would attempt to take away your bend on or off the tractor.
Whenever we have a project involving getting the kinks out the "Cow Hook" is in the mix.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Thanks guys, I will try pulling it off the tractor, and bring it to work, and see what the press will do. Thanks for the help!!!


----------



## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

In my opinion the repair is well worth a try but just the same; I would be looking for a replacement spare in the event the arm bends again. Once the metal is bent like that; its strength is usually permanently weakened.


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

The big eason it probably bent is some implement be it a cutter or ground engage type was used without sway braces., or the implemnt was to narrow and the sway braces were not adjusts properly. Thats about the only way your going to get a bend sideways in them.

Be kind of hard to bend it up and down also as thew fron is bound to come off the ground befre the tensile properties of the arm is reached. They are for the most part virtually indestructable if used properly. Anothe way to bend them is pulling something really heavy or putting strain like pulling against a tree or unsticking a vehicle etc., on a drawbaw thats mounted to the arms ends in a line of pull not straight to tractor center line.


----------



## John-in-Ga (Sep 22, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Chipmaker _
> * Anothe way to bend them is pulling something really heavy or putting strain like pulling against a tree or unsticking a vehicle etc., on a drawbaw thats mounted to the arms ends in a line of pull not straight to tractor center line. *


You might get by doing this a time or two but you will be asking for your tractor to do a back flip and press the steering wheel down on your chest as you are laying there on the ground flat of your back. This is only going to be good for your widow, and then only if you have good life insurance.

While this wasn’t mentioned in the post maybe it is worth inserting here anyway. Never ever, not even once, use the top link are anything on the tractor it hooks to as an attachment point for a tow chain. (Had neighbor killed that way last year)

If you are going to pull stumps or pull stuck vehicles, use the swing draw bar. Not sure what a swing draw bar is, -- post back. Your tractor doesn’t have one. Get one.

:cpu:


----------



## slipshod (Sep 19, 2003)

*Re: tool*



> _Originally posted by slipshod _
> [
> Whenever we have a project involving getting the kinks out the "Cow Hook" is in the mix. [/B]


I took a few pictures of the "Cow Hook"


----------



## slipshod (Sep 19, 2003)

*Cow Hook*

This is the wide end.


----------



## slipshod (Sep 19, 2003)

*Cow Hook*

This is the narrow end. I know one thing for sure this thing will take a lot of abuse and it has never twisted or bent in 40 years.


----------



## savage (Nov 9, 2004)

slip we use same thing in steel shop for rolling beams over
only differance is 1 end sticks out like a fork 
bill

The opinions, comments, and advice offered by me here are mine alone. 
As such, they carry as much weight as a feather in a snow storm.


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

Yep, so you all call it a cow hook! These ******** down here in the south have a different name for it but I can;'t remember it right now.. Most house framing crews have a similar item made up to straighten twisted lumber etc.....with the quality of wood, and usiing yellow pine or long leaf pine that stuff twists up pretty bad so its always one of the first things you see em nailing together on a job site around here......some even went high tech and have ones made out of pipe and flat irons......So how do you suppose it got the name of a cow hook? Sometimnes the names of things are more interesting than the item itself


----------



## Chipmaker (Sep 16, 2003)

> _Originally posted by John-in-Ga _
> *snip
> 
> While this wasn’t mentioned in the post maybe it is worth inserting here anyway. Never ever, not even once, use the top link are anything on the tractor it hooks to as an attachment point for a tow chain. (Had neighbor killed that way last year)
> ...


Good point John in GA.
This is so true. There have been many folks killed that way, especially on the early model fords, not that they were any more dangerous to do that with but with the shear numbers of them in use... A swing type daw bar is the only way, low to the ground, save the 3 point for what it was designed for, attaching and lifting implements only.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Well, I got the arm off this morning. I will give it a shot this afternoon. Throw it on the press and see how it goes.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Got it!! Not perfict, but MUCH closer to what it should be. Lots of spring in them bad boys, had to do a lot of over bending to overcome the spring back. No cracks eather.  


Now I just have to pick up some paint, and clean, and hit it with some paint.


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

Got the arm cleaned, painted, and installed. Looks good! Wile not doing a compleat repaint on the tractor, or a restore, I figured, at least everything I have off to fix, or replace I will cleanup, and paint. After a few years I will be done.   

Now I just have to get the sway bars, and get the cutter back on.


<img src=http://www.tractorforum.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=74297>


----------



## Chippewa Al (Dec 20, 2004)

*Fender Bolts*

Paul,
When you put the sway bar brackets on get the correct bolts for the fenders. The bolts go through the fender and both top and bottom bosses on the axle trumpet then through the sway bar mount. You are not getting hte full strength available with the short bolts through only one set of bosses.

Al


----------



## Ingersoll444 (Sep 17, 2003)

First let me welcome you to TF!! Welcome aboard!


I have not eaven got the bars yet, so have not thought about it, but it makes sence. I will check that out when I get them. Thanks.


----------



## Chippewa Al (Dec 20, 2004)

*Fender bolts*

Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking here for a while.


Here is an extreme case of failure to use bolts through both sets of bosses.


http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ia/03ia020.html


----------

