I have a mf 231S and the lower link shaft has been issues with this tractor ever since it was new. My father bought this new and has changed 2 or 3 out over the years. What would be a better option as far as support for the link arm, I’m thinking I need to get some adjustable or fixed position stabilizer bars to take some of the pressure off the link arms instead of having the chains. The right side broke this afternoon while bush hoggin, will replace it this week probly. I’m not doing anything else with it until I have a solution to this issue. To me this design is probly the weakest link of the tractor.

Can you weld a piece of 1” tubing to stabilize it?

I'm not tractor expert, but how tight are you getting your chains? I tried to help a guy last week who had a new tractor and had the chains so tight that I thought he was in danger of damaging the system. We loosened them and he said it worked better after that.

No idea that is your problem. Good luck figuring it out

i keep my stabilizer chains loose enough that i have just enough sway not to hit the tires that way if i hit something i have a little play in it instead of just a solid impact

They aren't there to support the lift arm. They are there to prevent (well, limit) sway of the arms when an implement is attached. This keeps the tires from tearing lugs off when the arm get over too far.

You can go to larger chain or look for a tractor that has a male/female tube with holes for a pin and swap your tractor to that. Won't be cheap and depending on how they attach to the lift link or the tractor axle housing or rear end housing, may not be easy to adapt. It's do-able though.

How is he breaking them? If he turns and the cutter hits something like a tree or dirt bank that won't move SOMETHING has to give. If you beef up the chains enough, it'll just transfer the damage to something else. Possibly something expensive. Good luck.


Best advice I've got is to use a heavy logging type chain but use a small pin or bolt to attach it to the lift arm. keep a bunch of those pins handy and use them like shear bolts on a bush hog driveshaft.

This is a new one.

Take a picture.

See the link shaft circled in red, this is what the link arm attaches to, this could have been done by pushing with a blade also. Not the first time this has happened, it’s kinda a bad design and really is not made to be pushing only pulling an attachment. When I get it fixed this time I’ll only be bush hogging with it, and will use the Kubota for dirt work and blading roads, a much better link design on the Kubota.
Also I could be running the stabilizer chains too tight, because I tighten them as tight as they will go.

Operator error. I've put a few hundred hours on that exact model tractor farming. Dirt work. It was flawless. Sorry your having issues, but it ain't the tractor IMO

>>>Also I could be running the stabilizer chains too tight, because I tighten them as tight as they will go.<<<

I don't think you wanna do that. The guy I tried to help last week had taken a wrench and gotten them as tight as they could possibly go. With no give at all, something has to break when you hit a stump. The manual for my JD tractor warns against getting the chains too tight. Your system is different, but I think you need some slack.

I have never found any downside to leaving a little slack in them.

I don't see how the chains have anything to do with it breaking there.

it has no side to side sway so any impact directs straight into the link shaft.

Keeping the Chains slack will help relieve the stresses on the carrier pin. But that is a particular weak point, it seems.

Pushing dirt backwards with a box could break it there. I've pushed dirt ni on to 60 years and never broken one but spect it could happen.

Thanks for all y’all s help and opinions, a lot of good advice here. I have gotten it taken apart and have to get a gasket for the differential axle housing, from now on I’ll only be pulling attachments forward and run the sway bars with a little slack and see how that works.

I had a guy build me customer stabilizers for my Kubota L3800. I don’t miss the chains one bit.

Chains seems cheap. I don’t like that. Rigid arms make a lot more sense.

I don't think it is the chains I am not sure how anything to do with the hitch sway would shear a pin in a lateral direction relative to the movement at the hitch. Hitch is singing right/left. Pin is shearing front/back. That much force.... It would bend the arms up before it sheared that pin I would think. Hey, I could be wrong I'm not standing there diagnosing the issue on my machine.

Make sure the chains aren't binding the hitch as well if you are keeping them tight. Hitch up force itself should not be enough to shear the pin either.

Check for this... Has to be slop in the pin/ lift arm bushing/housing area or something of that nature. See if there is. That might compound issues with the following.

Are you doing a lot of driving with the bush hog up in the air bouncing. If the bush hog hitch is designed where there is a chain or something that is NOT rigid.... i.e. chain going from the top of the hitch frame to the rear of the cutter that compounds the issue of the bouncing. However I would think that would put a lot more stress on the top link than the lower lift arms, but if there is a bunch of slop at the pin maybe something to look at.

If you are swinging the bush hog into trees turning while cutting or if it is wider than the tractor tires and you are hanging it on trees, etc. If so you've destroyed more than the pin that keeps breaking. You mush be on your 5th or 10th Bush Hog.

Also you should be cutting with the tail wheel of the bush hog rolling along on the ground. That's just an FYI for anyone reading.

Box Blade is a suspect. Using it like a battering ram?