Draft control repair on 9N

The draft plunger is broken off in the yoke. The spring and plunger are physically off the tractor. In an attempt to get one more mowing out of it this past fall, I hooked the top link to the back of the pumpkin, thinking that any ole location would do. This was a bad assumption, as my lift arms will not go down if the pto is engaged. I am also assuming that there has to be weight on the plunger/spring assemble to tell the lower arms that they need to be down. Fine, I can understand that part. Then explain to me why the mower with a pivot on the top link, which applied virtually no weight to the draft spring, would stay down before. I am oh so confused. I have had this tractor for about 10 years, and this will be the first major issue I have had to tackle.

The other thing is the top cap on the pumpkin, under the seat...with all the perimiter bolts out, this should lift right off? I understand it is 150 lbs, but is there anything other than the bolts holding it on? Something in the lift quadrant shaft perhaps?

Thanks in advance for your help. This has been an invaluable forum over the years for me. You guys rock!

The draft control plunger and spring are pretty integral parts to the whole hydraulic control linkage so if they have gotten broken I can see how it could really affect your control of the hydraulic lift. The control valve does not have to move in and out of its valve body very much to function, so if anything is bent in the linkage, that can easily cause it to not work properly.

The top cover does lift right off but you have to disconnect the linkage from the control valve first, you can do this by reaching in through the inspection ports on the sides of the housing.

I dont recall that cover being more than about 75 pounds when I had mine off, it was heavy but not so much that I could not manhandle it on and off by myself.

Re your question about why the mower stayed down I think this perhaps is just a coincidence, the control valve just happened to be in 'down' position at the time.

Open the tractor up and take inventory of the parts that are broken bent or otherwise damaged. The system is not complicated, you will be pretty amazed at how simple it really is when you get it opened up. This is not a 'major' thing to fix.

While you are in there you might think about replacing your lift piston and rings too, if it needs that.

But before you decide to take off the top cover you will need to take off both side overs to spread apart the fork that attachs to a valve in the pump, otherwise it's due to break. When you have it off and upside down it's pretty clear how it works.....

ShowMeGuy