Dropped Pan

I was cutting along this afternoon, getting the last couple of hours needed for a complete pasture mowing this year when I heard a “thunk.” That’s never a good noise on the tractor, and I turned around to see the blades and the spinning pan down on the ground.

I turned the tractor around and disengaged the drive. Then I lifted things up and saw that the middle gear was full of string, there was a cotter pin slightly bent, and my pan and blades were on the ground. To top it off, one of the A-frame bolts had fallen out as well.

I replaced the bolt first, mostly so I could drive around on the tractor, and then went looking for parts. I’m not sure how that pan was held on, but there had to be some sort of gear that did it. Nothing obvious was on the ground, despite my driving back and forth in wider circles.

So I parked and disconnected it. Tia needed some help moving dirt, so I did that, but I need to see if I can get that part. Another adventure, with our dealer out of business.