Specifications

© 2002 Alamo Group Inc.
Parts Section -149
Triumph Sickle Bar (Archive Book) 10/02
SERVICE INSTRUCTIONS
NOTE:
All cutting is done by the knife section passing over the ledger plate in the guard. It is vital that these
sections are parallel with the ledger plates and in contact with them. See Fig. #14 & #15. The knife
should move smoothly in the cutterbar guides and every knife section should rest on the ledger plate to
make a shear cut. This means the guards, ledger plates, wear plates, clips and knife head caps must
be in good condition and correctly set. If these parts become loose or worn, the knife will flop
around in the cutterbar, chewing and tearing instead of cutting.
GUARD ADJUSTMENT:
1. To align the guards, the only method provided to accomplish this very important adjustment is to
bend the guards into alignment with a hammer. No easier method has been found to adjust heavy duty
guards which will stand up in rocky conditions.
NOTE:guards are cast from alloy steel. If they are worked too much, they will work harden and cannot
be bent. In this case the guard must be removed from the bar also remove the ledger plate. Heat the
guard to a cherry red and air cool. It will be annealed enough that it can be bent.
2. Raise the bar to about 45 degrees. Make sure the pitman is at the bottom of the stroke so the
flywheel doesn't suddenly turn and catch your fingers in the knife. Shut off engine and set parking
brake. FOR JOHN DEERE CLOSED CENTER SYSTEM, BLEED OFF ACCUMULATOR PRES-
SURE BEFORE WORKING ON MOWER! REFER TO DECAL ON TRACTOR AND TRACTOR
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.
3. Sight down the bar and look for a knife section in close contact with a guard ledger. If the section to
the right and left are both 1/8" off the ledger, DO NOT bend the two side ones up until they contact the
knife. This is WRONG! The high guard should be knocked down until all three contact. The higher up
a guard gets bent, the more the knife section will tend to contact only the tip.
4. Bolt the guards tight and strike them at the thick part, just in front of the ledger plates. Do not pound
down the guard lips as the knife might bind. Retighten the bolts as each guard is aligned. Disregard
the position of the guard points. It is the ledger plates which must be kept in line. Blunt points should
be filed sharp.
5. Starting from the inner shoe, adjust each guard so that the knife section and ledger are parallel and
reasonably close to each other. Find the high guard and knock them down. Usually, the only time it is
necessary to knock a guard up is when new guards are first installed on the bar.
6. Make certain that the first knife section is contacting the inner shoe ledger plate. If it doesn't contact,
check the first or second guard which may be holding the knife up or the inner shoe ledger plate may be
worn out. The first section must contact the inner shoe ledger plate or grass will be dragged under the
head and bind the knife until it stalls. (Not applicable to 8500 model).
7. Finally, align the industrial outer shoe in the same way as guards.
FIGURE 14
FIGURE 15
ADJUSTED WRONGADJUSTED RIGHT
KNIFE SECTION
REAR WEAR PLATE
GUARD BOLT
KNIFE CLIP
CUTTERBAR
LOWER BACKING STRAP
LEDGER PLATE
ROCK GUARD
DO NOT POUND DOWN LIPS OF
GUARDS- CHOKING WILL RESULT.