704 lift lever not latching.

[Bastkerg 14]

My manual lift lever for my 704 latches but drops by itself after a short while (from vibration or turning or reversing). This is very annoying when plowing.  Any tips?

[squonk 41,040]

Make sure your plow isn't  hitting anything when it's raised preventing the latch to fully engage. Another issue the spring inside the lift handle could be weak or stuck with rust. You could try spraying penetrant down the handle to see if it makes any difference.

[953 nut 55,113]

Could be the adjustment on your lift is set too high and the pin can't latch all the way, try backing off on the knob a bit.

[rmaynard 15,428]

 

Right below the number 62 is the spring Mike is referring to. I have seen them break. The block right above it, #62 can get gunked up inside the lift arm. #70 where the arm catches could be worn or maybe loose. Get some spray lube with a tube and saturate the entire area as well as pour some down the lift tube from the top.

 

My best guess is a combination of the spring and the block #62. The tab on the side of the block (not shown) may be broken or worn.

[peter lena 8,587]

RMARNARD agree with you on the possibility of a broken spring as well as LUBRICATION TO INSURE FUNCTION AND MOVEMENT, still find it amazing to quickly look, at solid rust and scale  on a movement point , regularly aerosol and touch up all lubrication areas . just my own experience , pete

[JoeM 7,871]

If the above doesn't help, unhook the plow link from the rock shaft and see if it engages cleanly. Might just be plow link or something hitting.

[Pullstart 62,807]

1 hour ago, 953 nut said:

Could be the adjustment on your lift is set too high and the pin can't latch all the way, try backing off on the knob a bit.

I don’t believe a 704 has the adjuster knob, does it?

[Pullstart 62,807]

@Bastkerg if you could create a short YouTube video and post it here, of your lift mechanism, the plow, etc... maybe someone will be able to see what’s going on that might be overlooked otherwise?  I have a cast piece #42 on the diagram above that is broken on one of my tractors, allowing travel past the full lift position.  Possibly yours has some of the holding nub broken off?

[rmaynard 15,428]

3 hours ago, pullstart said:

I don’t believe a 704 has the adjuster knob, does it?

Take a look at the parts diagram above. That's from the 704 manual. 

[Pullstart 62,807]

3 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

Take a look at the parts diagram above. That's from the 704 manual. 

I stand corrected 

[cschannuth 3,816]

Every time I’ve had that issue whatever I was trying to lift was hitting something on the tractor not allowing the lift lever/attachment to come all the way up. Until I figured out on my snow plow tractors which hole to attach on the lift lever I tend to have this issue.

Edited February 22, 2021 by cschannuth

[Bastkerg 14]

Sorry for my late reply.

And thank you all SOO much for taking the time to reply. 

 

Didn't get around until now to try to fix it. (I'm always impressed how easy wheel horses come apart) My conclusion is spring or block 62. I tried to expand the spring a little bit and it made it feel more solid but it still vibrated loose when riding the mower. Any tips for fixes?

 

I'll try to take it apart and take some pictures before snow plowing season. 

[Bastkerg 14]

Is it this part that is worn too much? Tried some epoxy metal putty but I couldn't get it to stick where it seems to be needed?

[peter lena 8,587]

@Bastkerg, your final picture shoes the small amount of  angle fitting , you could weld that worn angular slide area , than grind it back to a stronger  /  tighter fit , or if possible find a better used same part . you might also try welding in a new piece of pipe , sliced on the horizontal , to duplicate the original hold point , pete