Learning how to plow

when you set the plow on the ground, how HORIZONTAL is the bottom relative to the ground ? ........ You can adjust your TOP LINK if your digging in too much.

A WD-45 doesn't have a "depth" control. The plow needs a slip heel on the rear bottom or a tire beside the rear bottom. Traction Booster system must be working properly (if it can) with your type of 3 point hitch. Rear wheels must be set to correct width. 3 x 16's on a WD-45 in some soils may be too much plow.

#1 if possible, find an operators manual for your Case plow

Add-on 3-point hitches are sometimes not really well designed. By that I mean the actual length of the draft/pull arms may be too long, moving the plow farther away from the tractor, which makes it pull harder. Lengthening the top link will tend to "nose up" the plow, which will help keep it from sucking itself too deep making it too much load for your tractor. Pretty easy to give the top link a couple of turns longer at a time and see what it does for you.

I agree that controlling the rear molboard is my priority right now, before I can work on other adjustments. Tell me about the slip heel, I don't know as I understand what that is?
Thanks, JL

They all seem to be going in together.

None of the older snap-coupler plows had a depth wheel on them. They had a slip heel on the rear plow bottom. I have both types and they both work well if one knows how to adjust the plow. Why you wouldn't re-try your plow by lengthening the top link is beyond me. It's easy to do and costs NOTHING. Also, does your 3-pt hitch activate the Traction Booster system or not ??????? It is a tremendous advantage to have the Traction Booster working, especially with a plow that may be 6 inches too wide of cut for a WD-45 tractor.

GOOGLE....

Edited by steve(ill) - 14 May 2024 at 10:46pm

Post some pictures of the 3 pt hitch, back of the tractor--especially where the top link is hooked up, the plow, etc.

Your WD45’s right side tire(s) should be running in plow furrow ~ correct? If yes, adjust tractor’s right side wheels outward to allow 16” bottom width measured from inside wall of right rear tire to landside of 1st bottom.

Then 3pt hitch’s lower draft arms need to be adjusted to proper heights to allow plow to run level while tractor is operating with right tire(s) in plow furrow. To do this, set lower left draft arm at its lowest height setting. Then set lower right draft arm about 2” higher from its lowest height setting.
Now with plow initially leveled but slightly tilted upward on its right side, lower plow into unplowed field to create first pass. There is no furrow, so right side of plow will be running shallow. That’s ok. Plow will not be as difficult to pull. And this first pass shouldn’t ridge up as bad on its right side? After plowing 50’ or so, operator can then stop & adjust plow’s rear depth to attain 7”? 8”? or whatever furrow depth is desired.
For front of plow depth, use tractor’s traction booster. Now plow has been initially leveled from front to rear. Once a furrow has been created, plow’s left to right level & front to back level can both be tweaked as needed.

Edited by AC7060IL - 16 May 2024 at 7:17am

DrAllis wrote: None of the older snap-coupler plows had a depth wheel on them. They had a slip heel on the rear plow bottom. I have both types and they both work well if one knows how to adjust the plow. Why you wouldn't re-try your plow by lengthening the top link is beyond me. It's easy to do and costs NOTHING. Also, does your 3-pt hitch activate the Traction Booster system or not ??????? It is a tremendous advantage to have the Traction Booster working, especially with a plow that may be 6 inches too wide of cut for a WD-45 tractor.

Well it’s only been like 6 hours, and now it’s dark, so maybe he’ll try it, give him some time.

A good snap-coupler plow would be the best solution as others have alluded to. However, his location is a complicating factor. Seems like there is a model 53 plow in every section in Iowa, and several in most! In his part of Wyoming, machinery is harder to come by! I've got multiple good snap-coupler plows I'd sell too but RTW and probably others are much closer.

I appreciate all of the suggestions, and just need to find the time to try them all out. I need to set the hyd pump up for traction booster and try some different top link settings. I do have adjustable lift arms. I had sent some pics on a different thread, and I just need to teach myself how to do it again.
Does any one have a picture of the slipper, that sounds pretty easy to fabricate and install. I'm afraid of the freight cost to purchase a snap coupler plow and have it shipped to WY. What does a good plow go for?
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
JL

I think I made some progress today. When I rechecked my hyd. pump linkage, I left the plow attached. I set the hyd system for traction boost mode. The plow didn't try and sink to the center of the earth, in fact I could only get it to go in the ground 2 or 3 inches, then the traction booster would raise it up, and then back into the ground again, but constantly going up and down. My quadrant lever was as far down as possible.   I lengthened the 3 point arms, but didn't make much difference. I feel good that the TB seems to be trying to work, but not sure I'm getting all of the finesse in the adjusting procedure.   I brought everything back in the shop and removed the plow and went through the linkage adjustments once again, but it just didn't seem quiet right. Put the plow on,and it acted the same way, just constantly going up and down,but only into the ground a couple of inches.
I know it's asking alot, but I think it
would be very helpful for me if someone that's familiar with this system would get on a video call with me, and walk through the adjustments with me. Any thoughts?
Thanks, JL

I'm following exactly what you are saying about the drawbar spring. I had those bolts out today, but i understood the book stated that there should be 3/16" of free play on the spring.   That's an easy item to try.
Thanks, JL