Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

It’s amazing how much quicker one can mow with a zero turn

 

I saw this one sitting in a friends yard, has around 600 hours on it. 25 HP Kohler, I gave him $4,000 for it with the vacuum. I sold a small rider I pulled a tracvac with, the tracvac (bought it at an auction, used it a lot), and the zero turn I had. I did some trading for the zero turn I had, I figure I have around $3k in this one after all the trading. It made getting leaves up this season so much quicker and enjoyable. I couldn’t justify buying a new one for no more than I mow.

 

Im using 57 gravel as they call is and once I tampered it down it works great. It doesnt move and shift under heavy load unless I spin out on it. I understand if I spread "gravel dust" or something like that it'll lock it in for certain. Inexpensive way to make more usable land!!
I used that honeycomb stuff for the slope and held it in place w long staples. Once i laid the gravel into it.....it stays in place nicely and the gravel has not shifted out in the sloping areas at all. It's worth it in my opinion but you have to be gentle filling it up or you end up flattening it defeating the purpose.

 

Wow, need you to teach me how to care for my gear!

 

Awesome, that's exactly what I was hoping you'd say. We had our house built about six years ago and I never got around to doing anything with the patio. I'm going to do something very similar to what you've got going on there. It's all hard clay, doesn't grow grass, it's dusty, muddy when wet. I figure I'll level it a bit, fabric, the honeycomb, and small stone. Thanks for getting back to me!

PS- although for some reason I stopped receiving notifications for this thread, it's by far my favorite on this entire forum.

 

Thank you sir!

 

The big expense these days is the wood!! I used 4x6 ground contact (treated) and only needed 1-2 stack to keep it in place. Don't make it too level...let the water drain away. Lesson learned for me. But yes...mud to usable!!

 

Cub shaft drive sighting!

 

Super bad pic but these sidewalk scrapers are pretty cool. Most times they pack a sandin’ trailer/spreader too.

 

I agree. I’ve seen both blades and blowers, some double row augers

 

Well, the new mower is here.

 

Awesome mower!

 

Nice. Looks like they put Tacoma SR steelies on it.

 

For real! The price of lumber is absurd!

I should state that I didn’t mean actually level the area, but after the wood is installed it would be easier to fill the void areas with soil I already have on-site rather than pay for gravel.

Needs to pitch away from the house for sure.

 

Working on the 3240 rear today. My hydro drive gear bearing was noisy so I cut the outer race off and pulled the inner race off. Heated the new bearing to 250F and froze the gear. Pressed it on with the vise set up with soft jaws. I used the inner race of the old bearing to press the new one on.





I put in all the seals I had--wheel and hydro. I messed up ordering the brake shaft seal. Ordered one based on my wrong measurement of 2.40" when it's actually 2.040". Re-ordered from oringsandmore. I knocked the seals in using the old ones as drivers.



If ya'll don't know, most seals can be ordered by the metric numbers on the seal. I saved a ton of money ordering from oringsandmore over buying MTD parts. Seals that are $25 each were $3 ordered by size.

Below is an example. The numbers mean the seal fits 17mm shaft, 47mm bore, 8mm tall. You can convert inch measurements to metric and order them as metric as well.This seal was $3 vs "no longer available" from MTD.

 

Nice machine!

 

I’ve never noticed those numbers on seals, only the part number (if there was one). Thanks for sharing

 

No problem. I figured it out when I rebuilt my other Cub differential. Here's where I order from. Enjoy buying the same seals for < 1/2 the money.

https://www.oringsandmore.com/8mm-height/

 

They are very small and usually covered in grime but they are almost always there unless you are talking old. I've used them multiple times at the local industrial store that supplies bearings, bushings and seals to local industries. It's saved me a ton of money over the years and allowed me to repair items that the manufacturer says are no longer supported and the part is "NLA."

I rebuilt the spindles on an old walk behind that had an oddball bearing size and the only way to get one was to order it new. $12 later I walked out with two bearings instead of $120 for a new spindle assy. If a good place has the numbers [check before mangling the seal] then it's probably available. FWIW, always spring for the US or Japanese made one over the China made one if possible, China ALWAYS shortcuts on tolerances and material.