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

Mower deck maintenance day….

The d130 is about 5 years old and needed a new belt. I installed one last week and it didn’t last long. Thinking back I realize that the tension cable should’ve been adjusted when I installed a new belt. The blades were delayed about a second to after engagement.

Thought about it a bit and decided I needed to do a bit more than just a belt change.

Spent the day doing a deck clean up and tune up. Removed the deck and the burnt belt. Took a look at the spindles and idler pulleys. One of the idler pulleys was a bit rough

I removed the deck spindles and removed the bearings. Once the bearings were out, I drilled the 8th inch hole adjacent to the Zerk fittings. I then tapped the hole for a 8/32 machine screw. I then removed one side of the bearings grease seals. I cleaned, dried bearings and reinstalled. I am sure the grease seals were facing outward. I reassembled the spindles using anti-seize on the four mount bolts.

Oh, I replace the idler pulley while installing a new belt. Once this was done, I greased the spindles with the machine screws removed. I insured that the spindle bearings were lubed up, realizing the spindle cavity was full when the grease flowed from the vent hole.

I reinstalled the deck. I also added a slight amount of tension to the engagement cable. The deck is certainly quieter, smoother, and engages nearly instantly when engaged.

Why John Deere and others install spindles with a grease fitting and sealed bearings is a mind-boggling event. While I did have a set of replacement bearings, I did not replace them as they were smooth and did not feel dry.

 

When I look at him and his wife I see Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt come to life.

 

I hear you!

I come across this all the time. I pop off the bottom shield of the top bearing and pop off the top shield of the bottom bearing, then load the hell out of the spindle cavity with grease.

Honestly, I don't know if it makes any difference, since I move the mower down the road. All I know is the spindle is smooth feeling when I sell the mower.

 

https://youtu.be/HzadQxJXD7k

 

Could you upgrade the Helicoils to Keenserts?
https://www.clarendonsf.com/products/inserts/keensert-inserts

 

I don't know. I think this gonna be a parts engine.

I can buy used engine pretty decent.

 

I moved on to taking the left hydro pump out of this one. Bad input shaft seal.

This is the second one in 2 weeks I had to repair the seal.

I picked up this mower last week. Owner told me his repair shop said the pump was bad and there was metal shavings thruout the hydro system. I figured I was taking the entire plumbing out and flushing everything. I gave him a stupid cheap offer and he took it. He said the shop wanted $2k to do the repairs.

The only thing wrong is this $9 seal, a $20 filter and another $20 in oil.

I didn't find out until it was loaded on the trailer that it came with a complete leaf vacuum system. It wasnt list in his add. Wife said I stole this mower and needed to go to confession.

 

Score one for the good guys!

 

Not gonna count My chickens before they hatch.

I am confident that it can be fixed, but am always a bit skeptical until I start running dead dinosaurs thru it.

 

I think the guy at the repair shop needs to go to confession . . .

 

I can see where they are coming from and I also can see that they should be ashamed.

There was not a wrench put to any part of this machine. They threw that stupid high estimate to see if they could catch a sucker. I'm glad the seller passed dealing with that shop.

I've been bouncing back and forth to the Lawnsite forum. I posted pretty much the same over there.

I've been getting post from a dude that thinks he knows everything, but offers no real replies. I got to think of a way to wind him up more. He's an idiot.

 

thats a really good site & there are some fine people over there. dont let 1 asshat ruin it for you. ive been a Member there for many years.

 

I took the high road and just moved on. His behavior makes me pity him vs loath him.

 

Have Fun…

 

Just got this one back together, oddly enough it has a very nice running Kaw in it.

I found the pump seal for $6 here in town. New oil and filter and she will put slivers in your ass if the seat was wood! Both pumps have all the power they are supposed to have.

$6 vs $2k. What a shame the previous owner was sold poor or plain wrong info.

 

Deja vu

 

Not deja vu. @RustyGreen tag.

He tagged me on a question about reliability of Kawasaki engines in another thread. I was so busy, I thought this was the thread I was responding to, but it wasn't. The results were many tags and notifications...not sure if everything is straightened out or not.

Just now sitting down to put thoughts to print.

The question was what I thought of "Kawasaki quality in a mower"?

In my area, there seems to be a lot more Kohler Command engines installed in the zero turn mowers that a rehab. Out of 25 ZT mowers in the last 5 years, I have only bought 5 with Kawasaki engines. The rest were Kohler Command powered units.

Out of that total number, I have bought 5 with 3 of them with Kawasaki engines that broke a connecting rod and punched hole in the block. I have not had a single K.Command engine that windowed the block.

I've since spent $15/unit to install a tachometer on these small engines. Pretty cheap insurance to know what is going on rpm wise. I can not verify, but I have read that the Kawasaki engines like to over rev when the PTO is turned off while engine is full throttle.

I'm not sure if true or not, but if the engine free revs with no load, this is usually not a good thing.

To shorten up the post, I have no issue with Kawasaki engines, but I don't have enough experience to give a true review.

 

tell her nope. sometimes we get a bad deck of cards. when we get a good one we shouldnt feel guilty.

 

I do believe in kharma. All good will eventually be tainted with bad.

I'm going to help who I can with the profits.

I don't need to make a lot, but I sure am going to help who I can after I cover my expenses.

Oddly enough, I have tried to sell these things slightly more than I have in to them. All I get is cricket's.

List them close to what others are asking and they are gone in a week.

I do enjoy the the game of selling these things .

 

i do see that. i really enjoy this thread. just dont want you to feel guilty for having a good project start.