rotary field mowers

[Anonymous Poster]

I recently purchased a used compact tractor which came with 2 rotary cutters. One is identified as a "Sunshine Line" by Modern Equipment. The other is a "KRC 42" by R.M. Wade Co. I received no owners manuals with this equipment. I am a clueless newbie and have the following questions:

What sort of lubricant goes into the gearbox? How do you know when the lubricant level is adequate? Does the lubricant need to be changed periodicaly?

I am puzzled by the driveline guards. How do you remove them? How do you replace them? Are they interchangeable?

How do you work on these dern things? Do you lift them up on blocks or jack stands and work underneath or do you flip them over and have at it that way?

One needs new blades. Any tips or tricks regarding blade R&R? The other has good blades that are very dull (think completely rounded). Are these sharpened? Will a bench grinder do the job?

Any other information you exerienced hands would like to impart?

TIA

regards,
dennis

 

[W5FL]

Normally use SAE 85/90 weight gear oil or something in that ballpark. Biggest problem is water and rust. Has a fill hole near the top. If lubricant is not up to fill hole, add until it is. If it has a drain hole, drain it and replace it, grease is cheap.

Sharpen with a hand held 4 inch grinder. I set mine up on a 14 inch tower section to sharpen the blades, but I guess 4 good automotive stands would be safe with it still fastened to the tractor 3 point.

Changing blades takes big tools ro big impact tools. Usually a 3/4 inch impact wrench or a 3/4 inch breakover and a 4 ft cheater bar. The blade screws are sometimes reachable through the top of the mower through an access hole for that purpose.

Name brand mowers like Bush Hog come with manuals, knock off's usually don't.

Driveline guards are pretty important to anyone working near the pto. You should NEVER allow you or anyone else within 10 feet of the rotating pto shaft and you should turn the pto shaft off before getting off the tractor.

The guards are suppossed to be greased just like the U-Joints on the pto shaft as well as the part that slides together should be greased. The guards are suppossed to be tied to the mower and the tractor so they DO NOT rotate and the shaft rotates inside the guards.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks, wen.
are the driveline guards removed to facilitate lubrication? I've been unable to figure out how it is removed. Also one of the mowers has a thrashed guard. Will any guard work or are they secific to a particular brand of driveline?

Thanks for your advice concerning the support of the mower while sharpening blades. What do you do if you have to pound out some mashed metal on the housing? It would seem dangerous to wail on it with a heavy hammer while it is up on stands.

 

[W5FL]

Keep in mind that the stands I use are 10 ft pieces of triangular radio tower sections. That is just as stable as laying on the ground. Pound away. Use a torch and rosebud tip to make your job easier.

The guards have a keeper that you can remove them completely. My old Massey caused the guard to hit the mower when it was raised and it actually cut the guard into. I used it without guards for 5 or 6 years and straightened the pto driveshaft at least a dozen times. They are made to allow you to grease the inner shaft through the plastic zerks on the outside. You can reach the U-Joint zerks easily with the guards on. I seldom do any more than pull the two sections apart to grease the outer part of the inner shaft and grease the zerks.

I doubt that they are totally interchangable since some are SAE and others are Metric. Check with Tractor Supply or Modern Equipment.

 

[Bird]

Re: "You can reach the U-Joint zerks easily with the guards on." I can reach'em all right, but wouldn't have used that word "easily." Or maybe I'm just not doing it right./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

 

[W5FL]

Bird,

Easily is the wrong word if the pto driveline is attached. When not attached and it is rotated, they are easy to reach on my implements. You need a air powered grease gun or three arms to do it though. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif