Ford flail mower

[Degolyerent]

I bought a ford flail mower on craig's list for $200 it is a 5' with hammer style knives
It had barb wire wrapped all around it and needed servicing real bad and I also had to add a different yoke to be able to attach the drive shaft to my MX 4700
It needs to be painted but it cuts very well I was pleasantly surprised!
I plan to use it for a while and work the bugs out of it as they appear, and like I said I will give it a good paint job, but I want to sell it and use the money for a bigger one, it was such a good deal I could not pass it up!

 

[leonz]

Good evening,

congratulations on your purchase,
as of today you have become a
life member of the "Flail Mower Nation"


Just curious, do you know what model number
it is if the I.D. Plate is intact?

You may just want to hold onto the little varmint
for a bit longer if yuo want a 7-8 footer.

There are a lot of large width good used flail mowers
on www.tractorhouse.com

You should have no trouble finding new knives and
mower parts if you require them for the ford you have.


Be sure to check the V-belts if you have not already done so;
if they are cracked they will have a very short amount of time left
before they break on you at the wrong time.

Be sure to scrape all the dirt and grease out from under the V belt
cover to find all the grease fittings and check the rear roller to see if it has
greasable bearings at each end.

Be carefull not to over grease the rotor bearings as you will only need
6-7 pumps of grease every 4-6 hours of straight mowing time or 4-6 pumps
every time you mow for short periods as you want to drive the bad old grease
out of the roller bearings.




_________________________________________________________________
"Once you go flail you never go back"

 

[Degolyerent]

The only # I can read is 22-123 I saw on a couple of places I looked up that it must have something to do with the date of mfg. Is that the case?
I also want to thank you for the "tips", I have noticed some cracking starting on the belt and was wondering about a good place to order one?
Also I have trouble getting grease into one bearing on roller and one on the drum, I took the fittings out and checked them and they were good, then I took a small piece of wire and poked around inside but it did not help. I was hoping to use it a couple of hours and try greasing it again
It is quiet when running no bearing noise, and the grease in the gear housing was low but clean, I added some grease and so far the seal seems to be ok
It cuts real well and the cutters seem to be in good shape,I am going to try it as far as grease again when I hook it back up , do you think it might need a bearing or just take apart and clean and inspect?
I appreciate info on this unit as I have not had a flail before

 

[leonz]

The only # I can read is 22-123 I saw on a couple of places I looked up that it must have something to do with the date of mfg. Is that the case?
I also want to thank you for the "tips", I have noticed some cracking starting on the belt and was wondering about a good place to order one?
Also I have trouble getting grease into one bearing on roller and one on the drum, I took the fittings out and checked them and they were good, then I took a small piece of wire and poked around inside but it did not help. I was hoping to use it a couple of hours and try greasing it again
It is quiet when running no bearing noise, and the grease in the gear housing was low but clean, I added some grease and so far the seal seems to be ok
It cuts real well and the cutters seem to be in good shape,I am going to try it as far as grease again when I hook it back up , do you think it might need a bearing or just take apart and clean and inspect?
I appreciate info on this unit as I have not had a flail before

_________________________________________________________________

The folks at flail master or the local Ford New Holland dealer should be able to I.D., the mower as I am unable to. You just might have a 917 model CHA- CHING!!!!!!!

You can obtain a V-belt from NAPA or TSC or a tractor dealer with no issues as it is a B sized belt so no worries there. "ALL" bearings and "V-belts" are actually metric in size.


Your gear box should have 90-wieght or greater gear oil and not grease.

Pleae change the suspect grease fittings before you try greasing again;
If you cannot pump grease in the fitting I would obtain one of the grease fitting purging kits from NAPA or Gemplers to purge them as you will be in severe difficulty if these bearings fail on you.

These bearings are a single roller bearing type in most cases with a seal on the inner side to prevent greae from entering the mowing area which can add tremendous amounts of dirt and grit to the bearing over time.

Please be sure to purge the open bearings and V belt pullies (with fittings) of old grease with a few pumps every time you mow.

Be doubly sure to dig behind the pulleys to check for buried grease fittings.


Both universal joints need to be purged with fresh grease at every mowing as they are under huge amounts of strain while under rotation loading.

_________________________________________________________________

"Once you go flail you never go back"

 

[RickB]

The only # I can read is 22-123 I saw on a couple of places I looked up that it must have something to do with the date of mfg. Is that the case?

22-123 is a component number for one of the vatiations of a Ford model 907 flail mower. 907's were built from January 1964 through December of 1972.
If you choose to source parts through a New Holland dealer, providing that component number is the best thing you can do to ensure getting the correct parts.