Tiller Countyline Tiller: Check The Bolts!

[Travis_R]

A good friend of mine has a new 6 foot TSC Countyline tiller. He's got about 5 hours on it already and noticed some "light oil seepage" on top where the tube goes into the side gearbox. We checked the bolts and the bottom one was almost loose enough to turn by hand. Checked all the bolts on both gear boxes and almost every one was somewhat loose!

There is nothing wrong with the tiller and it seems to be a well built piece of equipment. Very satisfied with it. I went and looked at his today because I'm fixing to buy a 6' Kodiak, or 6' King Kutter (which is Countyline).

Just wanted all the King Kutter / Countyline owners out there to check the bolts on your tiller.

[powerscol]

Every brand of tiller will have these issues. The one suggestion I got from my selling dealer was to routinely check all bolts and fluid levels. Even on mine I found the same bolts you mention loose. I also found several of the tine bolts needed to be snugged up. Keep in mind the bouncing and vibration going on as our units are used. A few minutes with a socket wrench can go a long way.

[dschuffert]

I experienced the same on my John deere 655 tiller. I bought it this summer, did a small test run, then checked the bolts - about 50% of them were loose or could be torqued tighter to spec.

[crazyal]

I would remove one at a time and put locktite on them.

[Herkypilot]

+1 ^^

[powerscol]

I would remove one at a time and put locktite on them.

Excellent thought. not being that informed which locktite is the correct one. Red or blue or other?
I know - this sounds like a dumb question, but the last time I used the stuff was a few years back and I never could get the bolt out later (used on a lawn mower blade)

[oldballs]

I'd use blue and continue to check the bolts as a maintenance item. One probably uses the tiller just on occasion, so the check over would just be part of the set up.

[Mace Canute]

Excellent thought. not being that informed which locktite is the correct one. Red or blue or other?
I know - this sounds like a dumb question, but the last time I used the stuff was a few years back and I never could get the bolt out later (used on a lawn mower blade)

Since "locktite" is often used as a generic reference to all threadlockers, colours may vary between manufacturers for roughly the same strength of product. I believe Locktite colours their medium strength product blue and their high strength product red. Usually a medium strength product is more than adequate and usually doesn't require more than hand tools to remove, but if it is stubborn, heating the fastener to around 300 degrees will liquify the product and it will easily come out; this is especially true of the high strength fasteners where heat is mandatory for removal.

[Lou66]

I have a 5' king kutter tiller I got from tsc about 10 years ago,, it been a good one.. but I've always had a problem keeping the bolts tight,, to much vibration when tilling I think,, so I tacked weld all my bolts,, if I need to remove them I will take a grinder knock the weld off,, and install new bolts and tack them,, that has worked well for me for the last 4 to 5 years.. Lou

[sweettractors]

If it is a new piece of equipment, be sure to check all nuts and bolts periodically until they all seat in and then a couple times a year. Sorta like checking the air in your tires. Ken Sweet