Rotary Cutter BUSH HOG LEAK

[Travis_R]

Hey ya'll,

My Bush Hog Squealer SQ600 (shearpin model) has a seal leaking Majorly. I noticed it (and like to have fainted!) a day or so ago when I was greasing it, getting ready for Spring.
The cutter is 2 years and 3 days old (I bought it new). I have cut some very heavy stuff. It is a tuff unit and is still in very good shape. Have been well satisfied with it. I would buy another one.

The seal is leaking where the shaft comes out the TOP (Not the bottom where the stump jumper is) of the gearbox where the "PTO drive shaft" connects to.

My question is How hard would it be to replace this seal? Should I replace the bearing also, or leave it alone if its not bad? Does the gearbox have to be dis-mantled? I don't think it does though. The seal don't look like its going to be that bad of a job, I'm just not 100% sure on how to go about changing it though.

I'm not quite sure, but the gearbox may still be under warranty. I'll check on it. I know that the Woods Brushbull has a 5 year gearbox warranty. The Squealer isn't that long though.

As always, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Travis R

 

[Ford960]

Travis,
I looked on the Bush Hog website and found exploded views of two different gear boxes for your Squealer. The seal is shown in either unit but I believe that there is a flange that has four bolts in it that the seal is behind.
I've got one of these Squealers outside but it's too cold to go look at it right now. If you still need the help tomorrow then I'll take a look at mine.

Bush Hog®

Look under Parts look-up, general public and then select SQ600 from the drop down menu.

Ok, I went out and took a picture of my Squealer gear box. To remove the seal drill a couple of small holes in the metal case and thread in some sheet metal screws. Use a pair of screw drivers to pry out the seal.

You may find that the bearing is either bad or the shaft is loose and that is why the seal failed. Try to shake the shaft by hand, there shouldn't be any noticable looseness. You're correct that the box is covered by a two year warranty, however, your's expired 3 days ago unfortunatly.
Good Luck

 

[RedRiver]

My advice would be to contact the dealer you purchased it from ASAP and they might be able to work with you on the warranty since it's only a few days past.

 

[Travis_R]

You are correct Red River. I tried calling today. I didn't get any answer. They must be closed for Mardi Gras. I'll try again tomorrow. Thanks.

Ford960,

Thank you so much for your time and going out in the cold to take a picture. You really didn't have to do that, but I greatly appreciate it. THANK YOU.


Travis R

 

[BTDT]

Any ideas why it started leaking? I know we have some kind of vine that will wrap around shaft, and if you don't get it off it will work its way down to that area, and I have heard that it will damage seals if run that way. Builds up heat, weakens rubber in seal, pushes its way in.

 

[Travis_R]

I always keep the deck and PTO shaft clean of grass/debris. So I know that it wasn't caused by anything wrapping around the shaft and working its way to the seal. I truly do keep the maintenance up on all of my equipment. Thats how I actually found the leak in the first place. By greasing/inspecting the hog. You do have a good point, anyway. I really feel thats not possible in my situation though.

If I had 1 guess as to why it started leaking, it woud be that I may have been cutting too heavy of brush (diameter) with it and COULD HAVE (not for sure) caused the bearing to go bad, causing the seal to fail. Again, not sure though.


Travis

 

[Travis_R]

I just fixed it a little while ago today. Dealer said that the gearbox only had a 1 year warranty. I still dis-agree. The Squealer brochure says "2-year limited gearbox warranty." I wonder what the 'limited' part means. Go figure.

I got a new seal from the dealer (same place I bought my Mahindra from). It cost $8.52 plus tax. That was very cheap in my opinion. BUT WAIT.......Thats not it.

I had the seal delivered by mail (UPS) to me. Total cost was right at $18.00 !!!! THAT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!!! Thats right........Shipping and handling was around $8.40 !!!!!
I guess I'm still the winner because I figured that was at least a $20.00 seal and it would have to be "special ordered" and take a week or so to come in.......I was wrong on both speculations.......Matter of fact, dealer had 2 in stock. But of course now he has only 1 !!

I also bought a new breather/oil fill plug to go in the top of the gearbox. It was cheaper than I expected too. It cost $12.00

Changing the seal was very easy. I just stuck a flathead screwdriver through one side of it and pried on it just a little. It popped right out. And of course like I always do, I added never-seize to the inner and outer race of the new seal before I installed it.
I usually put my seals in the freezer (so they'll shrink to make installation easier) for a few hours before I install them but was short on time. Luckily, this seal went in with NO problems. The never-seize always helps make a difference too, though.

Anyway, enough bickering about that. Its over with and its fixed. My 'new' Yanmar is another story though.

As always, thanks for the replies.


Travis R

 

[RedRiver]

Good to hear you got it fixed. And unfortunately that shipping sounds about right.....with the gas prices and all shipping has become outrageous. Most of the stuff we ship regardless of how small is usually $7 at the minimum.

 

[Soundguy]

It's limited to be in warranty only untill it needs repair.. as with 95% of most warranties with enough disclaimers to keep them from having to do anything once your fingerprints are on the iplement.. etc..

Soundguy

I. Dealer said that the gearbox only had a 1 year warranty. I still dis-agree. The Squealer brochure says "2-year limited gearbox warranty." I wonder what the 'limited' part means. Go figure.

Travis R

 

[DieselPower]

Changing the seal was very easy. I just stuck a flathead screwdriver through one side of it and pried on it just a little. It popped right out. And of course like I always do, I added never-seize to the inner and outer race of the new seal before I installed it.
I usually put my seals in the freezer (so they'll shrink to make installation easier) for a few hours before I install them but was short on time. Luckily, this seal went in with NO problems. The never-seize always helps make a difference too, though.

Travis R

Just a couple of thing's to think about in the future. I would "not" use anti-seize to lubricate the new seal. Anti-seize has metal in it, most use copper. This can prematurely wear out the seal because it's now contaminated with metal. Anti-seize should only be used to lubricate thing's don't move once installed like bolts.

Placing the seal in the freezer to me is also questionable. In doing so the sealing surface becomes very hard and there would be a greater chance of it being damaged when it is installed because it is so stiff.

Just trying to help prevent any future problems.