Woods Brush Bull issue

[Ford tractor]

Anyone have this issue with a medium duty Brushbull? I was cutting tag alders over the weekend and heard a loud Whack!! and she started shaking to beat the band. At first I thought it was a blade spun back and pinned by a branch, but when I looked it was a blade snapped in half. Now that's happened 3 times before and with all the rocks and stumps we have, it's expected. What wasn't expected was when I dropped the blades out, the stump jumper pan had broken all the welds to the blade bar and was all flippity floppy. A couple pictures are attached of some of the damage. The broke part of the blade also mangled a baffle on the way out.

So had to drop the blade bar and fix it up. Every weld was either broken or torn out of the 1/4" thick pan. Naturally, the pan was bent too. The old heat and beat method got it pretty straight, but for some reason the holes for the ripped out metal didn't fit the metal. So had to grind and fit them back and then weld up the broke parts and the cracks. Painted it up all nice and replaced it this morning. Now if the blades would get here, I still have a couple days of brush whacking to get to!


(oh, didn't take any pictures of the "after". Too busy doing it to run and find the camera, sorry)

 

[Farmwithjunk]

A few years ago, I swore off Woods mowers. I had an MD172 (pre "brush bull" medium duty 6'er), a BB720, a BB7200, and two BB8400's.... (2 medium duty, 2 heavy duty models)

I had gearbox failures galor with the MD172, 3-point structural failures with the BB720, tailwheel issues with one BB8400, and paint issues with all three Brush Bull models. Some of this was partially my fault. I was trying to use mid grade mowers in continuous duty commercial work. None the less, the structural/mechanical issues were within a year of purchase....My dealer and Woods both let me down on any warranty repairs. The paint issues were ALL on Woods. No primer, just top coat over oily metal. The paint literally fell off in sheets, all within a few months of new. And of course, Woods and the dealer failed on THAT event also.

So I started buying Bush Hog brand mowers. I've had extremely good luck with them in terms of mechanical reliability. I now own 10 Bush Hog mowers for the mowing business and 1 at home. Only one warranty claim, and that was handled with no delay.

I've also found the OEM Bush Hog blades hold an edge better that the Woods blades, which seemed to be brittle and easy to knock chunks out of the cutting edge.

 

[jdtractor]

hi i have the same problem with mine ,i own a woods brush bull 840,3pth its taken a beating and the stump jumper has also to the point of breaking the welds at the same place as yours and also breaking the weld completely at the hub . the blade bar hub which holds everything to the gear vertical shaft. i have done lots of welding on this machine to the point it is out of balance and have repaired the hub twice .the metal where the welding for the hub is to stressed and the welds are the same on the stump jumper ,basicly its junk .i bought a whole new stump jumper tired of welding on stessed metal the price is not cheap,thru my woods dealer approx. $600.00 for the pan and 2 new seals this is the last time , if it happens again its history ,im going to another brand, but to be fair to the machine ive beat the h*** out of it ,mowing very heavy and steep ground cutting an average of 3" and sometimes 4" material. ive been hard on it but the way i look at it i make $$$$$$ mowing filth but the machine costs me $$$$$ when i work it this hard its a 2002 yr and its on its way out if it goes again. ive never had any problems with paint or the gear box etc........ have broken several bolts and replaced with grd#8 just my .02cts have a good 1.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Anyone have this issue with a medium duty Brushbull? I was cutting tag alders over the weekend and heard a loud Whack!! and she started shaking to beat the band. At first I thought it was a blade spun back and pinned by a branch, but when I looked it was a blade snapped in half. Now that's happened 3 times before and with all the rocks and stumps we have, it's expected. What wasn't expected was when I dropped the blades out, the stump jumper pan had broken all the welds to the blade bar and was all flippity floppy. A couple pictures are attached of some of the damage. The broke part of the blade also mangled a baffle on the way out.

So had to drop the blade bar and fix it up. Every weld was either broken or torn out of the 1/4" thick pan. Naturally, the pan was bent too. The old heat and beat method got it pretty straight, but for some reason the holes for the ripped out metal didn't fit the metal. So had to grind and fit them back and then weld up the broke parts and the cracks. Painted it up all nice and replaced it this morning. Now if the blades would get here, I still have a couple days of brush whacking to get to!


(oh, didn't take any pictures of the "after". Too busy doing it to run and find the camera, sorry)

I would not try repairing the rotating components you pictured. For safety sake replace all the damaged parts. If that thing come apart at high speed it can do you some real damage. You're lucky the blades you broke didn't get you.

 

[LeadPoison]

I have the same mower and have not experienced any of these issues. Paint quality has been excellent and not one issue. Guess I got lucky!

 

[Ford tractor]

A few years ago, I swore off Woods mowers. I had an MD172 (pre "brush bull" medium duty 6'er), a BB720, a BB7200, and two BB8400's.... (2 medium duty, 2 heavy duty models)

I had gearbox failures galor with the MD172, 3-point structural failures with the BB720, tailwheel issues with one BB8400, and paint issues with all three Brush Bull models. Some of this was partially my fault. I was trying to use mid grade mowers in continuous duty commercial work. None the less, the structural/mechanical issues were within a year of purchase....My dealer and Woods both let me down on any warranty repairs. The paint issues were ALL on Woods. No primer, just top coat over oily metal. The paint literally fell off in sheets, all within a few months of new. And of course, Woods and the dealer failed on THAT event also.

So I started buying Bush Hog brand mowers. I've had extremely good luck with them in terms of mechanical reliability. I now own 10 Bush Hog mowers for the mowing business and 1 at home. Only one warranty claim, and that was handled with no delay.

I've also found the OEM Bush Hog blades hold an edge better that the Woods blades, which seemed to be brittle and easy to knock chunks out of the cutting edge.

I've beat mine like a rented mule for the past 10 years. 4 sets of blades. The original blades I wore down to nothing, the other 3 sets have all broken as shown. Guess they cheapened out on the source / process of making blades? The gear box has been good. I changed the oil in it today. A bit of water contam, but not much and no metal flake. The plan was to buy quality and buy only once. It's been a pretty good plan so far. The only places the paint has failed are where the metal is bulged out from having stuff whack it. And a few chips here and there. No paint shedding like my old Ford truck did in the 80's. The 3pt structure has been good too. I'd guess there are 400 or so hours of mowing on it. On the whole it's been ok, but when I win the lottery and can afford a new one, it may well be a medium or heavy duty BH brand.

hi i have the same problem with mine ,i own a woods brush bull 840,3pth its taken a beating and the stump jumper has also to the point of breaking the welds at the same place as yours and also breaking the weld completely at the hub . the blade bar hub which holds everything to the gear vertical shaft. i have done lots of welding on this machine to the point it is out of balance and have repaired the hub twice .the metal where the welding for the hub is to stressed and the welds are the same on the stump jumper ,basicly its junk .i bought a whole new stump jumper tired of welding on stessed metal the price is not cheap,thru my woods dealer approx. $600.00 for the pan and 2 new seals this is the last time , if it happens again its history ,im going to another brand, but to be fair to the machine ive beat the h*** out of it ,mowing very heavy and steep ground cutting an average of 3" and sometimes 4" material. ive been hard on it but the way i look at it i make $$$$$$ mowing filth but the machine costs me $$$$$ when i work it this hard its a 2002 yr and its on its way out if it goes again. ive never had any problems with paint or the gear box etc........ have broken several bolts and replaced with grd#8 just my .02cts have a good 1.

You must be cutting the same junk I do! If it can be pushed over, it gets cut. I did find online places that have the "cross bar assembly 57060" for as low as $340. With the weight of it, I'd be afraid of the shipping cost! I spun it up without blades and it was smooth as silk.

I would not try repairing the rotating components you pictured. For safety sake replace all the damaged parts. If that thing come apart at high speed it can do you some real damage. You're lucky the blades you broke didn't get you.

I'm not worried about that. If all the welds fail, the pan is still held in place by the blades and blade pins.

 

[jdtractor]

Hi to ya FORD TRACTOR i do mow the same as you, if im hired to clear a piece of ground including my own ,if its in my way and not flagged to be left standing, its history! i dont show no feelings for it ,if i can back over it , or push it over with my FEL its gone. ive been known to push it over and carry it away with the FEL! I hate FILTH and i must say my property still has its share, but i try and keep it down. this mower we are talking about isnt bad but i do think they could have designed it better and for the price a person should not have to worry about these issues, but i also agree they like everything else are CHEAPER dont know why the price isnt . i agree with the comment the blades are cheaper and softer , they ware twice as fast as they should and i cant begin to tell you how many blades ive replaced , almost a set every other year,depending on how they look and condition, ive broken a few also but thats what you get when you work them hard, and i didnt buy it for a lawn fixture. but like i said if it dies on me again its HISTORY im tired of the down time. have a good 1

 

[Ford tractor]

The local dealer got my blades in. I must say that "supporting the local economy" sucks. I had 3 online places that were in the mid-60's for the blades. The local guy said they were "80 something" so I got them from him. Unfortunately, that was 88 something, plus shipping plus tax and the total was $117 and change. No more bending over to support the local economy from me


Anyway, I put the blades on and cut a couple acres of field grass and clover. Smooth as ever.