Ford 917L Special Flail Mower

[wirlybird]

Mine is already set for maximum height and I am eventually going to figure way to set it another inch higher.
It is around 3" height now.


View attachment 702299

I just went out to adjust to 3" cut height and realized I had been at 1 1/2" and not the 2 1/4" I thought.
This helps explain why it was clogging up some with the more viney material.
Reset to 2 1/4" and we'll see how it does out on the test field today.

 

[wirlybird]

I have not gone actively looking yet but does anyone have a part number for the seal on the input shaft of the gear box?
I assume it is the same for the 50" and the 60".

I see mine dripping slightly when the implement is raised all the way up.
PTO shaft putting pressure on the input shaft it so note to self about that. Only raise the implement so the PTO shaft doesn't hit.
This was while not in use by the way!
Figured it would be good to get a seal anyway though.

 

[arto98607]

I have not gone actively looking yet but does anyone have a part number for the seal on the input shaft of the gear box?
I assume it is the same for the 50" and the 60".

I see mine dripping slightly when the implement is raised all the way up.
PTO shaft putting pressure on the input shaft it so note to self about that. Only raise the implement so the PTO shaft doesn't hit.
This was while not in use by the way!
Figured it would be good to get a seal anyway though.

1. It looks like the same gearbox on both 50" & 60" models.

I ordered new gearbox shaft seal from Messick's since I did not have dimensions before removing it (New Holland / Case IH: SEAL, Part # K261876).

There are generic seals BA 35-62-10 mm which are easy to find online at eBay etc.
(here is one just like it: Metric Oil Shaft Seal 35 x 62 x 10mm Double Lip Price for 1 pc | eBay).

So it's 35mm - 62mm - 10mm double lip seal.

2. I also have the same issue with PTO shaft hitting the mower "body" which is why I have turned in the 3-point upper link making it shorter, which is exactly why I am now having to consider how to modify the rear roller brackets so that I can increase the cutting height another inch or so.

IE. Me screwing in the top link has tilted the mower just little bit forward & causing a shorter cutting height, but hey that's better than ruining my new PTO shaft shield...

It's not an issue when the mower is down on the ground in the cutting position, but it was pretty close when raised up, and there is evidence the previous owned had the same issue but did not notice or care!

Cheers!

 

[DaveMueller]

Two cheap 3/8" Cobalt drill bits under $5 each for drilling 240 flails so it did not exactly break the budget.
The good news is the flails were only 89 cents / each.

Not a big deal, but last summer they had 7/16" holes in the MH-386 flails and I drilled them out to 3/8"

How did your drill bit make the 7/16" hole smaller?

 

[DaveMueller]

I run mine at 3.5" and it does really well on the junk in our pasture. In the spring, I borrow a brush hog to get rid of the small trees that sprout up and get the really tall stuff down to a manageable height for the flail mower. Really tall things just get pushed down and spring up after you pass by. Once you get it all mowed, the trick is to keep it that way. I'm really happy with the flail vs a brush hog or finish mower, just wish it was a little longer. Half of our pasture has been mowed for 3 summers now, it almost looks like grass.

 

[arto98607]

How did your drill bit make the 7/16" hole smaller?

It was either a magic or typo but to be expected from someone who uses metric.

 

[wirlybird]

Here was yesterdays big test of the 917L.
This is an area about 1.25 acres I brush hogged in May.
You can see it grew up a bit since.
Height was about 8+ inches of pretty dense green grasses and cut height set at 2 1/4".
It really mowed without issue and took about 1 hour and 20 minutes to do.
Only issue we saw was that you can see the tire tracks but I think this may have been more from the brush hog.
I could see a lot of dead grass from the brush hog also.
I'd really like a wider cut. If I try to run at the full width of the flail with little overlap I get strips of uncut grass so I have to overlap about a good 6 inches.
I'm new to flails so it is a learning process.

 

[arto98607]

It looks about the same as my 917L cut and perfectly fine for a yard in my opinion.

Mowing more often will help but it may also be worth trying to raise the mower a little if you can.

The tire tracks are probably about the same as with brush hog, but easier to spot since the rest of the finished cut looks nicer?

 

[Fallon]

I have not gone actively looking yet but does anyone have a part number for the seal on the input shaft of the gear box?
I assume it is the same for the 50" and the 60".

I see mine dripping slightly when the implement is raised all the way up.
PTO shaft putting pressure on the input shaft it so note to self about that. Only raise the implement so the PTO shaft doesn't hit.
This was while not in use by the way!
Figured it would be good to get a seal anyway though.

On my 917 new seals were going to be about $100 if I remember. As much as I paid for the whole beat to he'll mower. I put in pourable grease in the gearbox instead. It worked fine & didn't leak for 5 odd years. Finally retired the ancient beat to hell 917 & got a new Peruzzo Brush Bull flail. Still keep the 917 around as a backup as I do side work mowing & the like.

 

[arto98607]

Glad it worked out for you with the grease, but there is a reason it's not recommended for most common gearboxes.


917 and 917L are quite a different model mowers and have different gearboxes and all else too.

Like was said previously in post #53 the 35mm - 62mm - 10mm double lip oil seal can be found pretty cheap on the eBay ($6.90 incl.shipping).