Howse 10Ft Rotary Cutter Model 10HD10DA

[juredd1]

First post here I think. Thank you for your time in advance.

Picked up a Howse 10Ft. Rotary Cutter a couple weeks back. Looked good, sounded good, was close to home but after the purchase found out they went out business a while back. Local tractor repair guy said parts are really hard to come by. There's still a Howse website so thought they were still in business or I might have passed. To late at this point so I'm trying to move forward.

So I have nearly zero experience with a multiple spindle cutter. I took the cover off to get a look at the gear boxes and shafts. I am confused at the what I would call shaft couplers being loose, they can slide back and forth on the shafts, I don't think past the shaft end but I have not tried that hard to verify for sure, if I get a picture attached that will be shown with the red directional lines. Some of the bolts on on the couplers, circled in orangeish color, are loose. Some oil buildup on the center gear box like maybe the shaft seal is leaking. My main concern right now is the loose bolts and the couplers that slide. I don't know if this is normal for shaft tension relief or something. I also pulled the fill plugs on all 3 boxes and there is a strange combination of gear lube colors. One is cream and one is almost reddish color, and the center box looks like what I would consider a normal gear lube color. Pictures included I hope.

I was also told there is no drain plug on the gear boxes so i gotta turn it upside down to drain it which don't sound right but I don't see a drain plus either.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Thank you,
Justin

 

[juredd1]

Don't think I can't edit the subject but wanted to correct the model. I got a little happy with the 10's. It's a Howse HD10DA.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Factory parts may be hard to get, but I never buy factory parts. Gears are all you have to worry about. Keep it lubed. You can get bearings and U joints somewhere if you need them. We still use a bush hog that was a junky patched up thing given to my grandad in 1979. So, just keep it lubed. I've replaced the bottom seal a few times because of barbed wire. That's it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Cream means water.
Change it.

The reddish could be rust mixing with oil.

Just change all 3 asap.

 

[juredd1]

Thank you both for you reply. Any thoughts at all on the coupler movement? I just don't want them to be loose if they are not supposed to be and end up stripping the gears.

Justin

 

[Chewwy]

Southern Farm Supply in Union Grove, NC purchased about 40 pallets of Howse Parts when Howse was being liquidated back in 2017. That maybe why the Howse website is still there.

You could try them for parts if you can’t solve your issue otherwise.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

First post here I think. Thank you for your time in advance.

Picked up a Howse 10Ft. Rotary Cutter a couple weeks back. Looked good, sounded good, was close to home but after the purchase found out they went out business a while back. Local tractor repair guy said parts are really hard to come by. There's still a Howse website so thought they were still in business or I might have passed. To late at this point so I'm trying to move forward.

So I have nearly zero experience with a multiple spindle cutter. I took the cover off to get a look at the gear boxes and shafts. I am confused at the what I would call shaft couplers being loose, they can slide back and forth on the shafts, I don't think past the shaft end but I have not tried that hard to verify for sure, if I get a picture attached that will be shown with the red directional lines. Some of the bolts on on the couplers, circled in orangeish color, are loose. Some oil buildup on the center gear box like maybe the shaft seal is leaking. My main concern right now is the loose bolts and the couplers that slide. I don't know if this is normal for shaft tension relief or something. I also pulled the fill plugs on all 3 boxes and there is a strange combination of gear lube colors. One is cream and one is almost reddish color, and the center box looks like what I would consider a normal gear lube color. Pictures included I hope.

I was also told there is no drain plug on the gear boxes so i gotta turn it upside down to drain it which don't sound right but I don't see a drain plus either.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Thank you,
JustinView attachment 815596View attachment 815591View attachment 815592

In your last picture if that's not a drain plug, then what is it?

 

[juredd1]

Southern Farm Supply in Union Grove, NC purchased about 40 pallets of Howse Parts when Howse was being liquidated back in 2017. That maybe why the Howse website is still there.

You could try them for parts if you can’t solve your issue otherwise.

Chewwy,
Thank you, I had found that info from another post on the forum and had contacted them today. Didn't have any luck by phone but the message gave me a number to text pictures to, have done that and hopeful for some response.

 

[juredd1]

In your last picture if that's not a drain plug, then what is it?

I believe that to be a fill plug. There is a plug up higher on the unit but it looks like a pressure relief valve of some sort.

 

[Chewwy]

My Woods Brush Bull does not have a drain plug per se. The gear lube is removed by removing the vent plug and syphoning thru that opening.

 

[juredd1]

My Woods Brush Bull does not have a drain plug per se. The gear lube is removed by removing the vent plug and syphoning thru that opening.

I considered that I didn't have a good method for that, I'm going to need something to put the lube back in so maybe I should have purchased something. I ended up just pulling both the vent and fill plug and standing it up on it's edge to get what fluid I could out. Not sure I got it all but hopefully most. The center gear box has a much thicker lube in it. I pulled the plug on it and it looked more like grease then oil. I know I have been told it turns back into more of a solid state when it cools down but the outer two gear boxes were more of a liquid. So I guess I'll have to fill those up and maybe run it a bit to heat up the center gear box and then drain while warm/hot.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I considered that I didn't have a good method for that, I'm going to need something to put the lube back in so maybe I should have purchased something. I ended up just pulling both the vent and fill plug and standing it up on it's edge to get what fluid I could out. Not sure I got it all but hopefully most. The center gear box has a much thicker lube in it. I pulled the plug on it and it looked more like grease then oil. I know I have been told it turns back into more of a solid state when it cools down but the outer two gear boxes were more of a liquid. So I guess I'll have to fill those up and maybe run it a bit to heat up the center gear box and then drain while warm/hot.

A lot of people will pump grease into a rotary cutter gearbox when they have a seal start leaking rather than changing it, some swear by corn head grease, I pumped some into a 3point hitch fertilizer spreader gear box and it lasted for about 10 years till the spreader hopper rusted out and was still going strong.

 

[juredd1]

A lot of people will pump grease into a rotary cutter gearbox when they have a seal start leaking rather than changing it, some swear by corn head grease, I pumped some into a 3point hitch fertilizer spreader gear box and it lasted for about 10 years till the spreader hopper rusted out and was still going strong.

Thank you for the info, much appreciated. No expert on grease but it looked good, I may just take a chance and leave it..... or not. I'll think on that a bit.

 

[kneedeep]

There’s lots of suction pumps to get the old oil out.
Could try mixing some diesel and cheap oil to stir it up and keep siphoning it out till clean.
Add some Lucas to the new oil and keep a check on it.
If it will operate at speed with the slack in coupler, use it.
If it vibrates too much, repair.

 

[Mike1955]

First post here I think. Thank you for your time in advance.

Picked up a Howse 10Ft. Rotary Cutter a couple weeks back. Looked good, sounded good, was close to home but after the purchase found out they went out business a while back. Local tractor repair guy said parts are really hard to come by. There's still a Howse website so thought they were still in business or I might have passed. To late at this point so I'm trying to move forward.

So I have nearly zero experience with a multiple spindle cutter. I took the cover off to get a look at the gear boxes and shafts. I am confused at the what I would call shaft couplers being loose, they can slide back and forth on the shafts, I don't think past the shaft end but I have not tried that hard to verify for sure, if I get a picture attached that will be shown with the red directional lines. Some of the bolts on on the couplers, circled in orangeish color, are loose. Some oil buildup on the center gear box like maybe the shaft seal is leaking. My main concern right now is the loose bolts and the couplers that slide. I don't know if this is normal for shaft tension relief or something. I also pulled the fill plugs on all 3 boxes and there is a strange combination of gear lube colors. One is cream and one is almost reddish color, and the center box looks like what I would consider a normal gear lube color. Pictures included I hope.

I was also told there is no drain plug on the gear boxes so i gotta turn it upside down to drain it which don't sound right but I don't see a drain plus either.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Thank you,
JustinView attachment 815596View attachment 815591View attachment 815592

I don’t think those couplings should slide on the shalves. But you might be inviting trouble to break the down I have had a ten foot Woods for years and never a minute of trouble

 

[hosspuller]

I would not be concerned by the loose bolts or the coupling movement. The two gearboxes will never be in complete alignment. The rubber disks and shaft movement prevents binding and bearing overload. The loose bolts won't fall out since there's a cotter pin and castle nut.