1993 B1750 HST First Failure

[SDT]

Folks, I guess it's time for me to stop bragging about my flawless 1993 B1750.

Today, while mowing with the 60" MMM, the spring that returns the hydro pedal to neutral failed. I finished the section that I was working on by returning the pedal to neutral with my hand but decided not to try to complete the entire job this way. Thought about it but I'm not a lucky person and would likely damage something.

Monday is a holiday so I cannot even order a new spring until Tuesday. Bummer. Installation looks difficult so will get correct spring so as to install once only. Besides, it's expected to rain tomorrow and Monday.

Did I mention that I have a back-up plan for mowing the lawn should the previously flawless B1750 ever let me down?

Yep. Bought an as new, used 72" MMM for the new B3350 about a month ago because it was a good deal and these things do not show up used. Since then I have installed/fitted/adjusted it before removing it for storage. The 72" MMM is too wide for my lawn but can be used in a pinch. Don't expect to ever need it but sleep better.

Of course, the B3350 went down last weekend and is at the dealer for warranty work (subject of a different thread). Senior dealer tech and Kubota tech looked at it last Monday (neither knows what is wrong but did come up with a plan). Since Monday senior tech has been out ill. Does not yet know what is wrong but may result in hospital stay. If and when he returns, he has about two weeks of prior work before my B3350. I do not expect the B3350 to be back for another 4-6 weeks. So much for "never to be needed" back up plans.

Did I mention that I am not lucky?

SDT

 

[Egon]

A couple of bungee cords on the forward/reverse pedal as temporary??

 

[SDT]

A couple of bungee cords on the forward/reverse pedal as temporary??

I thought about that, Egon.

Could use a bungee cord to pull the hydro pedal back towards reverse and keep my foot on pedal to prevent it from going into reverse but decided to just bite the bullet and remove the MMM (necessary to get to the spring) and wait for a new spring from Kubota.

Gives me a chance to change the oil in the MMM gearboxes while it's off. I forgot to do that before mounting the MMM this spring. It's kind of a PITA to avoid creating a mess but going to try a flex-a-funnel. In years past, I lifted the MMM with a FEL on another tractor to get the oil to drain without running onto the belt. Currently all of my tractors have mowers rather than FELs mounted.

I'm still very proud of my 1750, as this is the very first failure of any kind that it has needed in over 26 years.

SDT

 

[Egon]

Proper solution.