brush hog smoking

bowslam · May 31, 2005

I have an older 6' JD brush hog. Have used it several times this Spring for several hours each time with no problems. Today I hook up as usual and start mowing. After a couple of hundred yards I notice that grass/weeds aren't being cut. By the time I finish that strip, another 100yd, there is smoke pouring out of the gear box. I hobble it back to the barn and hook up a different mower instead. Later after it cooled I checked the gear oil and it's fine. It seems the problem is in the slip clutch but I have no idea why, what to do about it, or whether the whole thing is "cooked" or not.

Any thoughts??

Glenn9643 · May 31, 2005

I'm not certain, but would think that you can get replacement clutch disks for it, and springs if those got too hot. You said JD; check with the dealer. If parts aren't available a replacement slip clutch shouldn't be too bad.

Tryno · May 31, 2005

I think last time I bought slip clutch disks for an old sidewider bushhog it was less then $20. Might try tighting the clutch first.

Bully · May 31, 2005

Does the blades run smoothly and the gear box turn? you might have something stuck up in there that allowed the clutch to smoke.

bowslam · May 31, 2005

It appears so ... but I didn't have the time to take it all apart. There's a grease fitting there and it took a few pumps which may have had something to do with what went on today (I acquired this earlier this year but seemed to have been reasonably well kept). I plan to break it down in the AM and clean things up, grease, etc. Was hoping that someone had been thru this and could give me some ideas as to the cause.

HomeBrew2 · May 31, 2005

Smoked hog?, I'm in, I'll bring the beer !!!

beenthere · May 31, 2005

I assume the smoke was not "pouring out of the gearbox", but it was in close proximity to the gear box, and that led you to the possibility it was the slip clutch?

Until you tell us more about it, I would suspect that your mowing was tough (short cut and long grass), and the slip clutch was set a bit too light. That caused the slip clutch to slip, and then eventually smoke.
(When it wasn't mowing, probably would have been a good idea to check out why, rather than finishing the strip. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

I would recommend tightening the clutch maybe one full turn on each nut on the spring bolts. Then try mowing with it again. If it still slips, then I suspect you need to get the clutch repaired, or add the new clutch plates yourself.

Sometimes people back off the spring bolts on the clutch when they store the rotary cutter for the winter. This may have been the case with yours. Maybe not, and you just had tougher mowing with a bigger tractor that had more hp.

gabby · May 31, 2005

The slip clutch should have 6 or 8 adjustment bolts around the outside. Tighten each of them about one full turn and try it again. Unless the friction plates inside the clutch have disintegrated they are probably OK.
gabby

Dougwatts · May 31, 2005

I have a John Deere MX5 rotary cutter. A couple of times I have had the same experience you had, smoke pouring from the clutch and things back there were really hot. After ascertaining that the blades would move freely, I began again with no problem. Since there was a lot of smoke, I assumed I had ruined the clutch, and would have to replace it, but apparently not so.