Finish mower

[jand38]

I keep bending my wheel shafts on my mower I can not back up if I do wheel turns side ways and bent shaft is the results and after many straighting they will bend much quicker now like today any one have this problem or am I the only one? The brand of mower is a Maschio (jolly) Italian There must be away to modify to make the problem go away. I know Woods and others who do not have vertical wheel shafts any ideas??? MD

 

[greg_g]

Hope I'm not overstating the obvious, but those shafts must be well greased. But once bent, I'm not sure you'll ever get things back as straight as original. Lift the mower with the TPH, and try to spin each of the 4 wheels on the vertical shaft to check for binding.

One other less obvious thing is tire size. If the tires are too wide for the forks, they won't rotate properly on their axle bolts. That in turn can cause them to go sideways. Even if the tires are the right size, low air pressure can do the same thing.

//greg//

 

[DK35vince]

I keep bending my wheel shafts on my mower I can not back up if I do wheel turns side ways and bent shaft is the results and after many straighting they will bend much quicker now like today any one have this problem or am I the only one?

You are the only one having this problem with bent shafts that I have ever heard or read about.

 

[RoyJackson]

You are the only one having this problem with bent shafts that I have ever heard or read about.

I just had this problem, actually. It wasn't to the point I bent anything, but the wheel was cocking and digging a rut.

As Greg wrote...a lack of lubrication. I had a bad zerk fitting.

In my case, I lifted the mower, put jackstands under it and removed the wheel spindle (which would not rotate freely). Since I didn't have a spare zerk handy, I just pulled one of the others (and capped that hole with the bad fitting), greased and finished mowing.

This is one of those times you pump grease in until it oozes out from the end of the spindle. Frankly, I knew it wasn't taking grease as well as it should have, but I procrastinated in replacing the zerk fitting.

 

[Jae]

I just had this problem, actually. It wasn't to the point I bent anything, but the wheel was cocking and digging a rut.

I had a similar problem with the tail wheel on my 6 foot brush mower. It was slightly used when I got it with my almost new Tractor, I don't think the previous owner had a grease gun in his possesion! A healthy dose of grease on the tail wheel solved the impromptu ruts.

I hit the loader pins with some grease as well as I don't think they were ever greased (had a lot of slop for a tractor with ~100 hrs on it). In the case of the loader pins I may need to just replace them all (not a cheap endevor i would think) as the damage has already been done.

(grabs a soapbox)

I look at a lot of used equipment as it tends to be abundant round my neck of the woods and **** near 99% of the time the equipment is worn and beaten due to lack of lubrication. It irks me to no end! Why ruin expensive equipment when all it takes is a few mins and a few bucks to keep it in tip top shape? Not only preventing wear but also damage as a result of sticky pivot points etc.

"Sorry Mr Random Joe Farmer, I know you paid 1200 dollars for your jim dandy (insert implement name here), but you failed to care for it and it is no longer comparable to the new one down at Tractor Supply."

(puts soapbox away)

Not directing the above rant at anyone specifically, just pushes my buttons in a bad way sometimes.

 

[EddieWalker]

I had the same problems with my Land Pride cutter. I bent it backing up one time, and after that, it wold get out of alignment fairly easily. I bent it back so many times that I think the metal lost all it's ability to stay straight. hahaha I bought a new one for forty plus bucks and haven't had any problems since.

My thought was that once it was out of alignment, it was very dificlut to get back in the right position. Impossible for me anyway.

I also have to admit to not greasing it every time I used it, and that was probably a big part of my problems. Now I grease it every time I use it, even if it's just for an hour. I think that while it's sitting in between the times I use it, it dries out. I thought that if I greased it the day before and only used it an hour or two after work, that I could use it again without greasing it the next day.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[jand38]

I wish lack of grease was the problem but I grease before I use the mower and yes after one time bent it makes it easier to bend again, you get to a point that it can not be straighten perfect but I still can use the F/M. I call about buying the assembly new and they are $90 per item so I will come up with a new design. I bought this F/M new 3 years ago and have not used it that much. MD

 

[greg_g]

F/M. I call about buying the assembly new and they are $90 per item

If you're talking $90 bucks for part #T14008007, somebody's pullin' your chain. Here's a fork just like that http://http://www.agrisupplyco.com/cgi-bin/cgiitmls?m=ThisP&p=30887 for $25. It's for another Italian mower, a Caroni. Who knows - it might even fit

//greg//