Finish mowers need wider wheels!

[Mosey]

gary - I've had that same problem too. Where did you get the wider wheel? I assume you had to get the wider fork also. Did you buy the wheel, fork, and shaft as a unit? How much did it cost? Thanks.

 

[gmason]

Mosey, got them from a local shop that sells/repairs small commercial mowers/trimmers/saws. They also have a few of the Z commercial mowers. The wheel was expensive, around $50 for one, but considering that I've gone through 2 -3 $20 wheels, I figured it would be worth it to try it out. It's guaranteed after all.../w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

Well, the short story is that I bought a older used Long 5' finish mower that only had the 2 rear wheels and no front at all. You adjusted with the 3pt height. I fabricated some braces and bought some yokes from a mower catalog and welded it up. I ran into the rear wheels of my tractor hitting these so I had to add 8" to the pin mounting brackets on the mower. My yokes where plenty big and I have used a combination of large nuts and washers as spacers on the rod the wheel rides on in the yoke. With this new tire, I should be able to remove many of the nuts and just have a few washers.

The yokes I bought a few years ago and if I recall they aren't that $$. Just depended on which mower they went. Some had nearly the same specs, but because they were for a certain brand mower the price was +30%. Because I made the bracket around the spec of the yoke/shaft height/dia I went with the better buy. There are several outfits that wholesale mower parts like this, never could find a website for them, but any good mower shop should have a catalog you can go through.

good luck..
gary

 

[djradz]

Gary, it's probably too late for your mower, but others should take a look at another way of supporting the front of the mower. "Check chains" offer many distinct advantages such as a smoother ride for the mower, level mowing, and no need for front wheels. A flexible top link is required, but most mowers come that way nowadays. Take a look at the attachment and see if it works for you.

 

[Mosey]

Gary - "The yokes I bought a few years ago and if I recall they aren't that $$".

Where did you get the yokes? I just called a place that sells and repairs mowers and they said the cheapest yokes they have are $70!

I called another place and they have some yokes with a 7/8" shaft for $43, which is better, but still more than I want to pay.

 

[Mosey]

I just realized that I've had my 3pt sway arms adjusted too tight when I hook up my finish mower. The problem I was having with the caster wheels leaving marks when I change directions was because I had the sway arms so tight that the mower couldn't move at all from side to side, so the wheels had to turn on a dime. By leaving a little slack in the sway arms, the mower can move a little now and that helps a lot. I liked having it tight for total control when trimming, but I realize now that it can be too tight.

 

[djradz]

Danny, if it works for you that way great. However, with my old 1720 and my new TC40D especially, there is no sway. The 1720 had turnbuckles so you could leave some, but I figured they were there to prevent it so I had them tight, but the TC40D mechanism is set up precisely so you don't have any sway at all. There are pins you drop in an assortment of holes and this essentially locks the mechanism. Your 33 must be a little different. Could it be you've got more weight than desireable on the rear casters? Mine do have to pivot on a dime when changing directions, but that doesn't seem to have caused any problems. Seems there must be something more contributing to the troubles you're seeing. Good luck!