Flail Mower Flail Mower bearing removal help

[Blake13]

Well some good and some bad news.

The good- I was able to get the rotor off. The bad- The cast iron bearing support flange exploded when i was using a jaw puller to remove the bearing from the stub shaft....

When i got the extra clearance from removing the bearing support, which ideally would have came off in one piece with the bearing, i was able to lower the drive side down the slot. Even though it didn't look like it was going to have enough 'wiggle room' on the opposite side, the rotor dropped low enough on the slotted side to clear the flail frame and pull free. NOW i am desperately hoping i can find a replacement part....

I still haven't been able to budge the drive side bearing, so when i take the rotor in to have new weldments welded in place I will also have the shop remove the bearing.

Really crossing my fingers on finding a replacement bearing support flange....

 

[leonz]

THEY TOOK THE BLOODY SKID PLATES OFF THE MOWER THE )(*&^%^&*()_)(*&Y^T%^Y&U*I(*&Y^T%ERS It explains a lot, GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHIIIISSSSSSS, SPIT, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The drive side weldment is distorted at the opening (it should be flat and flush) and that explains why you had so much trouble. if you can please take the entire mower to the shop
as the side weldment needs to be flattened out using a rosebud torch, two pieces of 4 inch channel iron and C clamps. I hope the parts and service manual come soon.

BAS(*&&^*(*&^*(TARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blake13]

I removed the rear roller and its mounting brackets which i believe are also the skid plates you are referring too. They are just out of the picture, so i think were good there.

I went to pick up my c-brackets, shackles, and y knives today but the brackets are wrong... after talking with the local distributor, that was the only thing they had and don't have an answer for me.

Does anyone know a source to get a hold of some c-brackets? The ones they sent are cast, and slightly larger. Mine are mild steel, bent and drilled.

Worst case scenario, i talked to my machine shop and they can water jet cut and make some for me but it will be $$$.

 

[leonz]

I am just getting back to this Blake13,


You can contact SeppiUSA at 1-800-681-1371 and you should be able to get the replacement weldments from the new distributor and return the other ones.

The other Seppi contacts are Ben Carlson @ 1-763-238-6584
Craig Miracle @ 1-513-265-7504


Leon

 

[Blake13]

Got word back from Seppi in Italy. My mild steel bracket is no longer available and the part that I received from the dealer and sent back was the only option. It is a cast iron piece that is a slightly different size. At this point i think i am better off taking the rotor to my machine shop and having them weld on an 'ear' to fix my broken weldments.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Got word back from Seppi in Italy. My mild steel bracket is no longer available and the part that I received from the dealer and sent back was the only option. It is a cast iron piece that is a slightly different size. At this point i think i am better off taking the rotor to my machine shop and having them weld on an 'ear' to fix my broken weldments.

It could be a steel forging, or a steel casting, but if it's meant to be welded on, and to hold a flail, it's not cast iron. It's likely better than what you have. It may take a little more in the way of balancing, but should be stronger.

 

[Blake13]

double post

 

[Blake13]

Good point, I am pretty sure the replacement weldment is cast and not forged due to its texture.

I have called around and all the shops in my area either aren't set up for balancing something like this, and the one that was said they wont do it anymore because they have had such poor results. So the goal here is for repair to maintain the original weight and balance.

The cast replacement part will place the shackle about 1/4" further out original. I would have to grind some material off the bottom of the cast bracket to bring the shackles back to the same plane. Then they would be welded into the same place as the original weldments. Even after removing some material they will be a small amount heavier than the original bent mild steel weldments. Would this be a better solution than to have a shop make and weld an 'ear' where the old one broke off?

 

[leonz]

Hello Blake13,

You will be better off having the machine shop make a new weldment for you as it will be much much closer to the original except for the weight of the actual weld.

Once you have the rotor mounted back under the shroud you can spin it up slowly you should be fine.

 

[Blake13]

I received my bearings and repaired rotor yesterday and got it all back together with new blades and shackles where they were missing. I tested it out yesterday and today and am very pleased with the results. It is very quiet and smooth up to about 500 PTO RPMs. Anything above 500 PTO RPM and it starts to vibrate so I would say its close to being balanced correctly but maybe not perfectly so. Doesn't matter much because at 500 rpms it chops up brush with ease and leaves a better than expected cut on turf grass. Thanks for everyone's help, especially leonz!

One tip: I heated my bearings to 200 F in my oven for about 25 min before installing them on the rotor shafts, they slipped on like butter!