ebme96
New member
How about this for a winter(?) time project? We have a grasshopper 618 with the Kohler triad engine, it finally did what all those engines do after too many hours with plugged cooling fins, dropped the cylinder sleeve. Also after 1500 hours and 16 years, the hydros were getting very weak. So we had to take a look at all the options for lawn mowing.
Option 1: Set younger brother loose with this thing :laughing:
Option 2: Buy a new mower,,,,, OK, go check prices on a good commercial front-mount (we have lots of low-hanging apple trees to mow around)
Option 3: Rebuild this mower. So releasing the ever present d-i-y'er in me I started calculations. (see the thread in the hydraulics forum for that discussion)
Option 3 is the one we settled on, so my order just arrived from surplus center. The frame is rattle-canned (no pro job here but looks good enuf for me)
Here is a list of the parts I purchased
1: Engine, 23 hp Briggs Vangard (the original engine was an 18 hp so this is an upgrade!)
2: Wheel Motors, 15.68 cu. in. wheel motors
3: Pumps, 1.1 cu. in. variable piston pumps
misc. filters, lights, and switches
All the above came from Surplus Center
Tearing into the brand-new engine to mount the front drive-shaft, I found that the one on the previous engine required some very slight machining to make it fit. It is now at the local machine shop awaiting his magic touch.
This is a work in progress, I will keep y'all updated as to how it all turns out. (disclaimer, I am not guaranteeing anything about the above configuration. I have yet to see if it will even work/provide the power I need)
Advice if you are even remotely thinking about messing with hydraulics. Do yourself a favor and buy this (https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydra...sories/Books/FLUID-POWER-DATA-BOOK-9-1022.axd) it will give you lots of good info on sizing/speed/power and such.
Disclaimer #2 I am in no way affiliated with surplus center, just a happy customer.
Option 1: Set younger brother loose with this thing :laughing:
Option 2: Buy a new mower,,,,, OK, go check prices on a good commercial front-mount (we have lots of low-hanging apple trees to mow around)
Option 3: Rebuild this mower. So releasing the ever present d-i-y'er in me I started calculations. (see the thread in the hydraulics forum for that discussion)
Option 3 is the one we settled on, so my order just arrived from surplus center. The frame is rattle-canned (no pro job here but looks good enuf for me)
Here is a list of the parts I purchased
1: Engine, 23 hp Briggs Vangard (the original engine was an 18 hp so this is an upgrade!)
2: Wheel Motors, 15.68 cu. in. wheel motors
3: Pumps, 1.1 cu. in. variable piston pumps
misc. filters, lights, and switches
All the above came from Surplus Center
Tearing into the brand-new engine to mount the front drive-shaft, I found that the one on the previous engine required some very slight machining to make it fit. It is now at the local machine shop awaiting his magic touch.
This is a work in progress, I will keep y'all updated as to how it all turns out. (disclaimer, I am not guaranteeing anything about the above configuration. I have yet to see if it will even work/provide the power I need)
Advice if you are even remotely thinking about messing with hydraulics. Do yourself a favor and buy this (https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydra...sories/Books/FLUID-POWER-DATA-BOOK-9-1022.axd) it will give you lots of good info on sizing/speed/power and such.
Disclaimer #2 I am in no way affiliated with surplus center, just a happy customer.
