GyW
New member
Just wanted to share the fix I used for the very worn and loose throttle shaft in my old JD 140. Last week I decided it was time to rebuild the carb along with some other major tune up maintenance so she'll be ready for mowing season. I picked up the rebuild kit from the local JD shop, when I got the carb off I found the shaft was very loose, not wanting to wait for a mail order bushing I decided to see if I couldn't make my own bushing and get the job done during the weekend. I went to Lowes and found a 1/4" ID flanged bronze bushing for $2.80 plus tax, bought it home and got to work making it fit. Note in this pic, the arrow pointing to the worn shaft where it rode in the bore and the two gold color lines showing the lower bracket is straight, more about the bracket later.
(Click on these thumbnails to view full size pics. Sorry but for some reason some of the pics got rotated 90deg to the right once uploaded??)
First I had to reduce the flange to make for a pres fit into the recess on the carb body, for this I clamped it snug but lightly in the chuck of my drill press, tighten only by hand so not to crush the bronze. With the chuck spinning I used a file to take the flange down to size.
Once I had a press fit I had to decide how long I was going to have the bushing, I wanted the bushing to reach as far up on the shaft as I could so it would be riding on as much of the unworn section that I could get. I decided to see if I could bend that lower part of the bracket up, I quickly found that bracket is made of brass, with a small drift punch and a few careful taps I was able to push the bracket up the shaft and reshape it nicely. Once I had my measurements for the length of the bushing I used the pointed end of the jaw on the calipers to scribe a line.
Taking a coffee break I was weighing my options on how to cut the bushing to length, I knew if I could spin it in the drill press I could use a saw blade to make the cut but how to hold it, kind of like sitting out on a tree limb and cutting the branch off at the tree..... Then it hit me, 1/4" ID, use a 1/4" bolt and nut!
Once cut to length it was just a matter of putting her back together. You'll see in the pic how the bend in the bracket came out, worked very well. Everything fit nicely and the old gal hasn't idled so smooth in 30 years! Plus I got a first cutting done which made mama happy and when she's happy I can be happy! :laughing:
(Click on these thumbnails to view full size pics. Sorry but for some reason some of the pics got rotated 90deg to the right once uploaded??)
First I had to reduce the flange to make for a pres fit into the recess on the carb body, for this I clamped it snug but lightly in the chuck of my drill press, tighten only by hand so not to crush the bronze. With the chuck spinning I used a file to take the flange down to size.
Once I had a press fit I had to decide how long I was going to have the bushing, I wanted the bushing to reach as far up on the shaft as I could so it would be riding on as much of the unworn section that I could get. I decided to see if I could bend that lower part of the bracket up, I quickly found that bracket is made of brass, with a small drift punch and a few careful taps I was able to push the bracket up the shaft and reshape it nicely. Once I had my measurements for the length of the bushing I used the pointed end of the jaw on the calipers to scribe a line.
Taking a coffee break I was weighing my options on how to cut the bushing to length, I knew if I could spin it in the drill press I could use a saw blade to make the cut but how to hold it, kind of like sitting out on a tree limb and cutting the branch off at the tree..... Then it hit me, 1/4" ID, use a 1/4" bolt and nut!
Once cut to length it was just a matter of putting her back together. You'll see in the pic how the bend in the bracket came out, worked very well. Everything fit nicely and the old gal hasn't idled so smooth in 30 years! Plus I got a first cutting done which made mama happy and when she's happy I can be happy! :laughing: