OH POO! What did I do?

[blueriver]

That puts snakes back to the $120 gear box ...

 

[Heavyduty]

Well, you did hit a stump....and you didn't adjust the slip clutch, so I doubt you'd get any recourse from the dealer or Deere anyway. This, obviously, wasn't a warranty issue. That's even if the design wasn't as robust as it could have been.
If your dealer is still selling tractors and he still has a service department, he may be willing and able to do the repair since it's apparent you don't have the tools and possibly not the skills either.
Or, just start looking for another cutter...

Just remember, it could have been worse...that shock load could have been transmited to the tractor and you'd really be looking at big bucks!

Yep, when it broke it could have shot the blade holder/blades through the front of the bushhog and bust the tractors trans case.

 

[Ford tractor]

Yep, when it broke it could have shot the blade holder/blades through the front of the bushhog and bust the tractors trans case.

Unlikely. The blade holder / stump jumper is pretty large and it could shoot forward, it couldn't really jump up and hit the transmission. Pretty much a physical impossibility based on the gyroscopic action of that much spinning mass. It would however be easy to slash all 4 tires!

Going out the back, it could potentially go upright and roll a ways. Lawyers would envision that happening with the swinging blades of death chopping into bus loads of orphans.

 

[deere5105]

I have a MX6 cutter and believe the gear box states made in Spain. It is a 2004 model. I like the cutter and it has given me no trouble so far. These repeated posts of the same problem and no good repair available, makes me wonder if I ought to try to sale it and move into something different. I think I would look at the Bush Hog brand if doing something different.

 

[RoyJackson]

Unlikely. The blade holder / stump jumper is pretty large and it could shoot forward, it couldn't really jump up and hit the transmission. Pretty much a physical impossibility based on the gyroscopic action of that much spinning mass. It would however be easy to slash all 4 tires!

Going out the back, it could potentially go upright and roll a ways. Lawyers would envision that happening with the swinging blades of death chopping into bus loads of orphans.

Actually, I was thinking of the cutter stopping suddenly (jamming) and the tractor PTO taking the brunt of the shock load.
I doubt there's anyway one could predict the travel of the stump jumper and blades...but there is a lot of rotational forces involved.
Moot point, of course...

 

[whistlepig]

It seems odd to me that a brush hog would break the drive shaft to the blades and total itself before the slip clutch kicked out. Slip clutch adjusted or not. Also stuff does get flung from the front of a brush hog high enough to hit the operator. I bought chain guards to prevent this.

 

[MHarryE]

Doesn't hurt to ask a Deere dealer about parts availability. They should have a better idea about them than the on-line catalog. Parts prices can be a shocker though. My cousin had a similar size gearbox on his grinder-mixer fail last winter - bearing failure. Bearings, seals, shafts and gears came to over $1,100. Wasn't too hard to rebuild. I got the part numbers from the on-line catalog and emailed them to the dealer. He got right back with the price and availability. In this case the complete gearbox cost about the same as the parts we needed but when we tried ordering, the complete box was no longer available so we had to do with the parts, but I couldn't find that out on line. The dealer couldn't even tell - he had to place the order and then got the response.

 

[hosspuller]

after reading several posts... It appears the output shaft may not be available anymore on the web site. In my personal experiance with JD .. I would still contact a dealer. The dealer will be able to check the parts inventory of "DEALERS". Some body may have the part needed in stock on a back room shelf. (happened to me, saved a bunch of cash with a telephone call to a dealer a couple of states away.)

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Have a jd mx6 rotary cutter. I have been using for about 3 years with little problems. Yesterday was clearing some brush at the edge of a creek bank. Backed up to the edge of the bank,lowered the cutter and hit a fair sized hidden stump. Realized what was happening and raised the cutter to discover it wasnt cutting anymore. Pto shaft was still rotating. Turned off the mower and inspected underneath to find the jumper pan and blades were missing which I found in the creek. Not knowing anything about how these shafts/gearboxes work, it is clear that a shaft of some sort broke. I then noticed oil pouring from the now gaping hole where the shaft connected. Should the slip clutch have prevented this from happening? How big of expense am I looking at to get this fixed? What part is broken? I have hit things before but have never had this happen.

I assume you are not the original author of this thread. If you are, what has been your end result? Thru this thread you have not indicated your mechanical abilities. If you know the difference between a hammer and a wrench you should be able to repair this gear box if parts are available. If not, there are probably many after market gear boxes avilable to replace it. Some adaptations will probably be required. Do you have the manual for this mower? If not, why not? That is the first step in all this stuff. I even have the shop manual (cost extra but is what the dealers shop uses) for my tractor. "When every thing else fails read the directions." I do not always practice what I preach either and I pay for it. These kind of repairs are a dealer's bread and butter when the user has no ability to do their own work. Taking something to the dealer is my last resort. You can easily rack up the price of a whole new mower if you are not careful.

Ron

 

[Heavyduty]

It seems odd to me that a brush hog would break the drive shaft to the blades and total itself before the slip clutch kicked out. Slip clutch adjusted or not. Also stuff does get flung from the front of a brush hog high enough to hit the operator. I bought chain guards to prevent this.

Yep, I've been bushhoggin for a living for the past 20 years. I've cut alot of ground and broken alot of parts. Word to the wise, nothin is impossible.:thumbsup: