I just bought it yesterday off facebook, and now reading about what I bought here, I see many things I should have checked 1st. The brush hog is located where I'm going to use it, which is not where I live. I knew the blades are stuck, and won't rotate, but it does spin freely. The owner said it was used about 3 hours in the last 15 years, and was covered in blackberries when they bought the farm 20 years ago.. It looks rough, but so does everything I own, including the tractor that will run it. The deck is dented, and patched. The gearbox seems to function smoothly by hand, but when I removed the oil level plug it was under pressure which surprised me. The oil smelled bad and seemed thin. I'll remove and sharpen the very dull blades, change the oil, check the clutch, but is pressure inside the gearbox on a cold day a concern? Is there a breather that keeps a certain amount of pressure in there intentionally? There seemed to be about 5psi, maybe a bit less in it. Thanks
Old Brush Hog 286 purchase
- Thread starter fullchoke
- Start date
That top plug, #29, is a breather. It must be plugged.
You'll probably have heck getting the blade nuts off. They're shorter than standard and the first time I took them off, they galled. I replaced them with standard (fine) nuts even though they don't fully engage the bolts. Plan on at least a 3/4 drive socket and cheater bar.
stumblinhorse
Platinum Member
Replace the breather plug. Break the blades loose from the stump jumper. Don’t sharpen them unless you really know what you are doing and are cutting mostly grass. Drain the lube and replace with corn head grease. Run it and decide how bad the vibrations are. Post back here what your thoughts are.
Are you saying not to remove the blades, and just break them loose? I don't know too much about sharpening the blades other than to only sharpen one side, and not to get it too sharp. The blades on this machine are very blunt, but don't have nicks in them that I noticed. The way they are, it would beat it off not cut. My tractor is on the small side, and having them sharper would be easier on it I thought. Mostly I'll be cutting blackberries, and thistles, but there are a lot of sticks mixed in that were left over from logging 4 years ago, nothing green still growing, or in the ground.
Does Corn Head Grease flow? The factory manual I read online said EP2 90wt for the gear box.
Thanks
agree, replace breather plug. personally, i'd remove blades & sharpen upper side as you mention if the seals aren't leaking you're in good shape. nice cutter if everything else ok. eventually probably worth replacing blades & bolts at some point. i personally don't like sharpening blades in place. whatever you decide, block up before removal regards
stumblinhorse
Platinum Member
Most people don’t sharpen rotary cutter blades. Sharpening will weaken the blades unnecessarily. If not nicked or unbalanced then don’t mess with them.
Corn head grease will flow enough to lube but not leak out so fast that it empties while mowing. I guess since you said the gearbox was “pressurized” when you opened it, it might not leak. So try gear lube, but if it leaks, switch to corn head and forget about it.
When I was looking it over before I paid for it, we noticed one blade was not in line with the other. I figured it was stuck but not completely froze the last time it was used, and had moved. I couldn't move it by hand(either blade). At the time I thought I'd remove the blades and clean, and sharpen them. Now I'm wondering if I sprayed some penetrant, on the pivot point, then hit the blade on the back side to get them to move. I definitely don't want to damage anything, and I don't have a good idea to prevent any spinning of the drive train when I try to pound on the stuck blades. I would bet there was good bit of vibration from the mower with the blades the way they were, and could account why it was not used much in the last 15 or so years. While I was looking under it, the owner said he never had looked under it. He had another mower that he normally used. What I didn't look for was any weld repair to the output shaft, that I understand is a potential issue.
When I sharpened the blades on the mower I use around home, it cut so much easier and nicer. It is a JD 855 and the mower would draw down the tractor in heavy grass with those dull, rounded blades. The tractor that will be running this Brush Hog is a JD 820 3cyl diesel. It's only a 32HP tractor so I'm planning to run slow through anything reasonably thick. I don't mind a heavy mower on the back because whenever I had anything in the bucket, traction became an issue.
I appreciate the thoughts and ideas.
When I sharpened the blades on the mower I use around home, it cut so much easier and nicer. It is a JD 855 and the mower would draw down the tractor in heavy grass with those dull, rounded blades. The tractor that will be running this Brush Hog is a JD 820 3cyl diesel. It's only a 32HP tractor so I'm planning to run slow through anything reasonably thick. I don't mind a heavy mower on the back because whenever I had anything in the bucket, traction became an issue.
I appreciate the thoughts and ideas.
bearthebruce
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2018
- Messages
- 467
- Location
- Property is in Floyd County VA
- Tractor
- '05 Massey Ferguson 1533; '22 LS MT125
The 32hp JD820 should handle that Brush Hog 286 just fine. 5 foot hog needs about 25hp from the PTO.
Yes, in heavy grasses, you may have to slow down for the tractor to keep up. The MF1533 we run with 5 foot brush cutter has that issue.
Have never sharpened blades.
Have had fence wire wrap and lock the blades.. growling all the way... I hate it when it happens cause it can do real damage.. When you hear a change in sound, its time to stop, shut down and look.
If the blades are not spinning free, they have to be freed. When I needed to service them, our hog has a hole on the top surface that provides access to the blade bolt nut. I used one of the nuts to stop the rotation by putting a socket with extension on the nut. I did not beat the daylights out of the blade. I tapped lightly while removing the offending fence wire. Eventually I realized I could not pull it all out and I removed the blade bolt completely.
If the bolt is rusted, I'd get some really good penetrating fluid - WD40 breaks down rust but does not necessarily get all the way in. I have found PB Blaster to work really well.. but others likely have other opinions.
Were I faced with your frozen blades, I would stand the Brush Hog up against a tree, chain it there so it can't fall, and then I would soak the bolts for a day or two. Then I would go back and tap lightly to see if the blade would spin free. I would also soak the blade bolt in preparation for the event that I might need to remove the blade.
Yes, in heavy grasses, you may have to slow down for the tractor to keep up. The MF1533 we run with 5 foot brush cutter has that issue.
Have never sharpened blades.
Have had fence wire wrap and lock the blades.. growling all the way... I hate it when it happens cause it can do real damage.. When you hear a change in sound, its time to stop, shut down and look.
If the blades are not spinning free, they have to be freed. When I needed to service them, our hog has a hole on the top surface that provides access to the blade bolt nut. I used one of the nuts to stop the rotation by putting a socket with extension on the nut. I did not beat the daylights out of the blade. I tapped lightly while removing the offending fence wire. Eventually I realized I could not pull it all out and I removed the blade bolt completely.
If the bolt is rusted, I'd get some really good penetrating fluid - WD40 breaks down rust but does not necessarily get all the way in. I have found PB Blaster to work really well.. but others likely have other opinions.
Were I faced with your frozen blades, I would stand the Brush Hog up against a tree, chain it there so it can't fall, and then I would soak the bolts for a day or two. Then I would go back and tap lightly to see if the blade would spin free. I would also soak the blade bolt in preparation for the event that I might need to remove the blade.
Smokeydog
Elite Member
286’s are tuff mowers. Check the slip clutch. Equipment with slip clutches I store under cover. There to protect your tractors driveline.
stumblinhorse
Platinum Member
Spray penetrating oil on the contact between the stump jumper and blades and they’ll break free. The bolts have shoulders so they don’t tighten on the blades. Check for damage to the stump jumper, cracks etc. If that is what is causing the blades to bind then come back here for more advice.
As @Smokeydog said make sure the slip clutch works. If unfamiliar with that we’ll walk you thru it.