Rotary Cutter Problem with new Woods DS-96

[orangeboy]

My wife was cutting our front field today with my big tractor and new Woods DS-96 mower when the mower began to make a banging noise. She stopped the tractor and PTO immediately. When I investigated the issue it appears that the Woods mower blades are hitting one another which has caused the blades to become badly damaged. Additionally, the two blades on the right side of the machine spin freely on the round attachment disc whereas the two blades on the left have tension. It appears that the gear box on the right side isn't providing resistance like the other side.

The front field is like a soccer field -- the grass is kept very short and the cutting is child's play for the Woods mower. I checked the mower last night while doing routine maintenance prior to Beth cutting today and looked at the blades and they were fine --- no damage whatsoever.

So, for some unknown reason the blades started hitting each other. Beth swears that she didn't hit anything and frankly there's nothing one could hit in that field. Just to be sure, I walked the field this evening and didn't see any signs of scalping or anything that could have caused the blades to damage one another. I bought the premium Woods Mower because I wanted durability. The gear boxes have a 6 year warranty. This mower hasn't been used as a bush hog -- it's been used for pasture cutting, and up until today (and after the dealer boys set it up properly in the spring), it was performing very well. I've been most pleased with the durability of the Woods, and was recently marveling at how sharp the blades were (and not damaged) after about 100 hours of cutting.

Can anyone shed some light on what might have occurred? Thanks

 

[orangeandgreen]

The old Woods cutters had square shafts connecting the 3 gear boxes, but yours has what they call "flexible couplers". These couplers have 4 rubber discs (pn 1008140 @$45 each) on each side.
Pull the shield between the right and center gear boxes and inspect the coupler, maybe the bolts just came loose but I bet you will find a problem with one of the rubber discs.

 

[TripleR]

Sorry to hear that, we have had excellent service out of our DS1260 cutting stuff three inches and sometimes more without any problems, it is four years old; sorry I can't help, but orangeandgreen sure sounds knowledgeable, keep us posted.

 

[orangeboy]

The old Woods cutters had square shafts connecting the 3 gear boxes, but yours has what they call "flexible couplers". These couplers have 4 rubber discs (pn 1008140 @$45 each) on each side.
Pull the shield between the right and center gear boxes and inspect the coupler, maybe the bolts just came loose but I bet you will find a problem with one of the rubber discs.

Orangeandgreen -- I can't thank you enough for your insightful response. I'll check it out as you suggest later today and let you know what I find.

Thanks again,

Orangeboy

 

[bilrus61]

My brand new Rhino tw96 did the exact same thing two hours after I started to mow with it. It had a grub screw that held the sliding shaft from center gearbox to the gearbox that turned the blades. The grub screw had fell out allowing the sliding shaft to slide off and thus only one side was being turned by the center gear box. Take off both your covers that lead from the center gear box to the other gearboxes and I think you'll find your issue. I raised my cutter up, re-timed the blade pan, put the grub screw back in with teflon tape and loc tite and mowed that way for years. The damage to the blades was pretty bad and it never mowed "clean" again. Dealer and Rhino gave me "the shaft" on it. I should have been offered new blades at least in my way of thinking. Its a very poor design and if yours is like the Rhino that will be your answer. So yes it wasn't your wife's fault.........THIS time!

 

[Mistyridgefarm]

I just bought an almost new Ds96. I believe the issue you will find is the coupler between the splitter box and the blade drive box. Woods says to engage and disengage the PTO at low power to reduce wear on this coupler. If you are at PTO rpm when engaging, it puts sudden torque on these couplers as it tries to spin up the mass of the blade carrier and blades. The same thing happens if you suddenly lower the throttle from full to idle.

 

[Brody146]

I came across this post while doing a search for the same problem.
With mine the symptoms are the same but I have no visible damage to the rubber disks. What I do know is that the shaft is spinning inside the coupler on the right gearbox. This leads me to believe that the splines are stripped in either the male or female end, maybe both. My main question is why does the other gearbox not spin when you turn the PTO shaft or stump jumper. It will spin about a half of a turn. (Wondering if I have another problem somewhere else also.) Or is it not supposed to spin with one not turning?
Again, every symptom is the same as described above, even the mowing conditions. I usually mow 'grass' at around a foot tall. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

 

[SPYDERLK]

Are there shear bolts?

 

[MF283]

Woods has been having problems with their gear boxes for several years, hence the long warranty. Hopefully your dealer will work with you on it.

Ronnie

 

[Brody146]

Doing this update for anyone that may have the same problem.
The gearbox that was not turning was me having a D/A moment, the pto shaft at the yolk was binding against the H-frame handle that it runs through. (PTO shaft was pushed all the way back from where I disconnected it from the tractor) No gearbox problem at all.
My problem is with the coupler that connects to the input shaft of the right gearbox. The splines are completely worn down. Shaft coming out of the gearbox is fine.
It is supposed to have a set bolt in it but doesn't, in fact neither side has the bolt. Purchased the cutter used so I really dont know if they have been taken out or left out from Woods.
So all I have to do is replace the female coupler and I should be good to go. (will replace both sides) $62.00 a piece, FYI

I do need some advice on blade timing though, not sure how to do that. If anyone knows please give me some advice.
Thanks