Rebuilding a Woods Finish Mower

[The Chairman]

I have 10.82 acres to mow. I can do it on my 60" Hustler Raptor SD zero turn, but boy does it take a lot of time. That, and I've been having issues with the drive belt. Arrrgh. So I was offered an old Woods finish mower kinda cheap. Having worked on autos for years and years, I figured I could fix her up and I'm in the middle of that. The big problem is where to get parts? She has a huge leak on the front gear box. As I'm taking it apart, it's apparent that the front bearing carrier, which has a snap ring holding it in place, is quite loose. I can move it in and out an 1/8" to 3/32". I need a thicker o-ring which I have ordered from the hydraulic firm here in town.

But how do I ID this mower?
Where can I get parts?

I tried to do a cut and pasted of the pics, but it won't let me. Maybe it's a permissions thing???

 

[The Chairman]

OK, I think I found a blow-up and it appears to be an Rd7200.

 

[Redlands Okie]

A rough location for you would help some give you ideas on places to look.

Messicks seems to be popular.

Woods RD72 Rearmount Finish Mower Parts Diagrams

WOODS | Rotary Cutter Supply

 

[Fuddy1952]

Woods has a website. Here are #s...

Headquarters:
2606 South Illinois Route 2
Post Office Box 1000
Oregon, Illinois 61061
Email:*woodsinfo@WoodsEquipment.com

Agriculture, Landscape, and Lawn Care Equipment:
2606 South Illinois Route 2
Post Office Box 1000
Oregon, Illinois 61061
Phone: (800) 319-6637
Email:*woodsinfo@WoodsEquipment.com

 

[The Chairman]

A rough location for you would help some give you ideas on places to look.

Suwannee County, Florida. It's in the North Central part of the state.

 

[The Chairman]

The front plate of the gearbox is leaking like a sieve. I can actually cause it to move back and forth about an 1/8". The o-ring is not filling up the space, so I stopped by Certified Hydraulics in Branford and ordered a thicker o-ring. Will it work? I am not sure, but I have to do something to stem the tide. I can see that there is a lot of wear here, which is surprising for a part that's not supposed to move. I wonder if they locked up the input shaft bearing at some point?

 

[Redlands Okie]

I have never personally used the product but numerous sources recommend John Deere’s corn head grease for such applications of worn our seals.

One of many google links on the corn head grease.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/317640-what-corn-head-grease-what.html

 

[The Chairman]

Wow... that's an interesting thought. I'll see how the o-ring works and resort to that. There's a John Deere shop in town.

 

[CADplans]

I have an RD72,,, and a PRD7200
neither has any play in the gear box.

I would not try to run it with play in the gear box shaft,, the gear box will soon leave this earth,,,,

 

[KWentling]

An O-ring isn't going to fix this. You need to find out what is loose. Bad bearings or worn bearing fits in the housing. If it's just worn out bearings, then replace them and put in a new seal. A new seal won't last long if the spindle is loose though, so you need to fix whats loose first. You don't need to go to Woods for bearings and seals. They are generic. Auto parts stores, bearing houses, even Amazon will have them. Just google the bearing number or seal size and you will find them.