Resurrecting an old Ford 917 flail

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Fallon, I have the same 917 flail. It was working with new cutters when I got it so I paid more than you ($400.00). It has worked fine behind my Kubota 3430 geared tractor which is 28.5 PTO hp. I think your tractor should be big enough to get acceptable performance.

Couple of things regarding zerks. I had to replace one on the roller. A standard 1/4 X 28 fit fine. I think that if you run a 1/4 X 28 tap through the hole you should be able to replace the missing one with no problem. Like you, I haven't been able to find a zerk for the idler pulley and top pulley. I don't even see zerks referenced on the Messicks exploded parts view but it just makes sense to me that the idler and top pulley should require grease. If you are able to determine where we're both going wrong, please post what you find out.

One last thing, you mention that you replaced belts, plural. The correct belt is a single double V belt. I'm not sure if the two belts you used will be problematic, but I'm a little worried for you. Just something to think about.

 

[dieselscout80]

One last thing, you mention that you replaced belts, plural. The correct belt is a single double V belt. I'm not sure if the two belts you used will be problematic, but I'm a little worried for you. Just something to think about.

Mine had a single belt on it when I bought it and I used it that way for a couple of years. When I went looking for a "B" belt I could not find one locally. At Napa a got two matching "V" belts (measured to make sure) and it's been fine now for a few years.

I need to pickup the correct belt at some point, so on Saturdays when I'm mowing and the belts break I'm not stuck.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Mine had a single belt on it when I bought it and I used it that way for a couple of years. When I went looking for a "B" belt I could not find one locally. At Napa a got two matching "V" belts (measured to make sure) and it's been fine now for a few years.

I need to pickup the correct belt at some point, so on Saturdays when I'm mowing and the belts break I'm not stuck.

Messicks stocks the correct double v belt, both New Holland brand and aftermarket.

Dieselscout, does your 917 have grease fittings for the idler pulley and top pulley.

 

[dieselscout80]

I know that the idler does not have a grease zerk.

I'll have to check on the bearing behind the too pulley, but I don't think there is one there either.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I know that the idler does not have a grease zerk.

I'll have to check on the bearing behind the too pulley, but I don't think there is one there either.

I looked in the Flailmaster catalog and think I answered my own question. They offer two variations of top bearings. One of the bearings comes with a zerk and the other variation doesn't have a zerk. Apparently if you have the variation that doesn't have the zerk (that's what I have), you would have to take the bearing out and repack it in order to get grease to it. I think I will just use it until failure and at that point replace it with the bearing that has the fitting. I may or may not ever have to do that. I don't have as much property to mow as I used to have and don't put many hours on the flail. Maybe the top bearings will outlive me.

Also, it doesn't appear that the idler pulley requires grease. Seems contrary to logic but apparently that's the case.

Fallon, not trying to hijack your post. Chime in when you get a chance and let us know your progress with your 917.

 

[Fallon]

No worries on hijacking, we are all talking about the same flails.

Finally figured out I needed to download the Flailmaster catalog & not look at the useless Flail mower parts page. Have a full set of knives, hangers, D rings, nuts & bolts coming. A bit over $200, so not to bad. Figure a matched set will be better for balance than just replacing the missing one & I'll keep the old stuff around for spares.

A full set of greasable (if available) bearings is going to be around $250. Probably spring for those this fall or winter if the flail works as expected (along with welding up the cracks & tears, probably painting & chainging the gearbox oil too). Bearings are a little rough, but not too bad. Until then I'll probably just use a needle to pump grease into the missing zerk on the roller & keep it covered.

Just need to find a PTO shaft now. Braber Equipment General-Purpose PTO Shaft Assembly — 36in. Collapsed Length, Model# 69.885.005 looks to be what I need. The 1 bad review is them complaining it has the right splined implement connector I need, rather than round. Pretty sure I'll need to trim it a bit, which is easy enough. It was 37" between the ends of the 2 PTO stubs when I had things fully raised. Will probably pull the trigger on this today.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Thanks for the update Fallon. If you get a chance, post pictures of your rebuild. We all like pictures

 

[Fallon]

Well, it's a tail of the good the bad & the ugly.

The bad:
Most of the knives were in surprisingly good shape & probably didn't need to be replaced. The flailmaster hangers & D rings were noticeably beefier than the mishmash of hangers that were on there. I ordered the number that flailmaster indicated in their catalogue, but that was 10 short. Left 10 of the good old bits of hardware on until I replace bearings this fall.

The good:
It cuts great. Less scalping than the rotary cutter & a nice smooth cut. The SSQA to 3pt adapter made changing out the knives easy. Tossed in a 2x4 as a safety stop & just went to town with the air gun at a nice working height. Grass was thigh high, a lot higher & thicker than I've cut with the rotary cutter as it's been a very wet spring & I've been slacking on mowing. Flail seemed to use equal or perhaps less HP than the rotary cutter despite being about 25% wider. Works great on my 32hp HST (25pto HP if I remember). Photos from the rear make it look a little bit wider compared to the tractor than it is, but I like the extra width. It doesn't mulch as well as I'd like, but I am mowing thigh high grass, so probably less of an issue if I'm up on things. Leaves a nice smooth carpet of better chopped up clippings on top rather than piles of clumps the rotary does.


The ugly:
Found out why some of the knives were missing & probably why it was sold. Fired it up & heard a god awful clatter of something very night right. There was a couple inch rectangle patch welded on the inside & couple knives would hit that. There were also some small knife strikes along the back corner or the hood & next to that one big knife strike that tore through you can see in the first post. I started grinding the patch inside, then noticed the other strikes indicating the hood got a bit bent (couldn't really see any indication of that other than the strikes though). Busted out the plasma cutter & went to town. Fired it up to double check things worked & ended up doing a half hours worth of mowing down the thistle I was slacking on. Get a bit of a shower of grass when you are mowing with the wind, but it works great. Will pick some thin 5-6" bar stock & patch up the slots later this week.



This winter I'll likely replace the bearings & remaining flails. I'm happy with what I've got now, other than the shower of clippings from the unfinished repair. Killer height control. Set my hydraulic toplink to float which drops the roller onto the ground. Just use the 3pt to set the height. I can lower it to scalp the center weeds on the driveway (actually can get to low & see a few sparks shooting out the back from hitting gravel). Wish I could get an inch or 2 higher I think to leave the grass 6-7" tall, but it's pretty good as is.

 

[dieselscout80]

Wish I could get an inch or 2 higher I think to leave the grass 6-7" tall, but it's pretty good as is.

I use check chains to keep mine cutting at about 8" in my pasture.

Chain Limiter Kit

Its looking good.

http://www.ntractorclub.com/howtos/pdfs/Limiter-Chains.pdf

 

[Fallon]

Did the mowing at dusk lastnight. Looked at the cut in the light today & it's not quite as good on the grass as I thought last night. It decimated the thistle & left that great though. I'm expecting slowing down a bit & cutting it before it gets thigh high will mulch better & give me the little bit better cut I'm looking for though.

Need to pick up that bar stock at lunch sometime this week.