Sickle bar advice needed

1bush2hog · Jun 3, 2012

I purchased a used Grillo 107d with a BCS 47" sickle bar on it on Sat. The machine supposedly had less than ten hours total on it. Brought it home and used it for about 5 hours and then another two today. Was working a steep hill using forward and reverse when the sickle bar just seized up on me and the blade would not move. Shut her down and checked for sticks or other blockage, checked for any other obstructions but all the nuts and bolts are tight. The tractor still works fine just when I try to engage the PTO the blades won't move but the whole unit does try to rotate so rather than try to engage again I thought I would seek some advice from the experts here

There's oil in the gear box, and I lubed the blades before use. I did hit some locust limbs and the grass was pretty heavy but nothing that seemed like it should have caused this failure

Any suggestions on what may have happened and what I need to do to fix?

Thanks in advance

BCSSHOP · Jun 3, 2012

Hello BushHog,

The name of finding the problem is isolating what doesn't work. Try removing the sickle bar and be sure the PTO engages and runs freely with no attachment. Since this is a BCS cutter bar you can remove the adapter and try turning the sickle bar in the opposite direction and see if it frees up something caught in the teeth or drive mechanism. if nothing is found remove the top cutter blade by disconnecting the drive coupler (held on with two bolts) and sliding the blade out. Now see the bottom blade moves when the PTO is engaged and the upper arm moves in the opposite direction. If it doesn't remove the whole drive unit from the cutter bar and see then the drive unit runs freely.

I suspect hitting some locust limbs caused a bottom tooth to bend jamming the whole cutter bar but see what happens as you isolate the failure. Parts are readily available for these cutter bars so the repair should not be too difficult. Part diagrams for the duplex cutter bar are at: BCS America Parts, Service and Operator Manuals. Good luck. John@BCS Shop

farmerboybill · Jun 4, 2012

Hey Bruce,

John gives you good advice.

The BCS duplex mower is about indestructable. I also think you may have slightly bent either a tooth or a guard just enough to get it to bind. I had a 12 foot cut John Deere 1525 haybine that would shut down the whole works if I hit a rock or tree (CRP hay) just right and bent a tooth. A 125 HP tractor couldn't turn it until I'd find the tooth and replace it or bend it back.

The Grillo changes the direction of the PTO when switching between forward and reverse. When the mower quit mowing, did you try to put the machine in reverse and engage the PTO? If it's bound up one way, this should get it to move the other way. Once you isolate where the bent tooth or guard is, it could be as simple a fix as putting a locking pliers on the offending unit and bending it back to shape.

1bush2hog · Jun 4, 2012

Thanks for the info Gentlemen. I did notice a couple of the fingers were bent slightly sideways, but the cutter siezed when I put it in reverse and would not work in forward or reverse.

The manual says to disengage the PTO when changing directions - Is this actually necessary, or just a safety issue?

Since my property and Grillo are 3.5 hours away, I'll have to wait until next weekend to try the repairs.

When the PTO is disengaged and the machine is off, can the blades be moved back and forth manually?

Also, what spare parts would be good to keep on hand for the Grillo and the Sickle?

Thanks again for the help - I really appreciate it.

Bentleg · Jun 4, 2012

Is it a duplex or single action?
One thing about the Grillo, when you change directions the pto changes direction. That should get the bar to move a bit.

1bush2hog · Jun 4, 2012

Bentleg said:
Is it a duplex or single action?
One thing about the Grillo, when you change directions the pto changes direction. That should get the bar to move a bit.

It's a duplex and has a quick coupler and PTO extension

jomifo · Jun 5, 2012

Are the blades of sickle bars supposed to be lubed? I know it wouldn't hurt, but just wondering if the mfg specifies it? Thanks

1bush2hog · Jun 11, 2012

Well wouldn't you know - not lucky enough to be in the blade as I changed out the cutter bar this past weekend, and tried to engage the PTO when the bar was completely off. Brought the tractor back home with me where I have more tools. Guess I will remove the entire transmission assembly next. Hopefully I won't have to disassemble it, but got a feeling something is bound inside of it.

Will the crank control upper and lower move freely by hand?

I looked at the tranny this weekend and tried to match the numbers on it with the serial numbers in the manual, but none match. Where Is the serial number located on the tranny?

1bush2hog · Jun 18, 2012

Well I'm still stumped - Took the cutter bar off the tranny and took the tranny off the tractor. Cranked the tractor and PTO engages and turns fine. Used my fingers to turn the gear to cycle the tranny and everything seems to work fine in both directions. Examined the blade pins and everything looks good there as well.

I checked all the nuts and bolts on the cutter bar assy and they are all tight, and everything appears to be straight as well.

I guess I will put everything back together and give her another try now, as I haven't found any reason for the blade not to cycle.

Is there something else I may be overlooking?

1bush2hog · Jun 18, 2012

Put everything back together and fired her up engaged the PTO and viola SOS I discovered words I've never used but still searching for the Italian translation to shazaam. If anyone knows this please LMK before I say arivaderchi

farmerboybill · Jun 19, 2012

Hey Bruce,

Wait, did I miss something? Is it working? What did you fix?

Google translate says Italian for "Shazam" is "Shazam"

1bush2hog · Jun 19, 2012

No not fixed yet Just looking for some nicer words to say

Came home tonite and disassembled the whole cutter bar. The problem has to be in the lower blade. Didn't find anything that had it jammed up but I'll figure it out eventually. I"m a little slow sometimes

1bush2hog · Jun 20, 2012

Success at last. At least I hope. She's moving like a high school kid on prom night.

bcp · Jun 21, 2012

I've always had good luck fixing something by taking it apart, not finding anything wrong, then reassembling it, and it works.

Bruce

farmerboybill · Jun 21, 2012

Hey,

Glad to hear you got it going again. Did you ever discover what made it stop?

1bush2hog · Jun 21, 2012

farmerboybill said:
Hey,

Glad to hear you got it going again. Did you ever discover what made it stop?

The bottom blade must have had something that jammed it, although I couldn't find anything in there when I disassembled it, or anything on my garage floor afterward other than fine dirt and debris. I was expecting to find a piece of locust or something larger.

1bush2hog · Jul 1, 2012

Well took her back out to the jungle this weekend and now have a tooth that is sideways. No way to fix this in the field which sux. I will have a sickle bar for sale if anyone needs one.

The good news is that I ordered a Berta Flail. While this beast is heavy she is like butta. Everything is great butta weight

I can deal with the weight though. It's much better than all the breakdowns with the finicky sickle bar

So IMHO. If you need to mow the tough stuff. Get the flail. But do watch out for the wire, which I also found. Took me 30 minutes in the sun at 100 degrees to cut a bunch of wire loose. But at least no damage to the cutter. I ran over stumps and rocks that would have been death to the sickle bar, with no regard

That's my $0.02 worth as a noob

BTW - the flail is a workout, especially on the hills.