Way to tight.

[Gravelyman45]

Guys I need your help. I have an old Gravely LI walk behind lawn and garden tractor. I just changed the crankshaft on the engine (6.6hp Gravely engine). When it is on the bench, the whole crankcase turns nice and free, but when I bolt it up to the transmission, the crank tightens up to the point that I can barely turn it over at all. I have 3 other Gravelys and I have never ran into this problem before. Does anyone have any ideas? Any thoughts sure would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[handirifle]

How are you determining that the crankshaft itself is getting tight? If it is spinning free with the engine by itself, it sounds to me like it's a trannie issue.

I would insure the trannie turns freely, first, then if it does, insure you have the alignment of the trannie and engine correct. No experience with your setup. but having quite a bit of trannie/engine setups, I know if the trannie is bolted up in a manner that binds it against the crankshaft, it can cause the problem you describe.

Now, when you changed the crankshaft, did you replace the crank bearings as well, and were they sized correctly for the new crank? IF, and it's a BIG IF, the rear bearings (of the crank) have a bit of play in them, that can cause the crank to bind as well.

Does the engine run by itself?

 

[hoseguy]

Hi there,
It does sound a bit like an alignment issue.
There's a different crank in there so may be worth fitting the gearbox loose and see if it turns.
Unless of course it's a tranny problem.

A dude I knew had Tranny trouble in Thailand.
But that's not a story for this forum

:thumbsup:

 

[Gravelyman45]

Thank you. Problem solved. It was basically an alignment issue. The drive pinion gear on the new crank was .0913 thicker than the original. The gear sets between three planetary gears in the transmission in a triangle pattern. When I installed the engine on to the trans, the end of the gear would bind against the plate that holds the three gears. That, of course, was causing the engine to bind and I couldn't roll it over. I made shims and installed them between the engine and trans. Now the problem is gone. Thank you all so much for tossing your ideas my direction. You were a big help. Now I just need to finish rebuilding the top half of the engine so I can get this 60yr old beast running again. Thank you!!

 

[kebo]

Hi there,
It does sound a bit like an alignment issue.
There's a different crank in there so may be worth fitting the gearbox loose and see if it turns.
Unless of course it's a tranny problem.

A dude I knew had Tranny trouble in Thailand.
But that's not a story for this forum

:thumbsup:

A tight tranny problem?? I don't think we want to hear that one!! :laughing:

 

[Gravelyman45]

I know what you mean. lol

 

[MasseyWV]

A tight tranny problem?? I don't think we want to hear that one!! :laughing:

:laughing: :ashamed: :confused2: :mur:

 

[JRobyn]

Glad you found and resolved it. For any future issues, these guys - Welcome to Richard's Lawn & Garden
are superb. They have techs on staff that actually still have real experience with the old Ls. Also still stock most parts, although you probably already know that Gravely parts are a bit pricey!

 

[Gravelyman45]

They are very expensive but thank you just the same.