Woods gearbox gives out again

MikePA · Jun 24, 2003

I searched my own posts (how embarrassing /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif ) and found some pictures from April of 2001 of what I think you are talking about, right?

The bolt that is circled should not be there.

MikePA · Jun 24, 2003

If the bolt is there, it causes this to flex, as shown by the flaked off paint.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 24, 2003

So that's what this bolt is for! I just purchases a BB60 4 days ago (on Saturday). The Woods dealer I went through had this bolt in a zip-lock bag attached to the gear box with plastic tie-down. The regular Woods salesman was not in on Saturday, and the guy that dealt with me had no clue what the bolt was for. I didn't have a chance to find it in the manual yet either.

Thanks for the info!

JohnMiller3 · Jun 24, 2003

...The bolt that is circled should not be there...

Hi Mike,

Can't see the bolt close enough...

Perhaps an "extra shear bolt" packaged in the plastic bag...? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

MikePA · Jun 24, 2003

Perhaps an "extra shear bolt" packaged in the plastic bag...? 
The bolt and sleeve were installed as shown when my cutter was delivered. I've since removed it. BTW, it was Steven who had the bolt and sleeve in a plastic bag tie wrapped to the gearbox. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif If it didn't have the sleeve with it, I suppose it could have been a shear bolt, but I didn't investigate that hypothesis. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

djradz · Jun 24, 2003

I agree, the dealer should have known also. Besides, I don't think this is something anyone should have to worry about in the first place. The bearing sheeve should be set and never move. I only meant they were legit in that the shims do have a huge effect. The fact that the whole assembly might loosen enough to cause problems really stinks. They should make it all good, and with a guarantee of no more problems.

soarkrebel · Jun 25, 2003

Mike that bolt isnt supposed to be there. it is restricting your attach point from rotating 360 degrees. when it is hitting the a frame it is causing the flex. yours looks just like mine.

the bolt would go in the hole below where your rotating attach point if you used a quick attach.
take it out and just save it.

I took a sledge and with the cutter raised attached to the tractor straightened my arms. they look fine now.

Isnt it strange how dealers don't know what that is for . i guess if we wanted to be jerks we could request new arms. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I caught mine before any big damage was done.

soarkrebel · Jun 25, 2003

Mike i also noticed your gearbox is venting oil. mine has been doing it alot also.

does yours vent alot ?

MikePA · Jun 25, 2003

take it out and just save it. 
I removed the bolt soon after those pictures were taken, about 2 years ago. Someone probably didn't read the manual, saw the bolt and, since there's no other place that bolt could go, installed it. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 does yours vent alot ? 
It hasn't gotten any worse than how it looks in the picture.

Robert_in_NY · Jul 13, 2003

Well, I finally got my chopper fixed (or did I?) My dealer did exactly as Woods told them and replaced the bearings, seals and adjusted the shims to Woods specs. I brought the chopper home and checked it over, oil is to the proper height and there is no play in it. I start using it for about a hour with no problems. After two hours the gearbox starts overheating, spewing oil out the top of the gearbox.

I figure it has to be because of the vent. Check the vent and the little hole is clear. So I get a brain storm and enlarge that hole as well as drill 5 more so that it should alleviate the overheating problems. Wrong. After a hour the gearbox started overheating again. I drilled the vent out this morning before the chopper was run so everything was nice and cool to start.

What else can I do to stop this thing from overheating? Short of taking the vent out and leaving the hole open I can not see any other scenerio. I will talk to my dealer tomorrow and e-mail the Woods rep the pics I took to see what I must have done wrong this time /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif (also, this has been a problem since it was new but we hardly use the chopper much and my dealer has not had much options other then drilling out the vent holes.

Also, I was only cutting fields that have been cut for the last 15 years twice a year. Nothing but grass and weeds in them so it was not used hard. Only was running around 1900 rpms which is not even fast enough for the 540rpms on the PTO.