Recent content by GearHead36

Both my riders have Kohler engines. I don't go for the 300 hour oil. I prefer to change it every year, and 300 hrs would take me 5-6 yrs to accumulate. So I go with the "short-interval" oil, and change it every year.

I have a Cub Cadet steering wheel ZTR, and an older Husqvarna traditional lap-bar ZTR. The CC is easier to control on slopes. The lap-bar ZTR will sometimes slip & slide around. The CC will track where you point it. It's not a Ventrac, but it's also not $20000. IMO, it's a good step up from a...

Post #4 also mentions: "If this were a really old plain bearing engine you'd need way more oil in the mix than 100:1 could provide."

Do the blades spin freely? Do the engine RPMs drop right before the PTO disengages? These things shouldn't cause this problem, but might still point to the problem.

Where are you getting 100:1? Most modern equipment recommend 50:1. For the old chainsaw mentioned, I'd probably go with 40:1. The oils today ARE better than what was available 25 yrs ago. I'm with the "it depends on how it was cared for" crowd. If you use E0 and a high quality oil (I used Echo...

Thank, @Auto Doc's. Not the answer I wanted, but I'd rather have the right answer than to have a useless lawn ornament.

The ad is on Craigslist, and the model plate info was not provided. I have had manual reel mowers, and I have sharpened them, so I DO have an idea on how to sharpen them. I already have two conventional ZTR's. One is over 20 yrs old, and is getting hard to get parts for. The other is 8 yrs old...

There is a 70” Gravely Triplex Hydro Reel Mower for sale locally. Are parts still available for this thing? I've experimented with a push reel mower on a small area of my lawn, and I like it. But my lawn is too big to mow with a push mower. This would fix that.

Idler pulleys should have very little vertical play.

I have a Champion generator, which, of course, doesn't get used that often. The manual has 3 storage procedures. One for short term (up to 30 days), one for mid term (30 days to 1 yr), and one for long term (more than 1 yr). I always use the long term procedure. I say "always", but so far...

@JimP2014, what is your goal here? Do you want to "fix it right" and keep this mower working for another 10 yrs? Or do you want to just get it fixed enough to work for now, with plans to run it until it dies? I understand each position. It may not be worth it to "fix it right". If you DO want to...

@ILENGINE, I'm no expert in the matter. I'm not a petroleum engineer. I AM an engineer (electrical) and a gearhead (my dad was a professional mechanic), so I'm not totally clueless. But also, my career as an engineer has taught me that I don't know everything. For the assemblies that get filled...

I'm having a hard time understanding how this could be. I'm not saying that it's impossible, but I'd like to see proof. I hope that's not the case. I recently replaced a spindle, and filled it with Lucas Red n Tacky.

I'm a big fan of getting the right machine for a given property. I usually change my equipment every time I move. Sounds like you got the right machine for your needs.

I'm going to disagree that air cools better than grease. Grease will conduct heat way better than air. Wheel bearings have to be removed to be greased. They typically don't get greased through zerk fittings. Any assembly with a zerk fitting (ball joint, tie rod, etc) gets filled until grease...