Thanks for all the help and guidance. I have the new spindle ordered. I have to believe the original design was better but also more expensive. It's pretty amazing all the upgrades on the 2005 Silver Eagle that you can now only find on high end commercial mowers. I'm looking at getting a new Hustler and you have to spend over $11,000 for the Z to get wheel motor pumps with a reservoir.
2005 Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle 44" Spindle Repair Issue
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bertsmobile1
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People will not pay a fair & reasonable price for anything
We want everything and we want it for free .
Thus top end mowers get downgraded to a level that enough of the market will pay for to make it economically viable .
We want everything and we want it for free .
Thus top end mowers get downgraded to a level that enough of the market will pay for to make it economically viable .
Almost all the mower manufactures are going to the one piece EZT units. Cheaper to manufacture less parts to keep up. They seem to hold up as well. Easier to service. Not sure of the price difference would have to research that one. Big Dog is built by Excel who also makes the Hustler mowers really nice mowers. They have comparable mowers except for the mower with the hyper drive, S88, S104 and diesel model. Big Dog kills them on the warranty, 7 years 1500 hours compared to 5 years 1,000 hours.
bertsmobile1
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Big problem with 2 self contained units is getting the drive from the belt balanced between the two of them.
Ideally if you have 2 units each should have its own belt.
BEcause the engine is behind the drives and rotates clockwise , the right hydro gets a direct pull from the belt and the tension is highest between the engine & the right drive
The pull from the right drive to the left drive is a little less and the belt tension is a bitt lower because the right drive is resisting the rotation because it is doing work.
Thus the lefts always spin a touch slower and if you troll through these posts you will see the left nearly always fails first .
Some makers are trying to overcome this by increasing the contact arc on the left drive from 120 deg that the right has to near 180 deg.
Toro are a prime example of this where the tensioning idler on the left run of the belt just about touches the right side.
On a single pump, 2 motor system , there is no such power imbalance and on these units the right usually fails before the left because most people are right handed and do more steering with the right lever than the left .
However the single pump requires a lot of plumbing and that is a lot more expensive so what was posted back in # 32 comes into play .
Ideally if you have 2 units each should have its own belt.
BEcause the engine is behind the drives and rotates clockwise , the right hydro gets a direct pull from the belt and the tension is highest between the engine & the right drive
The pull from the right drive to the left drive is a little less and the belt tension is a bitt lower because the right drive is resisting the rotation because it is doing work.
Thus the lefts always spin a touch slower and if you troll through these posts you will see the left nearly always fails first .
Some makers are trying to overcome this by increasing the contact arc on the left drive from 120 deg that the right has to near 180 deg.
Toro are a prime example of this where the tensioning idler on the left run of the belt just about touches the right side.
On a single pump, 2 motor system , there is no such power imbalance and on these units the right usually fails before the left because most people are right handed and do more steering with the right lever than the left .
However the single pump requires a lot of plumbing and that is a lot more expensive so what was posted back in # 32 comes into play .
The Hustler X-One comes with wheel motors and reservoir. It’s similar to the Big Dog Diablo. Here is the 2020 Hustler price sheet for the State of Kansas.
eddieirvine
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that recess slot looks like a place for a set screw, Is it?
northcreeek262
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I'm thinking that the disc is threaded and you need to buy/fabricate a spanner to enter those holes and spin it out.
You are correct. Unfortunately they don't have bearings for the unit anymore, so I kind of wasted my time but found out some good information. Mine would have actually spun off pretty easy except that during manufacture I guess someone somehow marred the spindle with the Allen screw I think so it wouldn't turn off. There always seems to be some issue that makes an easy problem difficult!
Ain't that the truth!!!
I can't count how many times I've told the wife, "this is a easy 30min job, no big deal. So, I'll be home early!" And then there's a broken bolt or frozen bearing, or something that turns my my "easy, 30min job" into a 3 hour pain in my buttocks!!!
When jobs like this go as planned, I enjoy servicing my own equipment. It's therapeutic to tighten up that last bolt, and everything works like it should!
It's when something is frozen on, stripped, or cross threaded that causes you to lose your temper...
Or even worse, is when the factory makes something harder to repair than it should be, for no apparent reason, that encourages throwing wrenches!!!
dixieseller
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Dixie used that cheap non repairable assembly for a couple of years you have to replace the whole assembly you can order from Dixie or BURKHEIMER EQUIPMENT 410-734-4242