Caster wheels not rotating

[justgang]

I have a used Ariens mini zoom 1534 I recently purchased. It runs well, but when I go to make a zero turn the front caster wheels don’t always turn in the proper direction. One of them will eventually flip to the right direction to make the turn, but one of them most of the time just gets stuck turning slightly in the direction but not all the way, leaving the back tires spinning and not turning or just slowly turning in the direction it’s pointing because it hasn’t flipped to the direction it needs to be facing to turn all the way around.
I know the caster wheel fork has a little wiggle where it attaches to the mower. It kind of seems loose to me, but obviously if I tighten it up the wheels are harder to turn, should I loosen this more, it would appear that would make the wheels spin more freely but it would also create more side wiggle. The spindle or bolt that goes through the fork and attaches to the mower is bent as well, as I do not know anything about these mowers I don’t know if this is supposed to be this way or if this is the problem. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bertsmobile1]

So the wheel is rotating but the entire assembly is not swiveling ?
If that is the case when was the last time you took it apart, cleaned & lubricated it.
At a rough guess I would say the two flanged bushes part # 00462600 have seen better days and need replacing
If you have been running with the nut too loose then the external spacer # 00354700 may have worn a groove in the frame .
No matter how tight you do that nut up it should not be able to pinch the caster & prevent it swiveling unless you are big Arnies bigger brother .
While the owners handbook doe not mention cleaning & lubeing, the maintenance manual does.
Both it & the parts book are a free download from the Ariens web page but you will need the 91???? model number & the serial number off the id tag to get the right one.

 

[Born2Mow]

You might even consider adding a Zerk fitting while you have it apart. Then you could simplify maintenance by hitting it with squirt of grease every month of so.

 

[StarTech]

Replacing the bolt may be all you need to do as for it being bent will cause problems.

 

[justgang]

Thank you all for the replies! Yes it is the entire assembly that doesn’t always swivel around. I’ll take it apart when I get some time and see what it looks like in there and see if I can get the bolt out. It is bent so I’m thinking it is going to be stuck in there. Maybe I can post some pictures once I get it apart. Where would I find a new bolt at?

 

[bertsmobile1]

A bolt shop
Get a grade 9 bolt

 

[justgang]

 

[justgang]

Couldn’t get the bolt out, probably going to take it into a shop to get worked on.

 

[StarTech]

You need to cut the head head off the bolt and drive the reminder out the other side.