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Central Park steering issue

#1

O

Ohsoblue92

Good morning all,
Quick question for anyone that can help. My buddy picked up an older Central Park rider last night off of CL. Over all the mower looks to be in good shape. A little older and shows some normal wear and tear for the age of the machine however it looks to have spent much of its life in a shed or garage. Durring the test drive we noticed that when turning to the right in a tight radius it makes a popping feeling in the steering colum. While turning to the left it turns just fine. We are going to take a look at it this weekend but I figure it has to be a worn steering sprocket either on the upper steering wheel end or the lower end. Just curious if anyone else has had a similar situation and a possible fix. Thanks in advance for all your responses.


#2

Fish

Fish

Central Park is likely just a brand name put on a brand like AYP/Roper or more likely MTD, put up the numbers and whatever else is on the tag under the seat so we know what you have.


#3

O

Ohsoblue92

Here's the pic form the CL add. I won't really get to look at the model number till this weekend. Pretty sure it is made by the MTD company. I have already been reviewing thd IPB for them online. Looks like parts are pretty readily availible for them.


#4

Fish

Fish

I did a little googling of that name, I saw some MTDs, AYP/Ropers, and a few Murrays. Hard to tell from the pic, but it kinda looks like an AYP


#5

R

Rivets

Central Park mowers were built by MTD. If it has a 38" deck a possible model number is 130-658G046. From your description I would suspect a bad steering segment, bad gear on the steering shaft and/or bearing. You are going to have to remove the deck and crawl under the unit while someone turns the steering wheel to see what is causing the problem. I would replace the bearing for sure, if you replace any parts down there.


#6

O

Ohsoblue92

Fish said:
I did a little googling of that name, I saw some MTDs, AYP/Ropers, and a few Murrays. Hard to tell from the pic, but it kinda looks like an AYP
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Thanks Fish, My buddy doesn't own a grease gun or tools so I'm going to go over there this weekend. I will look up the model and MFR which should give me a better place to start looking. Thanks for the quick response... I appreciate it!


#7

O

Ohsoblue92

Rivets said:
Central Park mowers were built by MTD. If it has a 38" deck a possible model number is 130-658G046. From your description I would suspect a bad steering segment, bad gear on the steering shaft and/or bearing. You are going to have to remove the deck and crawl under the unit while someone turns the steering wheel to see what is causing the problem. I would replace the bearing for sure, if you replace any parts down there.
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Excellent. Thank you Rivets..... I will be sure to pull the deck off this weekend too. Figure there are grease fittings on there that haven't been hit in a while. I'll snap some better pics of the underside as the project gets rolling. I'm more familiar with Cub Cadet and Deere products so I'm looking forward to learning about this one as well.


#8

R

Rivets

Good luck finding grease fittings, MTD only uses them on the steering axles, if at all. That's one of the big reasons I feel MTD equipment is one of the cheapest and poorest quality manufacturers out there today. You get what you pay for and nothing more, probably less.


#9

O

Ohsoblue92

Wow..... No grease fittings on a mower deck..... INTERESTING.... I agree they are a pretty cheap machine good thing the price was right!!!!!!! Well for now anyway.......


#10

Fish

Fish

Central Park

Like I said, could easily be made by both companies, I also saw references for Murray in my search, so maybe 3 companies.

Tractor Supply, lowes, Sears, and many, many other "brand" mowers had different manufacturers.........


#11

Fish

Fish

We will just have to wait for what the tag tells us.....


#12

O

Ohsoblue92

AND THE SURVEY SAYS:........................ AYP...... Yep the little tag says AYP on it. Went over to my buddies house and changed the oil. Brigs and stratton 18 HP motor if memory serves correct. That oil ran out like it was Alaskan crude oil. Full of grit and looked quite old. Greased the front steering areas. proceeded to notice that the frame is cracked vertically on both sides right infront of the front axle yolk.(Not Good). Anyway going to get a bungie cord to hold the battery in place so it doesn't wiggle around. Looks like the mounting hardware is LONG gone for that.
IRT the steering pop noise, I looked down at the steering gears on the end of the steering shaft and when the wheel is cranked over to the right it definately pops which leads me to believe that both of those gears both on the spline and the other half curved looking gear are indeed worn.
The entire front of the mower looks to have been driven into at some point. Both of the front stabilizer bars for the plastic work look to be bent to the right and thus the entire body is leaning over that direction. Going to need a little metal fabrication to get them all straightened out. In the end we both decided this one isn't exactly a candidate to put a lot of money into. More along the lines of just a basic riding mower that will get him thru the summer and look for a better "Keeper" candidate next year. Now let the maintenance laundry list begin!!!!!!!!


#13

Fish

Fish

If the gears are not chewed up too bad, those plastic bearings are not too expensive, just find a Poulan dealer. You could use a Husqvarna dealer, but you will pay more for the same part.


#14

T

tybilly

Ohsoblue92 said:
AND THE SURVEY SAYS:........................ AYP...... Yep the little tag says AYP on it. Went over to my buddies house and changed the oil. Brigs and stratton 18 HP motor if memory serves correct. That oil ran out like it was Alaskan crude oil. Full of grit and looked quite old. Greased the front steering areas. proceeded to notice that the frame is cracked vertically on both sides right infront of the front axle yolk.(Not Good). Anyway going to get a bungie cord to hold the battery in place so it doesn't wiggle around. Looks like the mounting hardware is LONG gone for that.
IRT the steering pop noise, I looked down at the steering gears on the end of the steering shaft and when the wheel is cranked over to the right it definately pops which leads me to believe that both of those gears both on the spline and the other half curved looking gear are indeed worn.
The entire front of the mower looks to have been driven into at some point. Both of the front stabilizer bars for the plastic work look to be bent to the right and thus the entire body is leaning over that direction. Going to need a little metal fabrication to get them all straightened out. In the end we both decided this one isn't exactly a candidate to put a lot of money into. More along the lines of just a basic riding mower that will get him thru the summer and look for a better "Keeper" candidate next year. Now let the maintenance laundry list begin!!!!!!!!
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a good welding shop can fix that crack probably cheap,and be stonger than it was before,it still looks like you could put a few dollars into it


#15

Carscw

Carscw

Fish said:
If the gears are not chewed up too bad, those plastic bearings are not too expensive, just find a Poulan dealer. You could use a Husqvarna dealer, but you will pay more for the same part.
Click to expand...

I use brass bearings $5 each. My dealer will not even sell the plastic ones.


#16

Fish

Fish

What are those part numbers? Were those MTD or AYP?????


#17

Carscw

Carscw

Fish said:
What are those part numbers? Were those MTD or AYP?????
Click to expand...

Don't know the part number I go in and ask for steering bushings. The only ones I need part numbers for are the hex bushings that mtd uses.


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