bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2014
- Threads
- 65
- Messages
- 24,995
Any place that has metal to metal movement needs some sort of lubrication or the weaker part will wear.In an attempt to impress some unknowing customer is why grease fittings are installed to grease bearings that were not meant to be greased .
Now weather having the pivot worn oval is beneficial because you get freer and greater movement of the front cross member is a good idea or not will get argued amongst tech all day & all night
I have seen mowers where the wear was so great the front cross member twisted back near 20 degrees when you turned the steering wheel before the wheels moved.
When they did the cambe r was of course all wrong and over time that destroys the king pin bush and even the fan gear .
I love hem because when the front wheels start to grind agianst the frame , drag link or muffler I get to do a $ 1000 to $ 2000 repair, nearly all labour taht the customers never complain about the price because they feel guilt about not greasing the pivot bolt
Husqvarna & JD use the exact same system, and the parts interchange
JD put a grease nipple in there & Husqvarna don't
The Husqvarnas are throw aways while the JD will run 20 years if the pivot is greased
The customers come in with a broken drag link, I put the mower up on the hoist and show them why the wheel was rubbing on the drag link which destroys the end of the link.
Then it is proper tie rod ends on the drag links , custom bush in the cross member, new pivot bolt, drill cross member for grease, replace king pin bushes and new bushes in steering shaft & fan gear .
Customer leaves with a mower that steers better than new & tell everyone I am a genius .