Gravely/Ariens Owner Check-In --- Read This First!

[boilermaker]

I can't figure out how to put this with my original post,or even if original post was in the wrong place, but i fell that i need to tell all of you that i took of the drive units and removed the covers and cleaned the oil and gunk out. The filters were partially stopped up so cleaned and blew them out several times, then put the covers and oil back in. Reinstalling the drive units proved very hard for this old man, but" i got er done".I have cut my yard, my neighbors and the Museum's 1 1/2 acre and no problems(except i need to adjust neutral ). I didn't measure old oil and couldn't find the amount anywhere, so i just dumped oil in and put the covers on and when i test drove it sounded like a car power steering pump thats low on oil. I removed the vent tops and added oil to almost running over. Works great again!! I have a Gravely 1640, don't know how old...Thanks for listening.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

I can't figure out how to put this with my original post,or even if original post was in the wrong place, but i fell that i need to tell all of you that i took of the drive units and removed the covers and cleaned the oil and gunk out. The filters were partially stopped up so cleaned and blew them out several times, then put the covers and oil back in. Reinstalling the drive units proved very hard for this old man, but" i got er done".I have cut my yard, my neighbors and the Museum's 1 1/2 acre and no problems(except i need to adjust neutral ). I didn't measure old oil and couldn't find the amount anywhere, so i just dumped oil in and put the covers on and when i test drove it sounded like a car power steering pump thats low on oil. I removed the vent tops and added oil to almost running over. Works great again!! I have a Gravely 1640, don't know how old...Thanks for listening.

Glad you got it working! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[NeverGiveUp]

I can't figure out how to put this with my original post,or even if original post was in the wrong place, but i fell that i need to tell all of you that i took of the drive units and removed the covers and cleaned the oil and gunk out. The filters were partially stopped up so cleaned and blew them out several times, then put the covers and oil back in. Reinstalling the drive units proved very hard for this old man, but" i got er done".I have cut my yard, my neighbors and the Museum's 1 1/2 acre and no problems(except i need to adjust neutral ). I didn't measure old oil and couldn't find the amount anywhere, so i just dumped oil in and put the covers on and when i test drove it sounded like a car power steering pump thats low on oil. I removed the vent tops and added oil to almost running over. Works great again!! I have a Gravely 1640, don't know how old...Thanks for listening.

That's great! Love hearing stuff like that. Love to see a couple of pics of your Gravely.

 

[djdicetn]

NeverGiveUp,

Well, I goterdun!!! Ended up costing me a total of $36.72 plus tax and some misc materials for wire routing & securing(nylon wire clamps & screws and nylon cable ties). I'll post pictures of the light kit and rocker switch below and here are the details of the materials, including the installation materials:
1)Blazer "Baja Tough" Driving Light Kit(55watt Halogen) Part#DF1088B-$19.99 which includes the necessary wiring and hardware for installation.
2)AutoCraft 30amp Rocker Switch(Red LED) Part#84840-$8.49
Both of the above purchased at Advance Auto Parts
3)Scotch(3M) Outdoor Mounting Tape(Two-sided adhesive tape holds up to 5lbs)-$4.27
4)Liquid Nails Adhesive(Home Projects For Extreme Temperature And Conditions) Part#LN-201-$3.97
Both of the above purchased at WalMart. The light kit came with mounting screws, but the best place to mount these lights was on the front of the gas tanks on each side just above the rear tires. Even though the plastic gas tanks are pretty thick I didn't want to take any chances. I cut the Scotch Adhesive tape to fit the inside of the light bracket(two pieces and two layers) and applied a small amount of the Liquid Nails on the light bracket, mounted the first two tape pieces to the bracket, applied a small amount of the Liquid Nail to that and applied the second set of pieces to the first pieces. Then I applied a small amount of Liquid Nail to the second layer of tape and pressed/mounted to the mower. I know this may sound a little strange....but it looks GREAT and it would take a crowbar to get those lights off my Gravely!!!!! I will post pics below of the light kit & rocker switch(drilled a hole in the plate where alll of the controls are at for the mower and it mounted easily).
Once I have a chance, I will take some pictures of the Gravely with the lights mounted and post them. I think you'll agree it looks like a professional installation!!

NeverGiveUp,
As promised, I finally have some pictures of the Gravely Sunshade and the Advance Autoparts driving light kit I installed over the winter. The weather here in Middle TN has "forgotten it is Spring" the last few weeks but yesterday was sunny and 62 degrees(we had some mid-70's end-of February/beginning of March) and the ground had dried enough from the rain(and snow flurries) over the last two weeks so I took advantage of the break(rain again off and on today and all Easter weekend) to get the Gravely out, mow and take some pictures(see attachments).
To describe the pics I am posting in order, they are as follows:
Post#1
1)Wire routing for left Driving Light.
2)Close-up of right Driving Light.
3)Close-up of left Driving Light.
4)Front view of Gravely with Sunshade and Driving Lights.

It appears that the forum has a maximum size limit for jpeg attachments as the 5th picture I tried to upload hung up? So I will post the remaining pictures and their descriptions in separate thread posts following this one.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

NeverGiveUp,
As promised, I finally have some pictures of the Gravely Sunshade and the Advance Autoparts driving light kit I installed over the winter. The weather here in Middle TN has "forgotten it is Spring" the last few weeks but yesterday was sunny and 62 degrees(we had some mid-70's end-of February/beginning of March) and the ground had dried enough from the rain(and snow flurries) over the last two weeks so I took advantage of the break(rain again off and on today and all Easter weekend) to get the Gravely out, mow and take some pictures(see attachments).
To describe the pics I am posting in order, they are as follows:
Post#1
1)Wire routing for left Driving Light.
2)Close-up of right Driving Light.
3)Close-up of left Driving Light.
4)Front view of Gravely with Sunshade and Driving Lights.

It appears that the forum has a maximum size limit for jpeg attachments as the 5th picture I tried to upload hung up? So I will post the remaining pictures and their descriptions in separate thread posts following this one.

That looks amazing!! The lights, the sunshade, the MOWER IN GENERAL...it all looks SO good! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[djdicetn]

NeverGiveUp,
To describe the pics I am posting in order, they are as follows:
Post#2 from above:
1&4)Gravely at dusk with Driving Lights on(NOTE:Location of discharge chute for storing when not mowing).
2)LED Rocker Switch installed for Driving Lights.
3Wire routing for right Driving Light.
5)Wiring of Driving Light kit to battery.

 

[djdicetn]

NeverGiveUp,
To describe the pics I am posting in order, they are as follows:
Post#3 from above:
1&2)Gravely with Driving Lights on after dark(NOTE:Right side partially blocked by discharge chute storage on top of deck..see #1 & 4 in Post#2 above-lighting path will be similar to left side when mowing and the discharge chute is in the mowing position). Also, NOTE how well the car & RV parked on each side of the ZTR are well lit.
3)Bag of charcoal sitting 16 feet in front of mower with Driving Lights on after dark(I can actually see an area about twice that far fairly well-approx. 30 feet).
4)Zoomed close-up of that charcoal bag 16 feet in front of mower-label easily read.

I think you will agree with my earlier statements that for ~ $40 the Driving Light kit and mounting accessories was a very good option for my Gravely and took about 2 hours to meticulousy install it. I made the final "aiming" adjustments of the lights when taking the pictures last night and am VERY pleased with the results this kit gave. I don't believe the $125 Gravely kit could have been any better. What do you think??? I highly recommend you install this on your Pro-Turn 52!!!!!

 

[djdicetn]

That looks amazing!! The lights, the sunshade, the MOWER IN GENERAL...it all looks SO good! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

lmf,
Thanks...that was "painful"...seems like the picture upload feature "has a mind of it's own". The pics(except for my last one) don't appear to always show up in the same sequence you upload them in, so getting the descriptions of the pics in sequence was a "challenge". You're right though I'm pretty proud of that Gravely and so far it's performance is worth every penny I paid for it.
I posted the specs of all the materials in this thread in several other threads discussing light attachments, but I think I'll just post a simple "look here link" in the others and not try this many jpeg attachments again. To "toot my own horn", I still think the light installation looks like a dealer/pro installed it:0)

 

[NeverGiveUp]

NeverGiveUp,
To describe the pics I am posting in order, they are as follows:
Post#3 from above:
1&2)Gravely with Driving Lights on after dark(NOTE:Right side partially blocked by discharge chute storage on top of deck..see #1 & 4 in Post#2 above-lighting path will be similar to left side when mowing and the discharge chute is in the mowing position). Also, NOTE how well the car & RV parked on each side of the ZTR are well lit.
3)Bag of charcoal sitting 16 feet in front of mower with Driving Lights on after dark(I can actually see an area about twice that far fairly well-approx. 30 feet).
4)Zoomed close-up of that charcoal bag 16 feet in front of mower-label easily read.

I think you will agree with my earlier statements that for ~ $40 the Driving Light kit and mounting accessories was a very good option for my Gravely and took about 2 hours to meticulousy install it. I made the final "aiming" adjustments of the lights when taking the pictures last night and am VERY pleased with the results this kit gave. I don't believe the $125 Gravely kit could have been any better. What do you think??? I highly recommend you install this on your Pro-Turn 52!!!!!

WOW!:thumbsup: That turned out really well. I will see if I can get mine to turn out as nice as yours did. I can assure you that the 2 hour time allotment that you have given me might be a little tricky, lol. Okay, now take it all apart and redo it, capture it on video for all of us simpletons haha:laughing: Alas, I request too much. You did a fine job and I am a little jealous of your cat like speed in which you accomplished it. It is muggy as h*&@ here in Florida and the sun is relentless during the July-Sept months so I'm thinking this set up would suit me well down here. Kudos, Dj, it looks great and very functional, one could easily say it was "professionally done".

 

[djdicetn]

WOW!:thumbsup: That turned out really well. I will see if I can get mine to turn out as nice as yours did. I can assure you that the 2 hour time allotment that you have given me might be a little tricky, lol. Okay, now take it all apart and redo it, capture it on video for all of us simpletons haha:laughing: Alas, I request too much. You did a fine job and I am a little jealous of your cat like speed in which you accomplished it. It is muggy as h*&@ here in Florida and the sun is relentless during the July-Sept months so I'm thinking this set up would suit me well down here. Kudos, Dj, it looks great and very functional, one could easily say it was "professionally done".

Well....I may have stretched the truth a bit about the "2 hours". I'm pretty good with my hands and VERY analytical(from over 40 years of being a mainfame computer programmer/analyst:0) but it could have been more like 3-4 counting taking the the control plate off, drilling the hole in it for the switch and routing the wires. If you take your time, follow the "vague" instructions I gave in my first post where I described all of the materials and procedures and refer back to the pictures I'm sure yours will turn out just as good. The "hardest task" of the installation was drilling a small hole in the side of the Gravely just under the seat for attaching the wire clip for routing the wires on the left side. I broke the screw off in the first hole(that''s really hard steel:0) and drilled a second a little larger and got it to work. In hindsight I wished I had just figured out a different way, like applying a small square of velcro to the frame, run the wires across it and then put the other side if the velcro strip to secure the wire. It's always easier to figure out an easier way to do something AFTER you've done it the hard way:0) If you get into it and need any help at all just let me know and I'll help however I can.