Recently bought a Simplicity 12.5 LTH mower in great shape (circa 1993?). It has the striping deck roller, which I am not sure yet that I like. My yard is too small and irregular for attractive striping, and the roller does catch on a lot of things, halting the mower and burnishing the ground/grass with the spinning wheels.
That aside, how do I remove the axle shaft 'top-hat design' covers so I can swap tires and turn wheels so the air valves are on the outside and accessible? They may just pop off with a pry tool, but have not attempted. I do not want to break them while removing, and since I have no owner/user manual yet, I would be very thankful for any suggestion on proper removal technique.
Thank you in advance for any/all assistance.
#2
BlazNT
They should pull off but I have had to use something to pry them off. Exploded view so you can see how they go together.
#3
Boobala
I have all Murray mowers with "hub-caps", held on by a groove in the hub-cap which you push-on over a Large thin flat washer on the axle-shaft, after fighting them for a Looooong time I tried this, used a grinder to shave off part of tha &^$#@ washer, NOW I can get a small curved pick into the opening between the cap and the washer,,,,,,,,,,, like MAGIC ! right off !!
Thanks to all for all the above info.
BlazNT -- thanks for the image and related info. Saved the image for future. The hub covers indeed popped off with gentle assist from a metal rod. Pulled all wheels, cleaned and greased up everything. Was able to flip rear wheels so air valve is on outside, which will greatly assist routine inspection and maintenance. Found out the front wheels can not be flipped as the rim flanges are not centered on the axle hub, so the tire does not have spindle clearance both ways -- I would have to replace the wheels with ones designed for outside air valve location (say JD wheels). It looks like replacing the straight valve stems with 45º or 90º would be a lot cheaper means to facilitate service access. I'll do that when it becomes time to replace the tires. All tires are original so probably at a good time this summer.
Was a little surprised to find the deck spindles, steering, and hydro control levers do not have grease fittings, nor any easy means to lubricate. Well, anyway the mower looks great, runs well, and does what it was intended to do... AND the original owner gave me a very low price. So low I HAD to buy it.
I should probably direct future posts to the Simplicity forum, not the Allis Chalmers forum, as this forum seems more appropriate to larger equipment.
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