A friend is having me repair his mower as the drag links are loose/worn flopping around and hitting the deck pulley. Anyone have a similar experience and is there a better option besides just ordering OEM replacements? Thanks!
LGT24K54: Drag Links Loose and Hitting Deck Belt Pulley
- Thread starter 67Camaro
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First figure out which variant you have as there are some different parts involved.
As the drag links themselves there are after market ones now available for most years. They are a lot more reasonable than the original price for these, even the OEM parts are half of what they once were.
Edit: I just look up those drag links and my distributor has them dirt cheap when what I paid for 5 yrs ago.
As for the links hitting the deck pulley, kinda of need to see that. Sounds like the deck is raising too far like the deck stop is missing.
As the drag links themselves there are after market ones now available for most years. They are a lot more reasonable than the original price for these, even the OEM parts are half of what they once were.
Edit: I just look up those drag links and my distributor has them dirt cheap when what I paid for 5 yrs ago.
As for the links hitting the deck pulley, kinda of need to see that. Sounds like the deck is raising too far like the deck stop is missing.
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Attached pics show how the drag links hit the drive pulley. The swivel ends are loose but no play/lash in them. It appears, to me, that maybe the drag links were installed incorrectly, right for left. Comments please. I'm gonna refer to the parts diagram and see if a mistake was made in assembly.
Attachments
So, after installing the drag links correctly, the front is not aligned as I would expect. It was this way beforehand by the way. I would guess sometime in the past, this mower suffered an impact with one of the front wheels with something immovable. There is considerable lash/slop in the axle pivot, wheel bearings and spindle pins. Anyone ever heat up a drag link a bit to provide a means of adjustment? There is no adjustment otherwise.
bertsmobile1
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You should be able to buy drag links with adjustable ends .
I see them all the time on Evilpay
Some times I just take then off & straiten the short one ( because it has been bent )
It is hit & miss so rarely do I get it 100%
I have fitted new adjustable drag links
I have cut the drag ink in the middle and threaded both ends then fitted a length of threaded tube over the drag link to adjust it.
I have cut & threaded LH & RH then used a turnbuckle to do the adjustment with
All depends upon the actual shape , the diameter of the rod and what tools I have in hand
Lately I have found Husqvarna using a non standard diameter rod which is a bitch because it has to be turned down and due to the bends it can be very hard to mount into either of my lathes .
The drag links are case hardened so you should avoid welding as it will leave them soft , found that out the expensive way .
And don't forget there are bushes in the wheels & the king pins that wear and generate slop .
I have just done a Victa VRX / Castle Garden / Mountfield / stiga Tornado where the drag link is above the mower floor and it was bent far enough to rip the oil filter ot of the engine when turning right with the front axel up on the let side
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I have used a 12T press to bend a little at a time to re-align the toe in. But first replace pivot bushings and wheel bushings... A lot easier to do than NZTR version which the links comes from the factory un-aligned. Only shorten the overall length of the draglink by no more than a 1/16" at a time. You be surprised how much toe out it corrects.