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Bought from my local JD dealer :wink:

- $220 included tax and delivery (was $500 last summer before tax and without delivery....that's $20)
- 14.5 hp OHV B&S
- 33" cut 3-way hi vac deck w/nose roller, two rear gauge wheels
- variable disk drive
- as is, where is - no 'service after the sale' - :laughing:

WoW...
220... GREAT deal..
You should look good on RED:smile:.. :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

WoW...
220... GREAT deal..
You should look good on RED:smile:.. :smile:KennyV

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Think my avatar will be changin soon....:biggrin:

There..done..and I think my new avatar fits my personality better......as anyone who knows my posting history knows! :laughing:

twall said:

I think my new avatar fits my personality better

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Haha...ha RIGHT... :smile:KennyV

Nice addition to the fleet! When are you going to smash that bottle of champagne across the bow and take her out for a spin?

Good Luck with this one - My 85 year old neighbor has a new 33" Snapper with high vac deck like this -- it nearly shakes him to death :thumbdown: when the blade is engaged and the dealer said that is normal. I think the dealer just did not want to bother -- there is no adjustment for deck belt tightness except to stretch the frame.

tell that dealer to put some air in the tire of the JD next to it.

twall,I used to have one of the older rear engined snappers until I wore it out,that disk drive worked out really nice.part of that snapper I made for my post hole digger carrier.yours should give you yrs. of service and at a nice price....russ

mystreba said:

Nice addition to the fleet! When are you going to smash that bottle of champagne across the bow and take her out for a spin?

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Being delivered sometime next week. I need to charge the battery on my JD, and try it out in the Snapper.

BKBrown said:

Good Luck with this one - My 85 year old neighbor has a new 33" Snapper with high vac deck like this -- it nearly shakes him to death :thumbdown: when the blade is engaged and the dealer said that is normal. I think the dealer just did not want to bother -- there is no adjustment for deck belt tightness except to stretch the frame.

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...or buy a smaller belt...:wink: You are probably right about the dealer though.....this SHOULD be a smooth machine, with the OHV engine.....my LT12D41 was smooth as butter....

173abn said:

twall,I used to have one of the older rear engined snappers until I wore it out,that disk drive worked out really nice.part of that snapper I made for my post hole digger carrier.yours should give you yrs. of service and at a nice price....russ

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I had a '91 Snapper LT12D41 that I paid $200 for about four years ago. I used it for 2 years, and traded it for the 14SB walk behind and $200......it was a really great tractor - just a little too big for my yard - too much manuvering to get into the tight spots.

Hi Twalll

Congruation on the new mower , looks good to me it looks like snapper has not changed much on the rear engine rider in the last 20 years or so so it must me doing a good job and working well. I have a snapper snow blower that i bought new in 1983 or84 not sure and still use it today, it got a lot of use this winter we had a lot of snow here in Minnesota this year it took the roof of our doom off in Dec for football games.Hope you enjoy your new mower.

View attachment 33 parts.pdf

If you don't have it - this is the parts list for the 33" snapper. The older Snapper RERs had an idler pulley on the Blade drive belt - JRs does not. The long free section of the drive belt causes the vibration.

If yours is OK and there is a solution - let me know so I can help JR ! :biggrin:

BKBrown said:

View attachment 1580

If you don't have it - this is the parts list for the 33" snapper. The older Snapper RERs had an idler pulley on the Blade drive belt - JRs does not. The long free section of the drive belt causes the vibration.

If yours is OK and there is a solution - let me know so I can help JR ! :biggrin:

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That's AWESOME! THANK YOU! I looked around for that very document, but couldn't find it. I doubt it's very new at all. Probably a '97 or so.

Just curious, could the idler be retrofitted to your friend's mower with the old style belt?

Also, the 1433's were heavier-duty than the tube-style (series 17) lighter mowers. The 1433 ( I believe it's a series 15 mower) was available with a twin-cylinder engine and a twin-blade 41" deck.

Darn! That .pdf was for the lighter mower...that's all I found, too.

What I mean by "tube" is the tube that connects the front axle to the main tractor part. In the pics of mine, that isn't a tube - it's rectangular. I also have a tiny 'dash' for the engine controls and the parking brake at the base of the steering column. The lighter duty ones are too narrow for anything more than the key.

His was NEW last summer - so yours may still have the idler - I don't know about retrofit - JR was so ticked that he was ready to push it off into the woods and let it rot. He is using his old one to mow and the new one just to pull his firewood cart.
I believe I got the parts document from the Snapper site. :biggrin:

twall said:

That's AWESOME! THANK YOU! I looked around for that very document, but couldn't find it. I doubt it's very new at all. Probably a '97 or so.

Just curious, could the idler be retrofitted to your friend's mower with the old style belt?

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View attachment Snapper Parts.pdf

This might help too ! :biggrin:

BKBrown said:

View attachment 1583

This might help too ! :biggrin:

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Sorry, I edited my post above. I explained that there are two different 'strengths' of Snapper rer's.....tubular and rectangular is how I differenciate them. Go see what I added to the post you quoted from, and let me know what kind your friend has. (use the pics I posted of mine for reference)

ALL of JRs RERs are Tube frame connecting the rear and front sections. They say the only way to tighten the belt on his 33" is to stretch the frame (pull the tube out some).

BKBrown said:

ALL of JRs RERs are Tube frame connecting the rear and front sections. They say the only way to tighten the belt on his 33" is to stretch the frame (pull the tube out some).

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That isn't that hard to do. there are two clamps under the seat (one outside, one inside the seat stantion wall), just loosen them with the belt off, and slide it out some, and replace the belt. Repeat until it's tight. Make sure both clamps end up being tight against the stantion wall, or the tube will jack back and forth.

I did that and tightened as much as possible. Still Vibrates.

Is this where you looked for manuals ? Operator's Manuals - Support - Snapper

BKBrown said:

I did that and tightened as much as possible. Still Vibrates.

Is this where you looked for manuals ? Operator's Manuals - Support - Snapper

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Yeah...they want a different model than what's under the "Snapper" logo on the steering column. I gotta wait for it to be delivered........

I'd get a belt that's 1" shorter, and re-adjust it.

You sure there isn't a bent spot in one of the pulleys? If it turns out to be something like a bent spot in a pulley, I'd ream that dealer a new one. No mower is "supposed" to vibrate........

Nope - pulleys are all fine - It needs an idler with spring (to absorb any slack) on that long side.
JRs Brother in Law got this 33" for him and he would not tell him to take it back -- The dealer also made us both angry with his attitude. A quick look and "it's normal" :thumbdown: IDIOT !

BKBrown said:

Nope - pulleys are all fine - It needs an idler with spring (to absorb any slack) on that long side.
JRs Brother in Law got this 33" for him and he would not tell him to take it back -- The dealer also made us both angry with his attitude. A quick look and "it's normal" :thumbdown: IDIOT !

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That, unfortunately, seems to be the M.O. of Snapper dealers. You can get Snappers used for dirt here because nobody wants to deal with our a-hole dealer. He's the only game within a 50-mile radius, though! He won't be bothered to order parts for you. He makes me mad, too.

Okay, it's a 2007. Model is not what it says on the steering column -"SR1433". Model # is 331415BVE. Found the parts manual for it.

Here's some more pics:

Just ordered a bunch of decals and a battrery box cover for it....so the resto should look nice!

BK, you are exactly right....it shakes like a b*tch when the deck is on. It feels like a out- of - balance blade. I will find the answer to this, and definately let you know how to fix it....it just ain't right, IMHO.

I will tell you this much, it is for sure NOT the belt doing this...........the shake is way too strong for it to be a belt. Something in the whole system is unbalanced. Again, will let you know.

Perhaps that's why the original owner ditched this barely 4-year-old machine for a JD (and the dealer told me FOUR TIMES this thing is AS IS NO WARANTY).......the screws for the belt cover are missing, as if they were shaken out....which I can believe.....

I took the Blade off JRs machine and tried it without the blade -- still shook - checked blade balance and it was fine. I hope you have good luck solving the problem - I'm glad it does not belong to me - I would have told the dealer what to do with it and where to put it ! Let me know !

twall said:

BK, you are exactly right....it shakes like a b*tch when the deck is on. It feels like a out- of - balance blade. I will find the answer to this, and definately let you know how to fix it....it just ain't right, IMHO.

I will tell you this much, it is for sure NOT the belt doing this...........the shake is way too strong for it to be a belt. Something in the whole system is unbalanced. Again, will let you know.

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twall said:

BK, you are exactly right....it shakes like a b*tch when the deck is on. It feels like a out- of - balance blade. I will find the answer to this, and definately let you know how to fix it....it just ain't right, IMHO.

I will tell you this much, it is for sure NOT the belt doing this...........the shake is way too strong for it to be a belt. Something in the whole system is unbalanced. Again, will let you know.

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Wrong type of blade, or very unbalanced blade would be my first thought. Not sure what else would cause such a vibration. Keep us posted.

This has developed into quite a detective story.:wink:

Since you know that it only vibrates when the blade is engaged you can narrow it down to the parts that spin in that case -- but don't overlook any parts. If a shaft is slightly bent it could cause vibrations -- for example.

How many moving parts are we talking about?

Please keep us posted, twall. Sorry I don't know anything about this model. I've never had a riding lawnmower of any kind.

Two-Stroke said:

This has developed into quite a detective story.:wink:

Since you know that it only vibrates when the blade is engaged you can narrow it down to the parts that spin in that case -- but don't overlook any parts. If a shaft is slightly bent it could cause vibrations -- for example.

How many moving parts are we talking about?

Please keep us posted, twall. Sorry I don't know anything about this model. I've never had a riding lawnmower of any kind.

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I'm going to take some of my machinist tools into this thing....:wink: I can check the TIR (toal indicated runout) of every part in the system. All we are talking about is the blade shaft (and the associated blade mount/pulley), the engagement idler , and the engine pulley. I will check them all. Obviously, this is a common problem. Something has got to be outa whack. I can also face off the blade mounting plate within thousandths of 90 degrees. This is a 33" blade.....the slightest thing being off will really magnify itself with that large of a blade.

BKBrown said:

I hope you find the problem - The pully system is different on the new 33" from the older 28" The older system had an adjustable idler pulley with spring tension and this one does not. I don't know why they changed the design, but am glad to know it isn't just his machine.

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There is also 5" less blade spinning.....on the 28".

twall said:

This is a 33" blade.....the slightest thing being off will really magnify itself with that large of a blade.

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Woah! That's huge! Since the blade is the simplest solution, if you've got something that will spin it and check for balance, that's where I'd start. It seems to me that it could be in balance out from center - so it would pass the old-fashioned hanging-cross test. But any kind of twist or warp might cause the issue, and this could only be found by spinning the blade.

mystreba said:

Woah! That's huge! Since the blade is the simplest solution, if you've got something that will spin it and check for balance, that's where I'd start. It seems to me that it could be in balance out from center - so it would pass the old-fashioned hanging-cross test. But any kind of twist or warp might cause the issue, and this could only be found by spinning the blade.

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-Exactly......but BK said he checked his friend's blade, and it checked out.....and vibrated WITHOUT a blade.....but then again, it would......bearing slop, anything would vibrate W/O a blade. There is no weight to stop it.

BK, when you checked it w/o the blade, was it the same KIND of vibration? Or did it change 'pitch'?

It changed some, but there wasn't all that weight on the shaft. With JR on the mower, when he engaged the mower deck (with and without the blade) I could SEE the long section of belt (left side looking from front to back) slap violently in and out. I also believe these blades are not much more than stamped sheet metal and could twist while spinning ! I think 33" is too long for a single blade ! I asked Roy Megli at Meg-Mo if he could fit this Snapper with a Meg-Mo blade system and he said he could.

twall said:

-Exactly......but BK said he checked his friend's blade, and it checked out.....and vibrated WITHOUT a blade.....but then again, it would......bearing slop, anything would vibrate W/O a blade. There is no weight to stop it.

BK, when you checked it w/o the blade, was it the same KIND of vibration? Or did it change 'pitch'?

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BKBrown said:

I think 33" is too long for a single blade !

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I was thinking the same thing - everything would have to be perfect to get a 33" blade to spin from pulleys at that RPM without vibration

mystreba said:

I was thinking the same thing - everything would have to be perfect to get a 33" blade to spin from pulleys at that RPM without vibration

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Correct - which is why RER's never exceeded 30"!!

That vibration really shook the heck outa everything. The inner tie rod on the fron end was loose! The nut came off, and I lost steering! Luckily, it was on pavement, and it landed red side up. I gotta check every bolt on this thing. Gotta be why no one will touch it. There is a real problem here with these newer models.....It's the deck that's making it vibrate.....just towing a cart is smooth as butter.

After checking the front end out, made 3 more trips to the woods (1/4 mile away) to dump yard debris.....all was well. Ran super.

That is all JR can use it for - he tows his firewood cart to and from his splitter and stacks of firewood. It threw and tore up the mower belt and I got him a new one, but he isn't even interested in having me put it on.

twall said:

That vibration really shook the heck outa everything. The inner tie rod on the fron end was loose! The nut came off, and I lost steering! Luckily, it was on pavement, and it landed red side up. I gotta check every bolt on this thing. Gotta be why no one will touch it. There is a real problem here with these newer models.....It's the deck that's making it vibrate.....just towing a cart is smooth as butter.

After checking the front end out, made 3 more trips to the woods (1/4 mile away) to dump yard debris.....all was well. Ran super.

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It might be worth your time to repeat BKBrown's experiment: take off the blade and see how that affects the vibrations.

When you have the blade off you can also take off the belt and give the blade shaft (and bearings) a close look. There shouldn't be any play in the shaft. If it's even a tiny bit sloppy the 33" blade will magnify the problem.

I guess there's a reason that most manufacturers don't design mowers with blades that large.

BKBrown said:

JRs was brand new so there should not have been bad bearings etc. - it is possible that something was bent or bad from factory ??? I think it is just poor design. :thumbdown:

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My guess is poorly thought out design. I'd guess they used the same blade mount plate as the 25". It'd need to be bigger. I'll make one, if I have to.

Sent from my WX445 using LMF

BKBrown said:

twall -- Do you have any shorter blades that will fit ? If you have a shorter blade, it might be interesting to try the shorter one and see if the vibration is less or gone ??:confused3:

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This is a HiVac deck. The blade needs to be the right size - or the vac effect won't work. I'd try it if I had a smaller blade just to see - but I don't have one, and it'd be a waste to buy one.

I COULD try the JD's 30" on it though........if it's fit the mandrel's center.....

Thre's something else: If you notice, this mower is set up using the 'Ninja mulch' system. I don't even have the side discharge chute. :frown: So, combine a 33" blade with a blade sesign that looks like a huge 'X', and that's a recipie for trouble, IMHO!

Okay, I took a good look at my deck.

-The belt is as tight as it should be.

-My blade is shot.

There are two level adjustment bolts on the top of the blade mounting plate - did you notice them, BK? You can measure the blade to the ground on one wing, spin the blade 180 degrees to the exact same spot, and measure the other side. They should be exactly the same. If they aren't - I'd say loosen the blade, unlock the adjuster of the high side, screw it in a bit, re-tighten the blade, repeat until they both read the same - then lock the adjuster down and recheck one last time. If the blade isn't adjusted right, it'll wobble, and vibrate like mad.

In order to check that I need to bring it over here and get it onto a concrete floor OR tip it up and use a straight edge across the mower deck bottom edge -- this is something the dealer should have done BEFORE delivery and absolutely when we took it to him for the problem (still new and under warranty). When I actually get some time, I will check it for JR (He HATES this machine).

twall said:

Okay, I took a good look at my deck.

-The belt is as tight as it should be.

-My blade is shot.

There are two level adjustment bolts on the top of the blade mounting plate - did you notice them, BK?Yes - and did a quick (but not exact) check. It was very close. You can measure the blade to the ground on one wing, spin the blade 180 degrees to the exact same spot, and measure the other side. They should be exactly the same. If they aren't - I'd say loosen the blade, unlock the adjuster of the high side, screw it in a bit, re-tighten the blade, repeat until they both read the same - then lock the adjuster down and recheck one last time. If the blade isn't adjusted right, it'll wobble, and vibrate like mad.

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It'd be easy and quick to check it through the discharge hole. That way you can get an exact reading. Even a little I'd think would cause a vibration.

You're absolutely right - it's the dealer's responsibility to do that.

But, since you said this dealer is useless, you're gonna have to take matters into your own hands..... I wouldn't use the deck itself as a gauge.....if it's stamped off kilter, the blade would be off, too.....I'd use a cement pad or driveway an will once I get a side discharge chute and a new blade. The tips of my blade are chewed to poop.

twall,
Have you had time to try and figure out the vibration issue ?

No I haven't, BK. Its been raining so much, I don't know when I'll even get a chance to mow for the first time! Everything is soggy and mushy! As soon as it dries out a bit, it'll be the first thing I get to - I promise.

Sent from my WX445 using LMF

BK,

I'm not sure I'm gonna be much help.

I got most of the limbs out of my yard and HAD to at least knock it down....the lawn that is. So, I figured 'vibration or not, I gotta mow....gonna rain again for God knows how long AGAIN next week'. So, I mowed. As I did, the vibration got less and less, till it was almost gone. Probably sitting for 2+ years helped set up the vibe.

Once it ran for a bit, it was fine, and actually did a nice job....even with a toasted mulcher blade.

Sorry I can't be of any more help, man.

I could have sworn I replied - Yours could have been a hardened belt from sitting so long in one spot.
I guess the next thing will be to take JRs machine to MY dealer who is also Snapper authorized - they will either fix the problem or tell me it is a **** design !

BKBrown said:

I could have sworn I replied - Yours could have been a hardened belt from sitting so long in one spot.
I guess the next thing will be to take JRs machine to MY dealer who is also Snapper authorized - they will either fix the problem or tell me it is a **** design !

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Hardened belt, hardened grease, rusty spot on the bare part of the deck pulley, could've been anything - but now, I can't support the "33 inch Snappers are no good because they vibrate" claim. Sorry. Mine is a 2007, so I doubt it if it's much different from JR's. I hope your dealer can find the problem.

Fun thread!

It was definitely the belt, IMO! I saw the same thing happen on an old home-made log saw my Grandpa had.

He didn't use it for over a year, and when I turned it on, the thing sounded like a helicopter.

The belt had 2 distinct 'humps' in it, and that's what caused the vibration.

Neighbor took the belt, put it in a big pot and boiled it on his gas grill. Sprayed it with some belt dressing and it worked fine for 2 or 3 more years!

BKBrown said:

Update -- I haven't taken that 33" Snapper in (because he uses it) ,but the factory belt broke and there is a new Gates belt on it. That thing still shakes & vibrates, so it wasn't the belt - J.R. now has an old feed sack filled with bubble wrap on the seat so he doesn't feel as much vibration. I think part of it is that he won't run it full throttle (can't convince him that it is OK) , but even at full throttle it still makes the steering handle shake like crazy.

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I know this sounds crazy, but is it possible that you've got a defective deck pulley on this thing? If the thing isn't concentric, might that account for the issues you're having?I'm just grasping at straws here, as "the best minds available:biggrin:" have been working the problem for a while.:smile:

I guess that just about anything is possible. I can see the mower deck belt vibrate from side to side on the left side (standing in front) while looking past the guard when the mower is engaged. This thing needs an idler pulley on that side. Maybe I will have more time to check everything out this winter. THAT is what the dealer should have done when we took it in the first time ! :thumbdown:

benski said:

I know this sounds crazy, but is it possible that you've got a defective deck pulley on this thing? If the thing isn't concentric, might that account for the issues you're having?I'm just grasping at straws here, as "the best minds available:biggrin:" have been working the problem for a while.:smile:

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