So true about many appliances these days. I'm resolved to fix things as long as I can and not just toss. I found my mower on the side of the road for nearly nothing - the owner couldn't get it running.
PTO always engaged
- Thread starter mowgli
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bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
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Down here the mower market is strictly franchised and few greedy morons have most of the exclusive franchise rights.
Thus some deck idlers go for near $ 200 (Aus)
Thus I have on occasions drilled out the welds / rivets then replaced the bearing with the highest quality one I can find then joined the 2 halves back together .
Not much cheaper for the customer at $ 30 for the bearing and $ 90 to $ 120 for my labour but I have a thing about people trying to make too much money out of a too small turnover by charging outrageous prices.
Building a spot welder from an old microwave transformer to do these much quicker is on the 'round tuit " list so I have a big box of good pulleys with buggered bearings cluttering up the workshop .
Thus some deck idlers go for near $ 200 (Aus)
Thus I have on occasions drilled out the welds / rivets then replaced the bearing with the highest quality one I can find then joined the 2 halves back together .
Not much cheaper for the customer at $ 30 for the bearing and $ 90 to $ 120 for my labour but I have a thing about people trying to make too much money out of a too small turnover by charging outrageous prices.
Building a spot welder from an old microwave transformer to do these much quicker is on the 'round tuit " list so I have a big box of good pulleys with buggered bearings cluttering up the workshop .
i plan to put in the new clutch today - do you all have any tips to be careful about. From the instructions that came with the clutch it sounds like I have to be careful about different tolerances, like its not just a question of putting it in where the old clutch was and retightening the bolt! Just want to be sure I don't miss anything...
GentlemanFahmah
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A couple of thoughts on this. The blue in the ball bearings speaks volumes about the heat that caused it all to seize up. The rust on the center suggests that this could have been washed down after use and then water would lie there and go to work on corrosion. For longevity on older model Craftsman tractors, I've found that inside storage, using a leaf blower to clean the deck top, and annual or more frequent inspection of the clutch and all mechanisms that get dust and grass debris on the deck top are kept clean and free. it's good that you got to the problem and that is fixable. Good job of staying in it. My oldest Craftsman look like it was a practice dummy for the high school welding class I've slapped so many patches and repairs on it, but it still cuts beautifully. The latest problem for me was failed ACR on the Briggs motor. That was a bit deeper repair than I was looking for but I got it done and fortunately most of the debris I was able to remove and now it's back up and running. My oldest craftsman (I have two) is my trim mower for fence lines at my farm and it takes a beating.
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All new electric PTO clutches should be installed using antiseize on the crankshaft. They also should be only torque the PTO clutch OEM specs. Too loose they come off and too tight damages to bearings.