Rust pulleys/bolts on brand new machine?

[David Giles]

I'll check the engine manufacture date in the morning and let you know what I find.

Just keep chipping away at your wife's resolve and who knows maybe she'll cave. :biggrin:

 

[Mad Mackie]

Every now and then I tell her that I'll trade her in for two 35 year olds with "new tires"!!! But I need to change my line, gotta come up with a new one!!! I used to use swapping her for a rich widow that likes to fish and owns a liquor distributorship, but this got old too!!!!

I'm going to start a new thread and post the pics of the grease fitting mods that I have done to make lubing these machines easier.
Later
Mad Mackie in CT, I should say Taxonnecticut!!!:laughing::biggrin::smile:

 

[gfp55]

Hey folks, I'm the proud new owner of a brand new Tiger Cat 61" that I just picked up from the dealer's showroom yesterday. It looks pretty much perfect, as you would expect of a brand new machine, EXCEPT for some unexpected rust on the bolts on top of the spindle pulleys. I can't find any other rust or other problems at all. Is rust in that spot normal on these machines, and should I be concerned?

Here's what I'm talking about:

View attachment 23438

David

This is just and cost cutting move by the manufacturer. If they use cheap nuts and bolts some suit gets a raise.

 

[reynoldston]

I wasn't concerned about the "look" of the rust, and I don't expect this mower to be a show piece. But I would like to get the maximum service life out of this machine (or maximum resale value if that is ever necessary) and I'd rather not give rust a head start on degrading the functionality, serviceability, OR resale value of the unit. So if you consider replacing three or four rusty bolts with fresh bolts to be over reacting, then I'm guilty as charged.

First of all when I buy a mower like you just bought I would NOT be thinking of resale. My thoughts would be how many years can I keep and run this mower. Yes by all means if the rusty bolts are a problem with you I guess do something with them or the mower. From what I see in the picture they will not have anything to do service life. If I had bought the mower I look at what I am buying and something I didn't like would be taken care of before I paid for it and be looking for a nice discount. ( Its too late now) Also being in the repair end of mowers I would be running that mower and not give the bolts a second though. Its only surface rust. But also its your mower and money and you know what you want so just do it. What different dose it mean to you what I think?? Yes its a lot of entertainment writing on this forum.

 

[David Giles]

Well we jacked up the mower today, and removed the blades. I've read horror stories about getting those bolts off for the first time (and I was especially concerned because of the rust so nearby). But they didn't stand a chance against an impact wrench with 1000 ft. lbs. of torque. The nuts came right off, and we didn't find any rust on the threads of the bolts or nuts. We also checked the PTO clutch while we were under there, and didn't find any rust or corrosion at all.

So other than the rust on the bolts in my earlier photo, everything else seems to be in tip-top shape! :dance1:

 

[David Giles]

This is just and cost cutting move by the manufacturer. If they use cheap nuts and bolts some suit gets a raise.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Since we can't find rust ANYWHERE else on the machine, it just seems like those particular bolts must have been poor quality from the factory (and may even have had a spot of rust on them when originally installed?) Anyway, thankfully the rust was limited to something easily (and cheaply) replaceable.

 

[David Giles]

I'm going to start a new thread and post the pics of the grease fitting mods that I have done to make lubing these machines easier.

Cool! We'll try to install those same mods sometime next week. Thanks MM!

 

[David Giles]

Okay so I stopped by our local Fastenal this morning and picked up six new EXACT replacement bolts for under two bucks. And we removed the three main pulleys and QD bushings and cleaned them all up nicely with steel wool. I realize that some may still feel that I was overreacting and that it was a waste of time and money. But for the minimal amount of time and money we invested I'm very pleased with the results and it was WELL worth it to me, simply for the peace of mind. :thumbsup:

 

[Mad Mackie]

As most places that sell bolts/nuts, price them by weight and not per each, lots of nice hardware can be bought.
For sure, peace of mind is a good thing particularly when one has control over the situation with an easy resolve!!!
Having been an aircraft mech both in the military and civilian worlds, the correct hardware is close to my heart, still!!!! The paper chase that should follow FAA approved hardware is a serious thing, even down to lock washers which are not frequently used on aircraft.!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

 

[gfp55]

Yes, peace of mind is feeling. Who cares what others think, its your mind and your money. Good job.