The Daily Yardman Thread

[Boobala]

Re: It was all a matter of alignment!!

Here's the straight-skinny on the Troy-Bilt pulleys.

I very carefully checked and sure enough, if I really paid attention and look carefully, I could see that the pulleys were not exactly aligned one set above the other. In fact some careful measurements indicated that they were off by 3/16"! In this case the pulley need to be 3/16" further away from the motor. As I found five shims on the shaft of the Tecumseh engine, I measured three of the thickest ones and found they were 1/16" each, so I put all three on the shaft of the Predator. Then I put on the extra two belts I had ordered for the 1976 Tiller and put everything back together. A little tension readjustment for both the belts and the reversing wheel and it ran great!

I drained the break-in oil and refilled the Predator crankcase with a good 10W-30 oil and hopefully it will now work fine. When I finish refurbishing and repowering the 1976 Troy-Bilt, I can assure you that I will pay far closer attention to the pulley alignment.. I've always said, "If you don't screw-up once and a while, you aren't really working!" In my case I always seem to be working!!

I just ordered two new Kevlar belts using the same supplier but the other Troy-Bilt number. There is a GW-9245 and a GW-1128, I want to see if there is any difference between them.

I 'think' we're good to go with it now.

Roger

And meanwhile , back in the workshop, the spider continues to weave his web inside the carburetor venturi of a lonnnnng
forgotten & forsaken once ever dependable MTD Yard-Man riding mower,...

 

[Roger B]

Re: It was all a matter of alignment!!

And meanwhile , back in the workshop, the spider continues to weave his web inside the carburetor venturi of a lonnnnng
forgotten & forsaken once ever dependable MTD Yard-Man riding mower,...

Boo,

My youngest grand daughter (12) is coming tomorrow and I'm going to let her run the Yardman all over the place, that ought to work some more 'Sea-Foam' through that carb.. And that will take care of any spiders that are setting up house in there.

We are going to take her out lobstering too! We had the neighbors nephew with us the last two days. He's 28 but evidently he's never "worked" a day in his life! We had him pull traps and by the end of the run he could hardly haul one up, we had to help him! I told him I was looking forward to tomorrow when we'd have my 12 year old grand daughter aboard to haul traps! He said he hoped she'd show him up.. I thought it wouldn't take much, but I didn't say anything.

Rog

 

[Roger B]

1976 Troy-Bilt Roto-tiller

I started working on the oldest Troy-Bilt tiller and discovered the oil in the tranny hadn't been changed since Hector was a pup! So to clean things out I removed the gear case cover, what a mess. I've spent yesterday afternoon trying to wash all that crap out. I finally ended up filling the entire gear case with "Purple Power" and then used brushes, sticks, rags, and anything else I thought would help. Then drained it out and poured it back in again time after time, each washing improving things a little bit. Finally I drained it all, and then discovered that WD-40 would break down the bubbles that were left behind. Following that I used HP air and blew what was left out.. When I came in the house I looked like I'd been mud wrestling with a couple of those girls that do that sort of thing and lost! But the gears look pretty good! I have to cut a new gasket for the case cover, but I have plenty of gasket material.

I'll bet that case will hold dang near two-quarts of 90W when it's all done. The same oil runs down the tiller drive shaft and lubricates whatever drives the tines at the rear of the machine. I gotta get that washed out too! I may finish the clean out with gasoline, that should clean the case out and insure there isn't any "Purple Power" left in there.

I got a couple pictures of the gear case.

 

[Roger B]

1976 Troy-Bilt Drive system



Note in this picture that the forward two pulley sheaves are the same size. In the newer Troy-Bilt, one sheave is smaller than the other and then the two on the engine are like that in reverse order so both belts are the same size. Any of you engineers have any idea what the advantage would be to doing it that way instead of simply having both pulleys same size?

The third sheave (the larger one) is actually for the reversing wheel. On this unit the wheel that attaches to the engine has tapered edges that align with the shape of the sheave and fit down into it when the reverse lever is depressed. The newer unit has a flat wheel that rides on another flat wheel and accomplishes the same thing without having such a critical alignment requirement.

I understand the newest Troy-belts only use a single belt and I don't know how the reverse on them works.

That concludes the Troy-Bilt lesson for today. Tomorrow we may be discussing why you should never allow any ignition sources around a gear case that is being cleaned out with gasoline - (or petrol).

Actually, who knows what pithy subjects we may explore? All readers are encouraged to submit any topic of interest for consideration, discussion, critique and review...

Roger

 

[primerbulb120]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Alright, I'll give you a new topic to think about. Do you think I can tow a 4000 pound 6X12 enclosed trailer with my 1994 Ford F150?

 

[BlazNT]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

For your truck the book says7600 lbs max 11500 gcwr max for the 4x2 and 6900 for the 4x4
Too easy.

 

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Alright, I'll give you a new topic to think about. Do you think I can tow a 4000 pound 6X12 enclosed trailer with my 1994 Ford F150?

Due to the fact that ALL techs on this site have FAILED Mind-Reading & Mental-Telepathy it is imperative that YOU provide a bit more information concerning said vehicle , see example ...

 

[primerbulb120]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Make: Ford
Model: F150
Trim: XL
Cab: Standard
Bed: Long (8 ft I think)
Year: April 1994
Engine: 4.9L (inline 6)
Fuel delivery: EFI
Timing system: Gears
Number of fuel tanks: 2, but I capped the rear one because I don't need to hold 38 gallons of gas at once.
Battery: Duralast Gold
Oil filter: Motorcraft FL-1A
Seat: Bench
Exterior color: White
Interior color: Blue
A/C: Yes, but it doesn't work (yet)
Rims: Pacer, I think the size is same as stock
Tires: 2 are Cooper, can't remember who makes the others
Catalytic converter: removed (I didn't do it)
Transmission: Ford E4OD
Upgrades: drain plug, Transgo Tugger shift kit, Sonnax clutch seal kit, Alto frictions and steels, Alto reverse delay fix kit, Transgo steel accumulator valves, Transgo upgraded direct clutch seal, 4 pinion reverse planet, Sonnax spiral locking center support snap ring, BorgWarner one way clutches, Transgo locking snap ring for the coast clutch, 6 pinion steel forward planet, 4 pinion steel overdrive planet, bearing upgrade for the center support, Sonnax metal anti-drainback valve, steel front pump bearing, Viton front and rear case seals, 3/8 inch cooler lines, Hayden 526 remote transmission cooler, Hayden trans temp gauge, upgraded solenoid pack, waterproof MLPS connector, and probably several more things I forgot. Yes I spent lots of money on my transmission.
Bed liner: Pendaliner plastic insert
Rear axle: Ford 8.8 with 3.08 gearing
Muffler: Stock
Trailer hitch: Just the one built in on the bumper. I'm guessing I'll probably need more than that.
Radio: JVC special fall apart edition. So called, because the front likes to fall off when I go over a bump.
Carpet: Plastic/rubber, not sure what it's made from
Drive: 2WD
Turn signal flasher: I think it's a 575 made by Bussmann.

If you need more information, let me know.
Clyde

Oops, forgot the engine HP. It's about 145.

 

[BlazNT]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

In line six has lots of torq. I stand by the towing as before.

 

[Boobala]

Re: MTD Yardman Transaxle Rebuild

Make: Ford
Model: F150
Trim: XL
Cab: Standard
Bed: Long (8 ft I think)
Year: April 1994
Engine: 4.9L (inline 6)
Fuel delivery: EFI
Timing system: Gears
Number of fuel tanks: 2, but I capped the rear one because I don't need to hold 38 gallons of gas at once.
Battery: Duralast Gold
Oil filter: Motorcraft FL-1A
Seat: Bench
Exterior color: White
Interior color: Blue
A/C: Yes, but it doesn't work (yet)
Rims: Pacer, I think the size is same as stock
Tires: 2 are Cooper, can't remember who makes the others
Catalytic converter: removed (I didn't do it)
Transmission: Ford E4OD
Upgrades: drain plug, Transgo Tugger shift kit, Sonnax clutch seal kit, Alto frictions and steels, Alto reverse delay fix kit, Transgo steel accumulator valves, Transgo upgraded direct clutch seal, 4 pinion reverse planet, Sonnax spiral locking center support snap ring, BorgWarner one way clutches, Transgo locking snap ring for the coast clutch, 6 pinion steel forward planet, 4 pinion steel overdrive planet, bearing upgrade for the center support, Sonnax metal anti-drainback valve, steel front pump bearing, Viton front and rear case seals, 3/8 inch cooler lines, Hayden 526 remote transmission cooler, Hayden trans temp gauge, upgraded solenoid pack, waterproof MLPS connector, and probably several more things I forgot. Yes I spent lots of money on my transmission.
Bed liner: Pendaliner plastic insert
Rear axle: Ford 8.8 with 3.08 gearing
Muffler: Stock
Trailer hitch: Just the one built in on the bumper. I'm guessing I'll probably need more than that.
Radio: JVC special fall apart edition. So called, because the front likes to fall off when I go over a bump.
Carpet: Plastic/rubber, not sure what it's made from
Drive: 2WD
Turn signal flasher: I think it's a 575 made by Bussmann.

If you need more information, let me know.
Clyde

Oops, forgot the engine HP. It's about 145.

EXCELLENT !!
However in your HASTE to provide the requested information you OVERLOOKED a few significant details that preclude us from reaching a consensus of opinion about the ability of the vehicle in question to perform the task in question.
1. you failed to supply the code numbers from the vehicle keys.
2. the length of the vehicle windshield wipers & make.
3. BUT ...most important !! the VIN #
4 Incidentally ,... your warranty IS expired !