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Well, my neighbor and I figured out how to fix the friction disc problem on the weed eater one! We used a standard wheel from a Snapper, cut out the middle to fit the assembly for the weed eater and put it back together, lubed everything from front to back and now it wants to pop wheelies!

It seems like the we261 goes two ways. The people that never have problems, and people that can't keep it in one piece.

haolewill said:

Well, my neighbor and I figured out how to fix the friction disc problem on the weed eater one! We used a standard wheel from a Snapper, cut out the middle to fit the assembly for the weed eater and put it back together, lubed everything from front to back and now it wants to pop wheelies!

Click to expand...

I can't agree more with you, haolewill. The friction disk on my WE261 also started to malfunction. That is, it has the same problem. I wonder where you got the standard wheel from a Snapper. What is a Snapper, BTW? Can you provide more info?

Thanks a lot.

A Snapper is a lawn mower company. Forrest Gump rode one when he was mowing the grass on the football field

haolewill said:

A Snapper is a lawn mower company. Forrest Gump rode one when he was mowing the grass on the football field

Click to expand...

Hi, haolewill,

Many thanks for the info. I checked the following websites but could not find a standard wheel.
Snapper Lawn Mower Parts In Stock | Same Day Shipping from RepairClinic.com
Snapper Drive Parts

Can you let me know the part number of the standard wheel (from A Snapper mower) you used?

Thanks again.

That part you've searched # 1603486 is the one I used. We had to trim a little out of the center with a die grinder to match the inner diameter of the stock wheel. When putting it back togetherbe sure to use the weed eater's original friction band as this is what provides the grab that gets you moving.

Haolewill,

The Friction wheel on my WE261 is also worn, and I would like to try your repair. I have ordered the part you suggested, since It does not make sense to sense over $300 on a replacement transmission assembly. My question is what do you mean by "When putting it back togetherbe sure to use the weed eater's original friction band as this is what provides the grab that gets you moving " Also any other information on the modification, or pictures would be helpfull-thanks. I am familiar with how the transmission works, and comes apart, as I have had to replace both brackets that hold the shaft that the friction drive wheel rides on. Thanks

Buzzsaw,
the drive disc is actually a 2-piece disc, the outer is disc you are replacing with the worn out rubber band around it, the inner connects to the drive axle with bolts. The friction band rests between the 2 discs and forms a connection when the assembly is pressed against the engine drive wheel (when brake is released). You will notice that the snapper disc assembly you ordered may come with one of these bands but is considerably thicker, this will not work on your mower. The outer disc from the snapper assembly (the one with the rubber band on the outside) is all you're interested in. Hold your original outer disc against the snapper outer disc and trace out the piece you'll have to cut out of your new disc to make it line up like the old one did.

Haolewill,
Thanks-I modified the Snapper disc that you recommended and installed in the WE261. Spent 18 Bucks verses 300 for a new tranny. Although the diameter of the new disc is the same as original, it is slightly thicker. After tightening the 4 Bolts that connect the two halves of the assembly together the new disk gets caught and does not spin freely as it should to enable the supposed "smooth" shifting. I resolved by crafting a gasket out of cork to go between the two halves of the HUB so now the friction disc can spin. . Mower works great now with good speed, and power and no slipping. It is also quieter.

Now-for the rest of the story. Got half the yard done-and the Brake Cable just broke ! What a P.O.S !

I was reading the reviews for this mower on their website, and this is what one of them said:

"tires roll off of rim on any minor slope. i have had to replace4 tubes in 15 mo.
at 17 months beake cablel broke, ann transmission blow up.
does a good job,on the lawn if i can keep it operating
very hard to steer, i think a few engineering changes could turn this into areally good mower,
it is just the right size for my yard,
frank"

I think it is not a good mower if the tires roll off of the rims!!!:thumbdown:

I'm glad it all worked out! That snapper disc has a better rubber compound and makes the ride a lot better. Sorry to hear about the brake cable, it figures now that you got it to go, it wont stop!

bought "one" Rider in Spring of 2012... could not start thus returns and pic-ups through summer. Now as Fall roars in... it sits where I bought it with "one" use under my belt and the dealer is in no hurry to do anything...
:frown:

Porfavor said:

bought "one" Rider in Spring of 2012... could not start thus returns and pic-ups through summer. Now as Fall roars in... it sits where I bought it with "one" use under my belt and the dealer is in no hurry to do anything...
:frown:

Click to expand...

That is a common theme with a lot of dealers....they are in no rush to fix things! :frown:

haolewill said:

Buzzsaw,
the drive disc is actually a 2-piece disc, the outer is disc you are replacing with the worn out rubber band around it, the inner connects to the drive axle with bolts. The friction band rests between the 2 discs and forms a connection when the assembly is pressed against the engine drive wheel (when brake is released). You will notice that the snapper disc assembly you ordered may come with one of these bands but is considerably thicker, this will not work on your mower. The outer disc from the snapper assembly (the one with the rubber band on the outside) is all you're interested in. Hold your original outer disc against the snapper outer disc and trace out the piece you'll have to cut out of your new disc to make it line up like the old one did.

Click to expand...

Maybe some one can help me
I have modified the Snapper friction wheel. and after putting everything back together, I get slippage, especially on the faster speed settings.
seems something is not gripping right. Already checked pins on wheels, all ok. When I apply the brake pedal it seems to help a bit, but it wont run smooth or have enough power to cut.

I successfully repaired my weed eater one with the help of the comments on this thread. It was relatively easy, took me about 6 hours all in all, and about $20 for the snapper friction disk. The level of difficulty I would say, if you can change the oil from your car, you probably have enough knowledge to fix this. A little about the process I used. As mentioned, the snapper friction disk will have to be grinded wider. I used an angle grinder from harbor freight, with a metal grinding disk. Don't use a dremel, it will take you forever. Match the diameter with the original disk. To remove the friction disk, I worked from the left side of the mower, removing bolts until I was able to slip the friction disk assembly off. Once off, the assembly is composed of 3 pieces. The 3 bolts were a bi*ch to get off. I would not suggest removing the bearing assembly on the one side if you don't have to, the collar that holds it in place is also a bi*ch to remove and to put back on. Once you have the bolts off, replace the modified snapper wheel. One additional modification, as someone mentioned, the middle friction wheel should spin freely, but will not very easily with the snapper wheel. You have to use an additional paper gasket. I used a piece of cardboard that I measured and cut to match the paper gasket thats on the other side. So basically you are going to sandwich the snapper wheel with a paper gasket on each side, then put back the metal pieces and bolt back together. Then just put everything else back together. One other tip, to get the spring back on from the back side, I used a nylon string, looped it through the top part of mower that the spring hooks onto, hooked the string to the top part of the spring, and just pulled up hard and hooked the top of the spring where its supposed to go.

This mower was purchased for $100 on craigslist, only thing wrong with it was the friction disk when I bought it. For anybody considering getting a used one of these, I would not pay more than $100 if its broke, and $200 if its working. It really is an absolute piece of sh*t, and can't believe weed eater would put out a product like this with there name on it. If you weight more than 150 lbs, and have more than a 10 degree grade on any part of your lawn, the engine is not powered enough to carry you. The back side rattles, but I alleviated this by slightly pressing down on the brake.

Weedeater riding lawn mower issues

This is encouraging information. Thanks for taking the time to share it! Before I proceed however, could you describe the symptoms your transmission issue was causing? My Weedeater One was purchased on Memorial Day 2013, used it 8-10 times and it no longer runs in any forward gears. I tried to "adjust" but somehow did not get the right settings to insure that the neutral/reverse gears actually align with the shifter. My forward symptoms were grinding types of noise, also as if clutch was not pushed in -- and a "slipping" sound. All indications are that it is begging for some type of adjustment. Does this sound familiar? And if so, do you recommend the replacement of the wheel with the one mentioned? Or is any "adjustment" possible? I have contacted several repair shops locally but no one seems to interested in tackling this issue. When we called Weedeater we discovered it was not a warranty issue. Thanks in advance for any advice short of getting rid of it - which obviously won't solve the problem for me unless it is hopeless. Out of curiosity, what would anyone recommend to replace the Weedeater One? Specifically, the use is weekly lawn on a very small residential home w/ no hills. When I viewed the various types of riding mowers/tractors I became confused at the many different types of transmissions. Thanks again! There does not appear to be much out there for under 1,000 dollars.

haolewill said:

Well, my neighbor and I figured out how to fix the friction disc problem on the weed eater one! We used a standard wheel from a Snapper, cut out the middle to fit the assembly for the weed eater and put it back together, lubed everything from front to back and now it wants to pop wheelies!

Click to expand...

I am having some trouble with reassembling my unit the spring which holds the friction plate up is out of place and I can't figure out how to install it. I believe it is part no. 21 on pg 33 of the manual they call it a spring carrier.
I took mine apart to replace the friction wheel 2 years ago and I don't remember how to get it back together now. That's the only piece left in the puzzle for me to attempt to start it. If I saw a picture of what it looks like I would be good. I searched high and low and cant find a picture with it assembled. I know where one end (the top) of the spring goes but I have not clue where the next end goes. If its not too much work could you take a picture of yours and email it to me @ sobolious@gmail.com. I would really appreciate it. Thanks

haolewill said:

That part you've searched # 1603486 is the one I used. We had to trim a little out of the center with a die grinder to match the inner diameter of the stock wheel. When putting it back togetherbe sure to use the weed eater's original friction band as this is what provides the grab that gets you moving.

Click to expand...

Hello, I'm buying a used p.o.s. weed eater one that currently has a slipping clutch so I want to get the snapper part to fix it as you have. I'm trying to look up the part number you've provided but it's not a valid snapper part number. My question is, if I buy a snapper friction disck does this part number matter ??? do I need one with brake lining ?? I appreciate any info

Here is what I did. I bought friction disk Part Number "MTD 05080AP Drive Disc" from Amazon for $15.00. Center hole and mounting holes are off, but center hole needs to be 1 3/8 inches. Bought a step drill that goes up to 1 3/8 at Lowes for $20.00. Using the step drill preferably with a drill press drive it slowly all the way through and clean up any burrs from the hole. Then line the attach bracket in between the original holes and use a 5/16 drill bit to drill them. See before and after pics attached.

Hope this helps!!!

Why even think on buying a RER at Walmart, espically a Weed Eater RER? I think a newer Snapper RER has replaced the Weed Eater One at Walmart.

LCB Small Engine repair said:

Here is what I did. I bought friction disk Part Number "MTD 05080AP Drive Disc" from Amazon for $15.00. Center hole and mounting holes are off, but center hole needs to be 1 3/8 inches. Bought a step drill that goes up to 1 3/8 at Lowes for $20.00. Using the step drill preferably with a drill press drive it slowly all the way through and clean up any burrs from the hole. Then line the attach bracket in between the original holes and use a 5/16 drill bit to drill them. See before and after pics attached.

Hope this helps!!!
View attachment 21487View attachment 21488View attachment 21489

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Hi, new member here. First of all, THANK YOU! for this post. I purchased my WE261 in April 2010. At this point, I believe I have been through all of the common repairs with it. It recently lost reverse and I saw no more adjustment room on the gear lever. So, inspired by your post and figuring it was worth a try versus the $300 WeedEater solution, i purchased an MTD disc and spent about 7 hours yesterday putting it in. Getting the existing disc out was a bear! I had not joined the group until today so I hadn't seen your pictures. Turns out, I installed my disc in the opposite orientation as you; I thought that orientation was closer to the OE style. As different as the two discs were, I was VERY skeptical that the mower would actually run correctly, but a quick test run around the yard and I had my Reverse back, no movement in Neutral (with the OE disc the mower would occassionally still move forward while in Neutral), none of the typical "clatter", and smooth Forward gears. This was with blades engaged or disengaged. Needless to say, I'm thrilled and anxious to cut a lawn (I use the mower for my yard and my daughter's; about 3/4 acre all together).

I do have two questions though:

1. How has this solution been holding up for you?

2. Did you have the same type of OE disc as I did? I'm not sure that they didn't change the transmission design during the production run of these things. My OE disc was a five part design. From the mounting point out it had: (a) a solid back plate, (b) a soft spacer ring, (c) an inner disc, (d) a flexible clutch type band wrapped around the inner disc "c", and (e) an outer disc with the actual friction material that contacted the drive disc; this mated to the inner disc "c" with the clutch band "d" in between the two.

For those of you who used the Snapper disc, I'm curious, was your replacement similar to the MTD or to my OE disc? And, how has the snapper disc been doing for you?

Just a follow-up here. Having used the MTD disc to replace the OE friction disc, I would recommend the OP's original post of using the Snapper part. The Snapper part didn't make sense to me because of the size of the center hole, but I had not disassembled the OE disc yet. The MTD description made more sense to me at that point. Having pulled apart the OE disc, the Snapper solution makes much more sense and that is what I would recommend trying. As I describe in my previous post, the OE disc was a multi-piece design that had a clutch material built in. The Snapper part I saw at my local Agri-Supply had the clutch band "d" and the outer friction ring "e". Using the MTD part without that clutch effect, the drive chain can get knocked off when you hit a bump. This happened to me in a simple transition from sidewalk to yard. I believe the clutch effect allows enough slippage so that the chain is not jolted off. At any rate, I gave up on my mower after the chain came off and gave it away, so I won't be able to try the Snapper method myself; I just wanted to pass on my experience so that you could make a more informed choice. Again, I recommend trying the Snapper disc.

Hi all sorry to revive an old thread BUT, I cannot seem to find that Snapper part number anywhere? Can someone provide a linky to it? I dont wanna junk this POS just yet!

:thumbsup:


is it THIS one by chance??


Drive Disk 240-975 Order now for same day shipping. 365 day return policy. RepairClinic.com NO longer available!

Maybe this one below will work?

Drive Disc / Snapper 7018782SM | Quality Lawn Parts - Aftermarket Parts For Outdoor Power Equipment

JRinNc said:

Hi all sorry to revive an old thread BUT, I cannot seem to find that Snapper part number anywhere? Can someone provide a linky to it? I dont wanna junk this POS just yet!

:thumbsup:


is it THIS one by chance??


Drive Disk 240-975 Order now for same day shipping. 365 day return policy. RepairClinic.com NO longer available!

Maybe this one below will work?

Drive Disc / Snapper 7018782SM | Quality Lawn Parts - Aftermarket Parts For Outdoor Power Equipment

Click to expand...

Hi i am in the same boat and would like to know about the snapper disc as well!
Could anybody point us in the right direction of which part was bought?

JRinNc said:

Hi all sorry to revive an old thread BUT, I cannot seem to find that Snapper part number anywhere? Can someone provide a linky to it? I dont wanna junk this POS just yet!

:thumbsup:


is it THIS one by chance??


Drive Disk 240-975 Order now for same day shipping. 365 day return policy. RepairClinic.com NO longer available!

Maybe this one below will work?

Drive Disc / Snapper 7018782SM | Quality Lawn Parts - Aftermarket Parts For Outdoor Power Equipment

Click to expand...

You need to search for Stens part 240-975 (which is the same as the "no longer available" part #1603486 on repairclinic.com )

haolewill said:

Well, my neighbor and I figured out how to fix the friction disc problem on the weed eater one! We used a standard wheel from a Snapper, cut out the middle to fit the assembly for the weed eater and put it back together, lubed everything from front to back and now it wants to pop wheelies!

Click to expand...

If I can get a snapper friction drive I could fix this one.....I'm dizzy trying to findthe snapper part that you mentioned
I finally got the part but it is not now available ever!
so how can I get a snapper fd that will fit ?
seems I have to know the outside diameter and the bolt holes spaced to fit the weed eaters 3 bolt part ?
Normf

Normf said:

If I can get a snapper friction drive I could fix this one.....I'm dizzy trying to findthe snapper part that you mentioned
I finally got the part but it is not now available ever!
so how can I get a snapper fd that will fit ?
seems I have to know the outside diameter and the bolt holes spaced to fit the weed eaters 3 bolt part ?
Normf

Click to expand...

Google "Stens part 240-975". Many available on ebay. I bought mine from this guy: Stens 240 975 Drive Disk Kit w Liner Replacement for Snapper 7600135YP 23899120338 | eBay But sadly for us, another freakin' frackin' part broke. We finally financed a Husqvarna GT48xlsi through Sheffield Financial (no interest for 48 months); lesser credit will get you 1.5%? for 48 months. Good luck! I hope yours is fixable....just remember to drive gently!

well guess that didn't work will try again tomorrow

Can Somebody explain to me how to install the 532431374 torsion spring, on the weedeater we261, it is number 23 on the drive system diagram, every time I apply the brake, it pops into the push, tow mode, and it's because I cannot figure out how to properly install that torsion spring it should apply pressure to keep it from doing exactly what it is doing. Thanks Ed

If anyone still needs the snapper friction disc number, let me know and I will get it for you they are still available. through Maple Grove Distributing.

OK I set this aside for last summer .....since I got a gift of an 18 hp.Craftsman which required
a few replacement parts...no problem.

......and now I will start working on this machine that will last for a long time
I now have this theory that this was meant for a nice level lawn since it has such small
crappy tires Once you have replaced ALL 4 TIRES with good ones.


then realize that you have to take it EASY with this machine ....NO sharp turns as this
is a limited slip differential It depends a lot upon the wheels slipping on the grass when you make a turn
the wider the turn the better.
Now to get the part number for that pesky friction disk .
Norm

















T

Was able to replace disc with Stens 240-975 Drive Disc Kit With Liner from Amazon for 16.27 . no mods needed . was able to take old one off by popping off left side axel and sliding out old . did not use provided inner liner left on old new one seemed a little tight . working like new again .

kumppelman said:

Was able to replace disc with Stens 240-975 Drive Disc Kit With Liner from Amazon for 16.27 . no mods needed . was able to take old one off by popping off left side axel and sliding out old . did not use provided inner liner left on old new one seemed a little tight . working like new again .

Click to expand...

I could sure use an oversimplified pictures of how to put the transmission back together again.the thing is completely disassembled since you just removed the left side I guess assembling? the right side would be the place to start ?
maybe I can send you a pic one or two at a time?
Okay please reply ?
No hurry if I can finish this in a month or 2 will be quick enough .....
Norm

kumppelman said:

Was able to replace disc with Stens 240-975 Drive Disc Kit With Liner from Amazon for 16.27 . no mods needed . was able to take old one off by popping off left side axel and sliding out old . did not use provided inner liner left on old new one seemed a little tight . working like new again .

Click to expand...

Thanks kumppelman! I ordered Stens 240-975 from Amazon and it worked just as you said. No mods needed. Used a couple of 1/2" pipes through the back of the frame to hold the mower up while I removed the left side. I couldn't in good conscience sell this POS with the drive slipping as bad as it was. Works like it was designed now which is admittedly really crappy but it does go in reverse for the first time in a long while. I'm going to sell it soon before something else breaks!

haolewill said:

Well, my neighbor and I figured out how to fix the friction disc problem on the weed eater one! We used a standard wheel from a Snapper, cut out the middle to fit the assembly for the weed eater and put it back together, lubed everything from front to back and now it wants to pop wheelies!

Click to expand...

i would like to buy the snapper friction wheel could you post a link to buy that one you got.it would greatly appreciated. thanks cory

The Snapper number for this part is 7600135YP, I am sure you can get it on ebay, or Amazon. Good luck on this project..

ep103 said:

The Snapper number for this part is 7600135YP, I am sure you can get it on ebay, or Amazon. Good luck on this project..

Click to expand...

ok thanks:thumbsup:

Gave mine away after brake cable broke twice. Replaced it with a Ryobi Electric riding mower. Runs for 2 hours. I also use a cordless electric EGO Lawnmower.