Just got a USED BCS 732

[grantwallaceco]

It is awesome, got it with the brush mower for just above $1000 after TAX. I got it from Theros Equipment Rentals in Virginia, after lurking in these forums and someone mentioned them.

I am trying to figure out how to get it into reverse though. The red lever on the right handlebar does not change anything that I can figure. Although the guy at Theros did have it in Reverse right before I hauled it home to Georgia.

I have only had a few minutes with the machine, but want to get it figured out asap! Thanks guys!

 

[TimberXX]

Congrats. Was that the Theros on route 29? Did you drive up just to pick up the unit?

 

[Buckgnarly]

The red lever on the right is your reverse. Is the cable ok?

 

[grantwallaceco]

Congrats. Was that the Theros on route 29? Did you drive up just to pick up the unit?

Yep, the one in Sterling VA. I drove about 10 hours each way just to pick up this unit. Could not pass on this deal because I have been looking for a used 732 for a few months.

 

[grantwallaceco]

The red lever on the right is your reverse. Is the cable ok?

Where does the lever need to be for it to go in reverse? It only locks into position when it is tucked in on top of the handle bar, if I try to lock it in the forward, it does not stay. The cable seems OK, the rental place I bought it from had it in reverse right before I left. What should I look for on the cable? Thanks !!

 

[Buckgnarly]

Where does the lever need to be for it to go in reverse? It only locks into position when it is tucked in on top of the handle bar, if I try to lock it in the forward, it does not stay. The cable seems OK, the rental place I bought it from had it in reverse right before I left. What should I look for on the cable? Thanks !!

Off the top of my head I think flipping it forward is reverse....of course that is all relative to what implement you have on.

Irregardless, it shoul flip from forward to reverse position. There is a positive "flip" action when you do it, if yours does not have tension in those two positions something is wrong.
Hope that was clear as mud!


It could also be that not all gears work in both forward and reverse. put it in 1st and try that.

 

[grantwallaceco]

Off the top of my head I think flipping it forward is reverse....of course that is all relative to what implement you have on.

Irregardless, it shoul flip from forward to reverse position. There is a positive "flip" action when you do it, if yours does not have tension in those two positions something is wrong.
Hope that was clear as mud!


It could also be that not all gears work in both forward and reverse. put it in 1st and try that.

I was out messing with it this morning. When i put it in third gear it rears back in reverse quite fast. I did not change the red lever though and when i go back up to 2 and 1 it goes forward. Gonna mess around with it some more.

 

[farmerboybill]

The 732 does not have reverse in transport gear It will come at you fast if you reverse it in that gear, as you discovered. Do you hear grinding after you flip the lever and engage the clutch? If so, adjust the cable sleeve length. There's an adjustment at the end of the cable just in front of the lever on the handlebars. Turn it out.

 

[grantwallaceco]

The 732 does not have reverse in transport gear It will come at you fast if you reverse it in that gear, as you discovered. Do you hear grinding after you flip the lever and engage the clutch? If so, adjust the cable sleeve length. There's an adjustment at the end of the cable just in front of the lever on the handlebars. Turn it out.

There is a picture of my lever and the adjustment set. If I screw it all the way out like this it will kind of stay there, but does not affect anything when I took off the clutch and put it to gear. It still only goes forward regardless if I place it forward or leave it in the middle which is as far as it will go back with the nut like this.

I followed the cable down to the transmission and am wondering if there is a way to manually move it into reverse from there? Just to test it out.

Another question: How do you turn it from mower to tractor? Which handlebar has the column control?

Here is a picture of left handle bar


Thank you!!

 

[grantwallaceco]

I was searching around the forums a bit and found where farmerboybill, you were saying you had several stuck handlebars that did not rotate. I think mine is like that too, I sprayed a bit of w-40 today but did not budge much. Gonna try some more tomorrow.

 

[farmerboybill]

The 605/737/830/850 handlebar system is considerably different than the 732. The 850's pin is completely enclosed in a piece of pipe. It is very susceptible to seizing, especially if it has been exposed to winter salt, and very difficult to break free if seized hard. I don't have a lot of experience with the 732 and 853, but they do not have the same design, it's more of a yoke around the pin than an enclosed pipe - much easier to break loose. I worked on an 852 last summer with a seized column and it took about 20 minutes and very little tear-down to break it free. It had spent all its life on a sweeper in snow (ah, salt).

As far as the reverser, I've only worked on one 732 and I worked on the diesel engine (frankly, I worked on the customer, there was nothing wrong with machine, but she insisted I look at it). They also simplified the reverser versus the 850 and its sisters. the 850 has a lever on a cog system so that you always flip it forward to go forward and always flip it back to go in reverse. The 732/852/853 eliminated this system. I think the 732's lever works opposite when when in mower mode. If it'll help you, here's a parts breakdown from BCSAmerica's site - http://www.bcsamerica.com/eis/EPL Files/2012.732.pdf.

Hopefully BCSSHOP will be along to help you better...

 

[grantwallaceco]

Thanks for your help. I checked out the reverse linkage more and it is only moving 2-3mm when I move the lever. I took off the nut holding the cable to the linkage and the linkage dropped about an inch, to where now I can move it with my hand up and down about 1.5 inches. Problem is, the cable was terminated about 1/2 inch above where the linkage dropped to.

Anybody know how much clearance the linkage is supposed to have on top and bottom? Can I replace the cable with something easily available that will be long enough to have linkage set up right?

Also, if someone can let me know what the black levers on each side of the handlebars do that would be great!

Here is a video I made this morning of my tractor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG8JW0q1D7Y

Thank you!

 

[TimberXX]

Very clean machine! Thanks for the video.

 

[farmerboybill]

From the video, it looks like the lever down below is sticking. When you release the T-bar forward, that spring down below should pop that lever to forward or reverse (depending on the direction of travel). If it worked at Theros, it sure should still work now...

The black T-bar beside the reverser is the differential lock. Pull it back to lock the wheels together, flip it forward to allow the wheels to turn independent of each other. The other black T-bar is to rotate the handlebars. Pull it back to release the pin that locks the steering column in place. Once you've got the handlebars rotated, release it to lock the column. One bit of advice - when rotating the handles, make sure all T-bars are flipped forward. On my 850, it's terribly brutal to have the reverser T-bar pulled back.


You need a manual. Here's a link to one online at BCSamerica.com - http://www.bcsamerica.com/eis/manuals/853%20MANUAL.pdf It's not very good quality, but it gives you a feel for the controls. I'd call Theros and ask if they still have the paper manual.

 

[grantwallaceco]

From the video, it looks like the lever down below is sticking. When you release the T-bar forward, that spring down below should pop that lever to forward or reverse (depending on the direction of travel). If it worked at Theros, it sure should still work now...

The black T-bar beside the reverser is the differential lock. Pull it back to lock the wheels together, flip it forward to allow the wheels to turn independent of each other. The other black T-bar is to rotate the handlebars. Pull it back to release the pin that locks the steering column in place. Once you've got the handlebars rotated, release it to lock the column. One bit of advice - when rotating the handles, make sure all T-bars are flipped forward. On my 850, it's terribly brutal to have the reverser T-bar pulled back.


You need a manual. Here's a link to one online at BCSamerica.com - http://www.bcsamerica.com/eis/manuals/853%20MANUAL.pdf It's not very good quality, but it gives you a feel for the controls. I'd call Theros and ask if they still have the paper manual.

At Theros they had it in Forward, but when in 3rd gear it comes back fast.

I replaced the steel cable running down, it was too short and would not let the reverse linkage drop down. With new cable it is able to move correctly and now that problem is fixed, as long as the clamp at the lever holds on. It took some adjustments but I think it is right now. There was some grinding when i put it into gear, so i adjusted the clutch like you mentioned and fixed that.

On the handlebars, I can not pull the lever loose. Any ideas? I adjusted the cable nut all the way out and it will not flip tot he other side. Thank you!!

Gonna get my wife to film me showing it forward and reverse tomorrow hopefully. Is it normal to go in reverse in 3rd gear while the red lever is for forward and in mower mode, while 1 and 2 go forward as expected?

 

[Ford850]

Have you looked at the use and maintenance videos on the Earth Tools site? There is a video showing how to adjust the reverse linkage.
Maintenance

 

[grantwallaceco]

Have you looked at the use and maintenance videos on the Earth Tools site? There is a video showing how to adjust the reverse linkage.
Maintenance

I did, that is how I got it fixed yesterday. I ended up replacing the cable running to the linkage from the lever on handlebar.

But there is no video for how to adjust the cable going from the black t-bar on handlebar to the steering column, which would let me swivel the handlebars. Right now it is so tight that it will not let me move the T-bar all the way up. I adjusted the nut all the way out making it as loose as possible at handlebar but not enough.

Thank you!

 

[farmerboybill]

Hey,

Do you see the cable move at all when you pull the T-bar? The distance needed to move the pin that locks the steering column is less than an inch. I don't think you'll pull the T- bar all the way back like you do the reverser or the diff lock. Once the pin is released, the handlebars will swing. They only go one way. If you can't swing it once the pin is released, or if the pin doesn't release, you'll need to take the pivot apart. This is much easier to do on the 732 than it is on an 850. remove the bolt that goes crossways on the pivot. From there, it's a simple matter of popping the column off - but, the steering column will still be connected by the various cables. You can then get to the pin if it's seized, or just break loose the pivot and use some anti-seize on it.

Remember, I haven't worked on models newer than the 830/850 much. John Wilhelm at the BCSSHOP would be more knowledgeable than I about these newer machines. I'm surprised he hasn't been on this topic yet.

 

[grantwallaceco]

Hey,

Do you see the cable move at all when you pull the T-bar? The distance needed to move the pin that locks the steering column is less than an inch. I don't think you'll pull the T- bar all the way back like you do the reverser or the diff lock. Once the pin is released, the handlebars will swing. They only go one way. If you can't swing it once the pin is released, or if the pin doesn't release, you'll need to take the pivot apart. This is much easier to do on the 732 than it is on an 850. remove the bolt that goes crossways on the pivot. From there, it's a simple matter of popping the column off - but, the steering column will still be connected by the various cables. You can then get to the pin if it's seized, or just break loose the pivot and use some anti-seize on it.

Remember, I haven't worked on models newer than the 830/850 much. John Wilhelm at the BCSSHOP would be more knowledgeable than I about these newer machines. I'm surprised he hasn't been on this topic yet.

I took off the steering column like you said, lubed and freed the pin, and adjusted the t-bar cable length. It works great now! I think it is all fixed up, you guys rock! Thank you!! Ill post a video asap