bush hog rotary cutter

[doug isbell]

how can I change the oil in my bush hog rotary cutter> the model is RZ60. it is 16 years old and the oil has water in it. my owners manual only tells me how to put oil in it. I need to know how to get it out. this is a light duty 5 foot cutter

 

[MESSMAKER]

Flip it over with a loader or boom and let the oil run out the fill hole. You could also run through some wire, which would eat out your oil seal and it it will drain out on it's own.
Guess how I know this.

 

[doug isbell]

I am thinking of something simpler like a small gas line attached to a syringe. I am just amazed that the manufacturer doesn't include that info. I think I know how you got the name "messmaker"

 

[Soundguy]

pour in a cup of diesel and a cup of rubbing alcohol.

spin the pto shaft to mix.

get a piece of tubing and a bucket and a rubber tipped blow gun.

put the rubber tip part to the 'check' hole and put the tubing in the fill hole, all the way to the bottom.. put the end of the tube in a bucket.

hold a shop rag around the tube going into the fill hole.

apply some air pressure... she will drain.

if no check hole, can do the same with the rubber nozzle at the fill hole near the tube and just hold the shop rag tighter..

air in.. oil /water/fuel/alcohol mix out thru the tube..

 

[pmsmechanic]

Here's what I do. I have a larger glass jar made up that I can attach my shop vac hose to. I have a smaller hose that is also pushed through the lid of the jar. I just attach a piece of small pipe to the small hose and stick it in through the fill hole and suck up the garbage oil with the shop vac. Rinse the gear box a few times with diesel or kerosene and you should be good to go again. It might be wise to pull the top cover off and redo the seal on it so that water doesn't get in again. If the water stays in the gearbox too long it'll eventually cause the bottom seal to leak and then like previously mentioned you don't have to worry about draining the oil.

Those of you who live in irrigation areas probably have access to a special grease Lubrication for Center Pivot Irrigation that's used in older center pivot gearboxes. It's kind of like a cross between oil and grease. Works great in gear boxes that have slow leaks.

 

[Soundguy]

diesel nor kero will disolve water.. alcohol will...

 

[sweettractors]

The make a suction device about the size of a grease gun. Harbor Freight may stock them. Ken Sweet

 

[pmsmechanic]

Soundguy you are right and I didn't think of the alcohol absorbing water. Chances are if the mower has been used the water is already emulsified into the oil and then diesel or kero will work but I like your idea of using alcohol too. Makes sense to me.

 

[Soundguy]

it's my standard flush for wet sumps

1 of the following ( diesel, kero, mineral spirits ) + 90% rubbing alcohol + Type f or dex/mer3 atf.

you get petro solvents thin the mix to move easier, and may remove stuck and clumped emmulsion, detergents from the atf ( suspend gunk to be carried out), and a polar solvent (alcohol ) to disolve water and carry it in soloution with the oil and petrosolvent mix.

As a side bonus, since the alcohol is a polar solvent, any water and alcohol mix left in the sump from draining will be in the form of an azeotrope, and thus will flash off faster that water by itself.. thus heat from working the box will flash off remaining disolved moister faster than without the alcohol addition.

Could even add an ounce of alcohol to the new oil as a prophylactic to grab incomming moisture.

 

[9973720wb19]

what about one of those cheap little plastic hand pumps used for gas in small engines? that might work and you could continue to flush it out with diesel.

 

[Soundguy]

a drill pump would work too.

anything you can use to 'pump or expell the contents out.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I like the simple approach of dip tube to the bottom and putting some air pressure to push it out, not a whole lot of trouble there. Just need to use very low pressure to keep splatter to a minimum.

 

[9973720wb19]

i made a dip stick out of a large / wide zip tie to check oil level in my gear box. just cut it to the length needed and keep in tool box

 

[doug isbell]

I had a 50 cc plastic feeding syringe that I used for my goats. I bought a 12 inch piece of flex tubing and inserted the tapered tip of the syringe into the tube . I put the hose in thru the fill hole and sucked the old oil out. to my amazement after the first draw on the syringe the oil /water mixture started siphoning out. After I got all I could get out. I put in new oil. I didn't read your advice about the diesel and alcohol until after I had finished. I wish I had cleaned it first. thanks for the help

 

[Soundguy]

go ahead and dump in a couple ounces of alcohol. it will disolve any remaining water in there and assuming a vented fill plug ( reccomended ).. it will flash it off faster than water alone.

 

[ovrszd]

The make a suction device about the size of a grease gun. Harbor Freight may stock them. Ken Sweet

Yep. Every shop should have one. That's how I changed the oil in my JD1008 boxes. Any Farm/Home store will have them. Most Auto parts stores carry them also. Very handy device for many uses.