Buying used flail mower (JD or Ford)

[pripyat]

So I spent a bunch of time trying to cross reference the belt on the JD 390. The JD part number is P57936. I couldn't find an OEM part for less than $150 so I went ahead and ordered one. The belt on the cutter is a Gates belt but I couldn't make out the part number. I looked up several identical belts from Carlisle and another company but I couldn't find one in stock online. Not sure why I didn't look for "gates belt P57936", it was definitely a mistake. My JD OEM belt came in the mail and it is literally a Gates belt with a JD sticker on it. Gates part number is 2/5VX600. I could have gotten the exact same belt, without the JD sticker, for half the cost. :irked: If anyone is in the market for a JD sticker, I've got one I'll sell for half of what I have in it. Which is about $40. I accept paypal or money order. :laughing:

The rotary cutter is in rougher shape than I realized. I bought it as an after-thought. I said, "what will you take for both the flail and the bush hog". The number sounded good so I went with it. I got a new wheel welded on it but I still need to replace one of the hitch pins (one of them is CAT 2). I found several cracked welds under the unit that I want to correct while I'm working on it. Also, I thought it was only heavily rusted in one area (directly in front of the gearbox, under PTO shaft) but there is a good bit of rust all under the cutter. Makes me wonder if it got salt under it at some point. I know the oil leaks out the lower seal so I am going to go ahead and replace that. Any idea how to source an oil seal for this thing? I can't find a parts diagram anywhere.

RC61SS
250403



I can get to the oil seal from here, correct?

 

[Tinhack]

I get my flails from Hard Hitter:Flail Mower Knives

I use the GE709-P for $1.85 each on my flail mower. :dance1: It's an old Caldwell Barracuda. Cuts like a finish mower but with no chaff rows. Sure looks pretty on the front parcel.

 

[leonz]

Nope, nope nope, you have to remove the gearbox from the upper weldment then remove the bolts to remove the seal retainer.

you need to scrub the metal around the gear box mounting with a wire brush to bare metal and then pour alcohol or safety solvent on the upper weldment mounting plate to clean it more and then scrub it again and look for cracks in the metal as the plate may have stress cracks in it.




You can call Omni Gear in Houston, Texas and obtain the right seal from them for this right angle gearbox. Since you have gone this far you should remove both seals and replace them.

Make sure you have all the information from the identification tag on a piece of paper in front of you when you call them in Houston, Texas to obtain the right seal number part or the generic National Oil Seal part number.


Omni Gear main number

1-713-635-6331


Just keep in mind that quite often the shafts are worn enough that the new seals may not hold oil- I know its not what you want to hear but its better to know this in advance and then you can decide whether you want to replace the gearbox as the inner gears and bearings are very worn. Ask them for a replacement gear box price as long as you are talking to them as well.

 

[pripyat]

Nope, nope nope, you have to remove the gearbox from the upper weldment then remove the bolts to remove the seal retainer.

Really?? That is mind boggling that I can't just pull that plate off the bottom, remove oil seal from plate, replace oil seal, slide oil seal back over shaft, bolt plate back to gearbox. Pretty sure that is how my last gearbox worked, anyway.

[edit] I imagined it working like this - How to remove and replace oil seal on a Howse brush hog - YouTube

 

[leonz]

You always risk tearing the seal and breaking the spring. You need a seal driver to properly and squarely drive the seal in place. White PVC pipe works well for this as long as you have the right inside diameter PVC pipe.

 

[pripyat]

OK, so as long as I'm careful I can go at it from the bottom? That is what I was thinking, I'm really not wanting to pull that gearbox off if I don't have to.

 

[pripyat]

I pulled the bolts out the bottom plate but I have no way to pry the plate off. Any ideas? I can't grab it from the side. May end up pulling the gearbox anyway. Or just filling with grease as much as I don't want to do that..

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

If you fill it with 00 grease you might be set, depending on how much it leaks. 00 grease is the consistency of yogurt, and it is less likely to leak than gear oil. I've used it to fill a gearbox so it wouldn't leak anymore.

 

[arto98607]

Did you contact Flailmaster? They're still around, just reorganizing. They have an account on here that you can message, you can email them, or you can call them. Someone on the flail mower thread contacted them earlier this week and were able to get blades.

I bought a set of side slicer flails from Flailmaster for my 917L last month!

Good price and service!



See post #6859 if interested to read more:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/118882-lets-talk-flail-mowers-686.html

 

[dieselscout80]

Thanks, I was trying to think of something that would work for this but those rubber mats you walk on (at the industrial supply store) are outrageously expensive.

I haven't called flailmaster yet, It will be a while before I need blades, I was just wondering if I should be picking up the JD HD blades on ebay whenever I saw them for less than $8 a piece (for future use).

I have cut at least 20 acres of weeds with the flail. It has done really well, I wish the 6' rotary was up and running so I could do a side-by-side comparison of the cut. I still have to reinforce the wheel mount on the cutter deck as it has several cracked welds. I was in weeds as tall as the top of the ROPS of the tractor at one point, running in M-4 without issue. I have an umbrella mounted on my ROPS and was actually hitting the tops of the weeds with the umbrella. :laughing:

The thickest stuff on my property, it is some kind of grass that only grows in one area, I had to cut in M-2. Interestingly, the belt starts chirping the same time the tractor starts dropping RPM. I've got a replacement belt and replacement bearings coming this week for spares.

Some of the stuff I cut really should have been done with the rotary, I felt bad hitting some of the saplings and hearing the blades clanking all around. Should have left all saplings for the rotary and grass/weeds for the flail. Just to conserve them knives..

One last thought - I had a conversation with a guy once who was trying to sandblast an old jeep which had been coated in that rubber undercoat paint. He said that he had the hardest time getting the stuff off, that it was a perfect storm for the sandblaster. Would it make sense to rubber coat high wear areas under the cutter to protect the steel? I have a LOT of sand where I'm at and it is going to be years before I get grass to cover it all up.

BTW, this is the stuff that was giving it a fit -
View attachment 664458

Thick tall grass is hard to keep going especially when it is hood high.

Both Agrisupply and Tractor Supply have round baler belts and it will work for shielding.

 

[pripyat]

Both Agrisupply and Tractor Supply have round baler belts and it will work for shielding.

Thanks for the tip! I'm guessing those belts would last forever considering they are internally lined with likely fiberglass or similar and made to not stretch. I may even post on FB to see if I can find a farmer with some worn material. New belts online look fairly pricey..

Sorry for the topic detour..

I couldn't get the plate off the bottom of the rotary cutter gearbox due to it being recessed with very little clearance on the sides of the plate. At first glance, I thought that the protruding threads were beat up under the cutter but I saw, after I ground one completely off, that it was actually welded. :laughing:



It took finding a second set of hands but I got three of the four bolts off. One of them obliterated the threads. It took a lot of penetrating oil, and about 1500 ft*lbs to get the nuts off due to all the rust/corrosion. I'm not sure if you can call a piece of all-thread with a nut welded to the end a bolt but I will. I probably need to replace those bolts as I don't have taps/dies to clean them up, I didn't measure diameter but they have 1-1/4" hex heads. Going to pull the gearbox as soon as I get a helper back out there..

 

[TxDigger]

Hate to start a new Thread and you guys seem to be pretty wise on Flail Mowers. I want to get one and I have a Kabota B7510 (21 HP). I want to get the widest one I can because I have about 15 acres to trim occasionally. I have a chance to get a JD 25A (78") and even if it is too big for heavy cutting can I run a partial swath on heavy stuff and get by so I can run full width on the light cutting areas.

 

[leonz]

Hello TxDigger,

If you really want that JD 25A flail mower I want to give you some friendly advice;

Don't do it!!!

You do not have enough horsepower or weight and the work involved in doing it will require welding and more welding and 2 complete tailwheel assemblies for rotary cutters with flat proof wheels to keep the 25A level while mowing and also maintain stability.

Purchasing a 4 foot cut peruzzo flail mower or a 4 foot caroni flail mower with a b rotor(2 rows of side slicer knives or scoop knives) will be less taxing on the tractor and believe it or not you can mow very well with a 4 foot flail mower. I have been doing that for years with a towed motorized 48 inch Mathews lawn genie pick up mower.

 

[arto98607]

Hate to start a new Thread and you guys seem to be pretty wise on Flail Mowers. I want to get one and I have a Kabota B7510 (21 HP). I want to get the widest one I can because I have about 15 acres to trim occasionally. I have a chance to get a JD 25A (78") and even if it is too big for heavy cutting can I run a partial swath on heavy stuff and get by so I can run full width on the light cutting areas.

Ford 917L (60 inch cut) flail mower is a nice fit with my Ford 1310 (19 HP engine, manual transmission) and in 2 - 2.5 foot tall grass it uses clearly less power than my 48 inch John Deere brush hog rotary mower.

917L is a light duty mower and was intended for side slicer flails as shown in my photo below.
Alamo/Mott MH386 flails can be used for replacements.

Mowers with other type or style flails would most likely require more HP.









New Holland CNH 86509415 vs. Alamo/Mott MH386 replacement flails: