gtrippleb
Gold Member
I picked up a used value leader/betstco 53" flail mower a few months ago. I've used it about 3 times now. Before my first mowing I greased it and checked the pto gearbox which seemed like it had plenty of gear oil in it.
The last time I used it, I noticed while mowing that it seemed like the rotor isn't being turned by the belts anymore when there is pressure against the knives. The grass isn't being cut anymore and just from the slight vibration from the PTO moving at 540rpms, it seems like the rotor is kind of in a free turning mode. I took the belt cover off and I can move the belts and the rotor will move.
It almost seems almost like the pulley rotates the rotor shaft just enough to rotate but once it's under load, it might be slipping. I can hear the knives clank when I turn the pto off and the pto comes to a stop so it sounds like the rotor is turning. I noticed that when I lifted it off the ground and went over some small gravel, that I flung some gravel which also led me to believe the rotor is still turning.
It doesn't look like there is much to the mower so my thought is that either my blades are really dull, or some how I managed to break a key on a shaft so that the shaft still turns unless there is a slight load.
When I first got the mower I was trying to see where the best poisition on the 3pt was and in doing so, I mowed the ground a few times. I'm wondering if this may have been what caused my problem.
I thought I had read somewhere on TBN or somewhere else that there is a common bearing failure with these if not greased properly but I don't seem to find the thread anymore. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
The last time I used it, I noticed while mowing that it seemed like the rotor isn't being turned by the belts anymore when there is pressure against the knives. The grass isn't being cut anymore and just from the slight vibration from the PTO moving at 540rpms, it seems like the rotor is kind of in a free turning mode. I took the belt cover off and I can move the belts and the rotor will move.
It almost seems almost like the pulley rotates the rotor shaft just enough to rotate but once it's under load, it might be slipping. I can hear the knives clank when I turn the pto off and the pto comes to a stop so it sounds like the rotor is turning. I noticed that when I lifted it off the ground and went over some small gravel, that I flung some gravel which also led me to believe the rotor is still turning.
It doesn't look like there is much to the mower so my thought is that either my blades are really dull, or some how I managed to break a key on a shaft so that the shaft still turns unless there is a slight load.
When I first got the mower I was trying to see where the best poisition on the 3pt was and in doing so, I mowed the ground a few times. I'm wondering if this may have been what caused my problem.
I thought I had read somewhere on TBN or somewhere else that there is a common bearing failure with these if not greased properly but I don't seem to find the thread anymore. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
