Frontier Brush hog output shaft loose

[greengoblin]

Hello
My frontier RC2060 brush cutter has started to feel a little odd, .. more than usual vibration and noise during operation and a tendency to sometimes shave dirt even when the cutter is not at the lowest position .

On inspecting the cutter,
1. I can see a thin film of oil on the underside around the shaft
2. The gearbox itself has oil (dark colored, not milky so no water in it)
3. The castle nut and cotter pin are in place
4. The output spindle from the gearbox to the blade assembly can freely move and wobble side to side .

On account of (4) , does that mean that something is worn in my gear box . If so, what could the issue be and what's my best plan of action to get things working again . I haven't dug into one of these gearboxes before

I was thinking of pulling the blade assembly, replacing the gearbox and then digging into the old gearbox .. as I'm not sure exactly what is worn.

Thoughts / Advice ?

Thanks

 

[ruffdog]

Is the stump jumper loose on the tapered splines of the shaft or is the shaft coming out of the gearbox loose? You can tighten the nut if the SJ has loosened or pull the gearbox apart.

 

[greengoblin]

The shaft is loose . I can rock the shaft side to side . I wasn't sure if that was normal. Here's a video . Not the best angle but if you look closely, you can see the output move as I rock the blade assembly

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[ruffdog]

If all that movement is the shaft moving...WOW...that is LOOSE. Start pulling it apart.