Gravely 5265 Power Problem?

[SevernDH]

A while back, I picked up a lightly used Gravely 5265. Previous owner used it to mow his two acre lot for a couple seasons, and other than that, it was used with a snow blower by him and by his father-in-law before it was handed down to him. Visible wear on the machine backs up the reported low usage. Now on to the problem ...

Got an old, heavily used brush deck from my dad as my primary need is to clear out a lot of small saplings and other brush. The old mower deck spins freely, and seems as though the drive components are in pretty good shape. However, I don't seem to be getting much power to the mower deck.

Once the mower is engaged, it takes a 5 to 10 seconds to come up to speed, then when I start into the brush, it takes very little to slow the blade, and enough power is tied up with the mower, it is painfully slow to back the machine out unless I disengage the mower first. My guess is a problem in the mower drive mechanism, but looking to see if anyone recognizes the problem and can keep me from heading down the wrong path.

Thoughts?

 

[js5020]

If you havent done so yet I would go over the adjustments for the clutches,,, start with the slip clutch on the deck, there are a few preferences/methods here, personally I loosen the locknuts and compress the springs and then back them off 1/2 turn and tighten the locknuts. Then I would move to the clutch adjustment for the high/low, I adjust mine so that it has a crisp "snap" over center. The high/low clutch drives the pto and could cause similtaneous pto and drive issue,,, I had a similar issue a year ago and after trying to adjust it out, it ended up being part of the clutch lining separating from the clutch, this required removal of the engine and planetary to confirm/repair.

 

[SevernDH]

Thanks for the reply, js5020. Was not sure what to search for, or would have found this recent post about slip clutch adjustment:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/gravely-ariens/193205-help-gravely-commercial-series-power.html

Now to do a little more digging on adjusting the high/low clutch as you describe it. I am certainly hoping it is all an adjustment thing, but will just have to suck it up and deal with it if repair is needed.

Thanks again!

 

[2manyrocks]

The clutch is supposed to be tight enough to work, but loose enough to "give" if you hit something. There is an adjustment procedure in the gravely manual. If you don't have it, download the manual here: OldGravelys.Net: Gravely Manuals & Parts Lists: Walk-Behind Tractors

Also, there used to be a guy selling a clutch adjustment kit on evilbay that allowed you to use a torque wrench to set the clutch to the right ft-lbs. It was just a welded up do-dad, but seemed to work.