Howse 10Ft Rotary Cutter Model 10HD10DA

[juredd1]

First post here I think. Thank you for your time in advance.

Picked up a Howse 10Ft. Rotary Cutter a couple weeks back. Looked good, sounded good, was close to home but after the purchase found out they went out business a while back. Local tractor repair guy said parts are really hard to come by. There's still a Howse website so thought they were still in business or I might have passed. To late at this point so I'm trying to move forward.

So I have nearly zero experience with a multiple spindle cutter. I took the cover off to get a look at the gear boxes and shafts. I am confused at the what I would call shaft couplers being loose, they can slide back and forth on the shafts, I don't think past the shaft end but I have not tried that hard to verify for sure, if I get a picture attached that will be shown with the red directional lines. Some of the bolts on on the couplers, circled in orangeish color, are loose. Some oil buildup on the center gear box like maybe the shaft seal is leaking. My main concern right now is the loose bolts and the couplers that slide. I don't know if this is normal for shaft tension relief or something. I also pulled the fill plugs on all 3 boxes and there is a strange combination of gear lube colors. One is cream and one is almost reddish color, and the center box looks like what I would consider a normal gear lube color. Pictures included I hope.

I was also told there is no drain plug on the gear boxes so i gotta turn it upside down to drain it which don't sound right but I don't see a drain plus either.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Thank you,
Justin

 

[juredd1]

Don't think I can't edit the subject but wanted to correct the model. I got a little happy with the 10's. It's a Howse HD10DA.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Factory parts may be hard to get, but I never buy factory parts. Gears are all you have to worry about. Keep it lubed. You can get bearings and U joints somewhere if you need them. We still use a bush hog that was a junky patched up thing given to my grandad in 1979. So, just keep it lubed. I've replaced the bottom seal a few times because of barbed wire. That's it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Cream means water.
Change it.

The reddish could be rust mixing with oil.

Just change all 3 asap.

 

[juredd1]

Thank you both for you reply. Any thoughts at all on the coupler movement? I just don't want them to be loose if they are not supposed to be and end up stripping the gears.

Justin

 

[Chewwy]

Southern Farm Supply in Union Grove, NC purchased about 40 pallets of Howse Parts when Howse was being liquidated back in 2017. That maybe why the Howse website is still there.

You could try them for parts if you can’t solve your issue otherwise.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

First post here I think. Thank you for your time in advance.

Picked up a Howse 10Ft. Rotary Cutter a couple weeks back. Looked good, sounded good, was close to home but after the purchase found out they went out business a while back. Local tractor repair guy said parts are really hard to come by. There's still a Howse website so thought they were still in business or I might have passed. To late at this point so I'm trying to move forward.

So I have nearly zero experience with a multiple spindle cutter. I took the cover off to get a look at the gear boxes and shafts. I am confused at the what I would call shaft couplers being loose, they can slide back and forth on the shafts, I don't think past the shaft end but I have not tried that hard to verify for sure, if I get a picture attached that will be shown with the red directional lines. Some of the bolts on on the couplers, circled in orangeish color, are loose. Some oil buildup on the center gear box like maybe the shaft seal is leaking. My main concern right now is the loose bolts and the couplers that slide. I don't know if this is normal for shaft tension relief or something. I also pulled the fill plugs on all 3 boxes and there is a strange combination of gear lube colors. One is cream and one is almost reddish color, and the center box looks like what I would consider a normal gear lube color. Pictures included I hope.

I was also told there is no drain plug on the gear boxes so i gotta turn it upside down to drain it which don't sound right but I don't see a drain plus either.


Any help or advice is appreciated.


Thank you,
JustinView attachment 815596View attachment 815591View attachment 815592

In your last picture if that's not a drain plug, then what is it?

 

[juredd1]

Southern Farm Supply in Union Grove, NC purchased about 40 pallets of Howse Parts when Howse was being liquidated back in 2017. That maybe why the Howse website is still there.

You could try them for parts if you can’t solve your issue otherwise.

Chewwy,
Thank you, I had found that info from another post on the forum and had contacted them today. Didn't have any luck by phone but the message gave me a number to text pictures to, have done that and hopeful for some response.

 

[juredd1]

In your last picture if that's not a drain plug, then what is it?

I believe that to be a fill plug. There is a plug up higher on the unit but it looks like a pressure relief valve of some sort.

 

[Chewwy]

My Woods Brush Bull does not have a drain plug per se. The gear lube is removed by removing the vent plug and syphoning thru that opening.