No mowing for a bit

[MuncyBob]

Finished up a full day of grass cutting and went to lift the deck for the usual cleaning before heading into the garage. Arms went up but the mower didn't! Does it look fixable? It's times like this that I wish I knew how to weld!

 

[Gravy]

That will be easily fixable. Be sure to have the weldor reinforce it rather than just welding it back together.

 

[MossRoad]

Yikes!

Whatchoo been doing to that thing??? :laughing:

It should be an easy fix with some 1/4" plate, a torch, a grinder and a welder. Sounds like an excuse to buy all of those things. (at least, that's what I'd try with the boss).

 

[woodlandfarms]

Very fixable but you should look at how the 1850 mower works. I bent my top bar, found out it was just thin square tubing and replaced it with a heavier 1/4" tubing. I would replace your top bar as well (15 minutes with a chop saw, 1 hr to weld and .5 hr to drill new hole).

on the 1850 the plate is bolted through the bar. They use a hex head to hold the QA plate on (it looks like an oversized wood screw with a hex head on the face).

I might have pix if I am not making much sense.

Carl

 

[Clarke]

Just happened to mine. welded a 3/16" patch over the hole, disassembled the bearing and welded it back on the 3/16" steel seems like a good repair. This has happened to another person on this board and WILL happen to others. Check your assembly carefully for cracks.

sg

 

[MuncyBob]

While I would love to buy the tools and learn how to weld, it's just not in my financial near future!

Had a welder come by last night, going to weld angle iron the full length of the bar and then weld the collar onto that. Will post pics when done.

I take care of my equipment, mower was not abused but did have apprx. 375 hours on it. If that cross bar would have been as heavy gauge metal as the rest of the mower I doubt this would have happened.

I'm looking for the pics of the person that had the dog ears of the steering ram break free from the floor...this guy will reinforce but I would like to show pics of how it broke...can anybody help, can't seem to find it.

Also, I see a used PT for sale that has the lift arms reinforced....good idea?
Basically I want to do as much of this type work the the PT now and avoid any future down time due to structural issues.

 

[Clumber]

I only have a few months experience with my new PT 425 and its attachments. I find the brush cutter mower a simple but interesting design. The bar has to pivot on a bolt on either side to accommodate floating over the turf. At the two henge points its metal rubbing on metal with another bolt acting as a stop. If there is no lubrication or the pivot bolts are too tight, there would be much stress on the bar. I have been spraying Superlube on this area every few hours. Also, if the mower is not operated in float mode there would be more stress on the bar.

Good luck with the repair.

 

[MoKelly]

It's times like this that I wish I knew how to weld!

Amen to that comment. How difficult is it to learn to weld and where would you go to learn? Community College?

MoKelly

 

[MossRoad]

Amen to that comment. How difficult is it to learn to weld and where would you go to learn? Community College?

MoKelly

Welding in itself is not difficult. You take two similar metals and melt them into a common puddle then let it cool down and they are one.

If only it were that simple!!! :laughing:

But really, that's all there is to simple welding. Learning what types of metals work well together, what types do not, what temperatures they melt at, what's too hot, too cold, how molten metal reacts on a slope, etc.... is part of learning and experience.

Community colleges are a great place to learn. So is a friend with some knowledge and two welding helmets so he or she can show you what they are doing and watch what you are doing.

I started with a torch for cutting in my home shop. Then I learned how to weld with the torch from a friend. Then we played around with a MIG welder and I decided to take classes at our local tech college. I learned basics on gas, arc and MIG and that was good enough to repair/fabricate anything that I needed to do. I still have my torches that I bought 32 years ago and my AC/DC arc welder buzz box from Sears that is probably close to 30 years old. I now long for a MIG welder and am slowly saving up for one. :thumbsup:

 

[MuncyBob]

Got it welded and installed. Ground out the rust on the angle iron, 2 coats primer, 3 coats paint and ready to cut again. $45 including paint and I doubt/hope I'll not have this problem again.

 

[BobRip]

I think the mowers get the most stress when the front of the tractor is lifted by them. This is easy to do.

 

[MuncyBob]

Yep, I agree. While I never did it on purpose there was a few times that I lifted the front end with the mower. I thought about having the cross member cut out and completely replaced with heavier steel but I was told this will probably do fine and save me some $$.

 

[MossRoad]

Its very easy to accidentally pull the joystick out of float and not notice on flat ground. Then, when you get to an incline, the tractor drives its weight up onto the mower instead of the front tractor tires. It happens.

 

[BobRip]

It is easy to do and will happen accidentally. I would not do more than you have done so far. There are multiple areas that need to be reinforced. I have had to add angle iron to my rough cutter mower on the deck because it cracked. Fix it when needed.

 

[MuncyBob]

That's the nice thing about the PT...seems fairly easily fixed. I guess welding classes are in order and I know what I want for Xmas!

 

[ponytug]

I have to say that mine pops out of float on rough ground regularly; but that's where I brush cut.
My 1445 brush cutter has the same type of mower support- and no upper deck reinforcement beyond a ~2" wide strip of steel. But it works!

All the best,

Peter

 

[BobRip]

I have to say that mine pops out of float on rough ground regularly; but that's where I brush cut.
My 1445 brush cutter has the same type of mower support- and no upper deck reinforcement beyond a ~2" wide strip of steel. But it works!

All the best,

Peter

Ther are several fixes for popping out of float. Mine will not stay in float hardly at all without a fix.

 

[woodlandfarms]

The 1850 Mower deck is a different build. I wish I had pix of it but I don't. PT drilled a hole through the 3x3 cross member, then ran a pipe and a bolt through it. The attaching plate has a hole in it as well but has a... a.... a large bolt with an angled head like a wood screw. they beveled the hole so the bolt sits flat. They then added 2 straps on the left and right of the mounting bracket to keep the bar from swaying too far left to right.

I will get pix...

 

[J_J]

Ther are several fixes for popping out of float. Mine will not stay in float hardly at all without a fix.

Have you ever taken the cap off the spool with float and inspected and cleaned the balls and springs? You might try rotating the spools a bit and and see if the balls will have a better place to drop into and out of detent. It is probably a square grove in the spool. Clean the groove. Load it up with a water resilient grease

I can see where if using the float a lot, that the balls and groove might get worn, especially if the two metals are dissimilar.

Look at page 7 for a float detent. Yours might be similar or totally different.

http://www.princehyd.com/Portals/0/products/valves/LVManual.pdf

Do you have a break down of your FEL valve, or what brand and model number it it?

 

[BobRip]

Have you ever taken the cap off the spool with float and inspected and cleaned the balls and springs? You might try rotating the spools a bit and and see if the balls will have a better place to drop into and out of detent. It is probably a square grove in the spool. Clean the groove. Load it up with a water resilient grease

I can see where if using the float a lot, that the balls and groove might get worn, especially if the two metals are dissimilar.

Look at page 7 for a float detent. Yours might be similar or totally different.

http://www.princehyd.com/Portals/0/products/valves/LVManual.pdf

Do you have a break down of your FEL valve, or what brand and model number it it?

No I do not. The valve has not beebread right since new. PT has a fix. For $70. I refused to pay that on principle and developed my own.