Repair 60" mid mount mower

Jnasystems · May 12, 2012

Well the belt broke on my mower, so I decided to look the whole thing over and found that the pin welded to the deck that holds the tensioner is severely warn and causing the tensioner to be out of alignment, one of the spindle pulleys seemed loose and the universal joint on the mower side is bad.
It turned out that the shear pin on the spindle needs replaced along with the washer and possibly the pulley too.
When I looked up the parts on my dealer's website I found out the parts were ridiculously priced and the pin isn't a part sold separately. Any ideas on where to buy parts for a more reasonable price? How about repairing or replacing the pin for the tensioner?

Thanks,
Joe

TractorTech · May 12, 2012

If it is a 60" mid-mount, I can only assume that it is possibly a 914 which is made by Shibuara. The parts are pricey. As far as the pin in the deck goes, you would probably need to purchase the idler that goes on the pin, then possibly use a metric bolt as the replacement pin and weld into place.
Without the model number and a few more specifics, it is hard to accurately help.

Jnasystems · May 12, 2012

Yes, it is the 914. Thanks for the suggestion, why could I not just use the existing idler? It doesn't seem like it is very worn. It was obviously the harder of the 2 metals.

TractorTech · May 12, 2012

Going by your description, it sounded like the idler was worn. So, yes, you could use the old idler. Other than that, you probably need to buy the parts from NH.

Jnasystems · May 12, 2012

That's what I was afraid of - thanks.

It is just frustrating that they want $110 for the cross in the universal joint and $160 for the spindle pulley. I thought it was green paint that was expensive.

TractorTech · May 13, 2012

Not much you can do for the pulley, but you might be able to replace the cross with an aftermarket cross kit. If you measure the diameter of the caps and the width of the cross across the caps, it may cross over to a metric cross kit replacement which might be more in the price range of $20-30.

Jnasystems · May 13, 2012

That is a great idea, thanks!!! Any ideas where? Is it something the dealer should have? Or maybe someplace online? I did a quick google search and didn't find any places that gave dimensions for the cross.

That cost got me really thinking about just how bad the pulley is. Here is a picture of it - what do you think?

The center ring is from where the washer was. Apparently it was loose for some time. I was thinking maybe I could just add another washer and replace the bad shear key to tighten it up.

While I am taking pictures, the second one is of the blade bolts - the threads are obviously bad, but do you think the shaft these go into is just as bad, or is it usually one or the other that goes bad like this? Maybe I could just run a tap in to clean it up?

TractorTech · May 14, 2012

Take the driveline to a dealer and have them measure the cross cap diameter and the width between the caps of the cross as accurately as possible. A good dealer might be able to cross over. OR measure yourself and send the dimensions to me. I can try to cross over so you can purchase from dealer or online.

Pulley looks okay from the picture. Replace the washer and key. I can't tell from the picture what kind of shape the keyway is in and I don't know what the shaft looks like, but if there is some side-to-side in the key slot and you don't want to replace the damaged parts, install the key with JB Weld, put the pulley on and go. You will play h*ll getting back off if you ever have to work on it, but it is a 'cheap fix'.

Replace the blade bolt! It would be wise to get a metric tap for the spindle threads and clean up as much as possible so as not to mess up a new bolt. The spindle is $160., worth salvaging. The blade bolt only $17. The spindle threads might be boogered up as well, but a new bolt will at least provide some bite of the existing threads.

Jnasystems · May 14, 2012

Ok, the caps are 20.02mm in diameter and from outside to outside of them is 55.2mm. The distance from the collars is 21.2mm. I attached some pics to make sure I have the correct dimensions. Thanks for the help.

Jnasystems · May 16, 2012

Well, I just gave in and paid for the factory parts. It worked well and cutting the post out and welding in a bolt was easier than expected and fit just fine. I ended up with a bushing from a skidsteer that I shortened on the lathe and a half inch bolt with a washer and a lock nut. All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad as it was completely gone through and anything bad replaced and everything else cleaned and lubed for just under $300. It should last a good long time now.

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions. It sure is nice to be able to bounce these problems off someone who knows a thing or two about them.