Used brush mower - Maintenance issues.

mainerr · Jul 16, 2017

I bought a brush mower that was very lightly used, but had been stored outside.

After about 6 hours of use, two things have occurred:

1. The rubber safety flaps on the front and back have torn up / broken apart. I am assuming because of age... is this normal?
2. All of it's gear oil leaked out. It was 2" from the cap when I checked it while inspecting it for purchase.

Regarding the gear oil, I started taking it apart to inspect the gasket but it seems like quite a bit of effort to get to that point. I removed the cover, then it appeared as though I needed to remove the blades and pull the unit off the body to get to the underside of the transmission casing. I decided to pause last night and do some more research first, as well as put in some cheap gear oil and see if I can visually isolate the leak point first. Has anyone else here dealt with a gear oil leak in brush mower before?

Thanks in advance.

Here are some photos of the brush mower as a partial indication of condition upon purchase:

LD1 · Jul 16, 2017

There are about 5 places a leak can occur in a typical gearbox.

1. PTO input seal.
2. Output shaft seal
3. Gasket for input shaft housing
4. Gasket for output shaft housing
5. Fill plug vent

Find out where the leak is coming from before you decide what to do next. IF an output shaft seal leak....alot of people just run a thin 0 or 00 grade grease.

Alot of old timers would drain the oil out of a brand new mower and fill with grease. Because you can wad up string, fence, or whatever and toast the output seal, then loose all of your oil, and fry the gearbox. Putting grease in prevents a costly repair because grease stays put.

CodeMonkey · Jul 16, 2017

This is typical of any mechanism that has rubber parts and has been stored. Those parts can fall apart, especially if it has been stored outside and especially if exposed to sun. Rubber can deteriorate and oxidize over time, especially when exposed to UV radiation from the sun. Seals/etc. can start leaking, maybe from exposure, but also from low use as shafts/etc. resting on the seal and cause it to be out of shape, then when used it leaks - also, some seals do better when exposed to lube to keep them elastic.

Gary Fowler · Jul 16, 2017

I would look for the leak first. If it is a bottom seal that requires a lot of disassembly to repair, I would try the corn head grease trick first to see if that doesn't stop the leak.

ottawarob · Jul 16, 2017

Have you contacted BCS America? I've found them to be pretty responsive.

joecoin · Jul 17, 2017

I've replaced the rubber flaps on my brush mower three times in two years, but I use it a lot in heavy brush.

I bought a rubber floor mat and I just cut strips out of it.

mainerr · Jul 17, 2017

joecoin said:
I've replaced the rubber flaps on my brush mower three times in two years, but I use it a lot in heavy brush.

I bought a rubber floor mat and I just cut strips out of it.

I've been going through some heavy brush, figured that may have something to do with it as well. Was wondering about repurposing another product to replace with - thanks for the tip.

mainerr · Jul 17, 2017

I filled the gearbox up with cheap Walmart gear oil to see how long it would go before leaking out while in operation. Turns out it leaks fine just sitting - all of the oil leaked out overnight.

Attached are some photos of the results. I am not sure if you can infer based on them as to which seal bit the dust. I do know it looks like I'm taking this thing apart and at this point I'd be interested in proactively replacing other seals and gaskets.