OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Sticky Drive in Forward

Just had the drive belt replaced on my Evolution Fastcut 36.
Technician noted that drive was sticky in forward, but didn't do anything about it as I was desperate to get the thing back into operation.
A bit of back story there ... I'd booked it in for a belt replacement only in November last year and was told "4-6 weeks wait - we'll call you". I called into the shop in April to check where they were at and noted that my servoce card was about 12 0r 14 from the top, asked for it to be expedited. Called in again a week ago and berated them for a complete lack of concern, quoted dates etc and got it picked up on a Thursday, returned the next Tuesday ... seems I was being fed bulldust all along!

Anyway ... The question is - How can I stop the damned thing from running on in forward, taking off at full speed even with foot off the pedal, and requiring use of the foot "emergency" brake to stop it? I've oiled the linkages but that makes no difference.

Oh wow, it seems to be since Greenfield ceased as a company the stores are not wanting to have anything to do with them, hearing similar stories from a few now.

Changing the belt is quite a simple process, should only take 20mins, if that, if you know what you are doing. but I won't get into that now.

Unfortunately when the drive is sticking like that it is a fairly major job to fix, it requires the drive clutch assembly to be removed, stripped and cleaned, as usually if they are over greased they get sticky like that. Potentially also could be a broken spring, but means the same, needs to be pulled out stripped and inspected.

Again not a huge job for someone that knows what they are doing. I would offer to help but I am about 6hrs away

The mech that eventually did the belt replacement told his business owner (a chainsaw and mower specialist) that he would not reccommend they take on the Greenfield dealership simply because they were a PITA to work on, and he'd spend too much time with them, time that couldn't be charged out as it would appear exorbitant.

I'm considering whether we need a ride on in our new place (when this one is sold, hopefully soonish!) but if we decide that we DO, it will not be a friction drive unit! I have had my fill of them, and wouild prefer to pay a bit extra and get a hydrostatic type drive. Less hassle all round, I think.
This Greenfield has been a beast from day one, and it was brand spanking when we got it - dealer has had a couple of goes at fixing the sticky drive (which was apparent from around 4 weeks after we bought the bloody thing) and has told us that all was "fixed" but it ain't!

As I said it all comes down to who is working on the machine. I am a collector of them these days but i did 6 years in a mower shop. while there are some things that can take longer on the greenfield, the overall build quality is far superior to anything imported.

Unfortunately now you cannot buy an Australian made ride on any more, since greenfield finished up and now Cox are 100% imported.

I do see where you are coming from, but hydro machines do come with their own set of problems.

Being that the drive was sticky from new that should have been a warranty issue. sounds like something was missing or done wrong when it was assembled, as usually sticky drive only happens much later in the life of the machine.

Hi JohnAttwood and bath,
just read all that. What a sad state of affairs when our last ride on mower manufacturer closes down.
I despair at the direction of this country relying on digging it up and selling it. We have proven to be talented at designing machinery when we get the chance and now we simply ship it in.

You treatment at the hands of that shop was terrible.
Some mower shop staff can be cranky buggers to deal with who only have dollar signs in their eyes.
Not a patch on 30 plus years ago.
It just goes to show when there aren't alternatives to turn to.

JA keep at it man. You have the last of a breed. Maybe ring around, even if you have to go as far as Newcastle or even Sydney (shudder) to find someone who can tell you what's likely the culprit and will take pity on you and help with your mower and is much better to deal with.

When (hopefully soonish) we sell this place, we'll be looking to take the machine with us to our new home interstate.
With any luck, and a bit of local research, we'll find a decent mech who can do what's required to get the bastard thing working the way it should have been from the start.

As regards warranty, the original selling agent did the first "repair" under warranty, and assured us that the issue had been fixed. As it happens, I no longer believe him! He has also relocated to a place a bit n=more than an hour's drive away, and I'm certainly not keen on driving there for him to "look" at it again and declare the problem cured! And I'm not sure I'd be prepared to believe him then either!

Thanks for the moral support.
John

Been doing a quick search and you're not the only one who's had stress with Cox Greenfield ride ons of late.
Maybe morale at the factory took a dive leading up to the business going into admin.

https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/greenfields-deluxe-series