OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield Tractor 11 28inch cut, motor Honda GV 4

Just joined this forum it looks great. Anyway I own a Greenfield Tractor 11 28inch cut, motor Honda GV 400.

I wonder if there is a work shop manual for the actual rideon itself and the motor on this forum I happy to pay but its a Bit hard to take the bet on paying then finding out there is nothing there to help me.

This ride on has seen a lot of work and has been fixed up by other owners its missing a few parts like deck brake to stop cutters from still turning. I have replaced pulley housing and cutter so far the motor runs pretty good but i think might need a carby kit put through it.

Shane, this site has no repair manuals for Greenfield mowers, but it does have illustrated parts lists for several models. I have not heard of a repair manual, though perhaps they exist for dealers only.

If you look at past threads you will see that several Outdoorking members have made repairs to Greenfields, and have reported on how they did it, with pictures. The problems have been mainly in the clutch shaft and clutches, plus adjusting the chains.

We can probably go through a similar process with your repair project if you wish. It would involve you posting detailed pictures of each issue, then we would offer suggestions, and you would report back on your repairs. When completed, your repair thread would be a part of Outdoorking's archive, so others could consult it later if they had similar problems.

Here are some pictures so far, I am after a photo of the brake set up for the cutter deck, if anyone post one it would be great
Shane

Thanks for that Grumpy, I'll check it out. I had a read through the threads on greenfields And have got some info. I am asking all Greenfield owners who hope to read this. post a photo of the brake system for the cutting deck, so I can get some idea of what it looks like. The greenfield tractor 11 of mine is missing everything to do with the brake system, so I have no idea where to start.


Thanks Shane

I cant say on the greenfield as ive never seen one but the Victa i have here has a bit of spring steel in sort of a Z shape thats mounted at one end to the body and the other had a pad on it. When you lift the deck back to dissengage the belt the top of the spindle hits it.


Theres a Greenfield deck on eBay here in Melb at the moment. Might be worth a look at the picture, its got pulleys and things on it still. You might be able to pick up on something thats there that yours is missing.


Cheers, Bob.

Thaks Bob I'll have a Look

Shane

Hi Shane, well done - great pictures, and you've explained what you are looking for very clearly. Incidentally I've deleted one post that was a repeat of another.



I've attached an illustration from the parts manual for the Tractor 5 version 8-10-11 models, indicating the deck brake parts with a red squiggly oval.

Thanks Grumpy, This helps alot, I was going to delete the double today thanks.

Shane

Shane, I've attached the quite different cutter brake from the E2000 16-34. I think that is a much later design than yours but I haven't seen what yours should look like. The brake parts are in the upper right hand corner of the diagram. Items 29-31 are the brake.

Thanks Grumpy,

I have know clue what actual mine looks like, Thats why asked if anybody has the same model as mine, to post a picture of theirs so we can piece it together. At least than I can start looking how it goes on.

shane

I can't find anything with the same model number as yours in the parts lists Shane, so the easiest solution is if someone with a Greenfield looks at your pictures and recognises the detail. The hard way is for you to pick some detail that varies from one Greenfield to another, and go through all of the parts lists item by item to find one the same as yours. Then you could look at the cutter brake for that model. In between those two extremes is asking a Greenfield dealer.

shanebryant,

Below is another deck clutch setup.

Thanks for that Bruce


Shane

You could just throw caution to the wind and pretend Greenfields never had one at all and make your own from scratch.


If there is a clear space above the deck spindle it would not be too hard.

There could be another spot, cant tell from the pics how things all work on one of them.

If the deck drive relies on tension over one of those big pulleys then to the deck them back to the engine over the other big pulley you could probably brake one of them.



Cheers, Bob.

The big pulleys are for the drive to the rear axle, Bob. Each of them has a big clutch on the side of it (forward and reverse).

Well that idea i had wont work then.


LOL>

Hey Guys still here still having no luck with the brake set up for the cutter. Will keep you posted when I find something.

shane

Here's a couple of enlargements of Illustration 4 from the Tractor 11 Parts List, which Grumpy posted earlier. Also the Part numbers for that illustration.





Of course, there may have been several variations on different models.

#24 is the "Cutter Brake" and #23 is the Brake Lining material attached to it.
#30 is a Spring, which presses the Cutter Brake against the edge of the Pulley #36. This is the Cutter Pulley which sits on top of the Spindle Housing #39 (I'm assuming you realised that it is this pulley the Cutter Brake pushes against).

The Cutter Brake pivots via the mounting hole you can see on its left side in the pic.

#27 is a Belt Guide Tag, just a strip of springy steel, which probably sits against that Cutter pulley, directly opposite where the Cutter Brake goes.

Hi Shane,

Took some photos of my Greefield 11 cutter brake assy, it is a bit difficult to get access but if you use them in conjunction with the diagrams already posted you should be able to figure it out. I am having problems uploading, will try again on weekend when i have more time.

Cheers Keith

Hello Shane,
Finally got photos to upload, one is from LH side the other is from the top. Hope they help. Cheers Keith;.

Thank You Very much for the pics Keithb, now I can have a understanding on how the brake works. The only problem I have come across now is that I was using my ride on last week, running really good then all of a sudden it stopped on me.
It barely turns over now I think its the starter I had recondition last year. its burnt out again. I'm leaning towards buying a second hand brigs for it at least they are cheaper to fix than a honda.

Cheers Shane

If it stopped while running and now won't turn over, the first thing to suspect is that the engine has seized up. This is easy to check: disconnect the spark plug, turn off the main switch, and try to turn the crankshaft by hand. If it won't turn, stop trying to operate the starter before you burn it out, and find out what is wrong with the engine. Nearly all engine seizures are due to having run out of oil.

Grumpy Have already checked that, its not seized. Its like the starter hasn't enough grunt to turn the motor over. might get a quote from someone to install a pull start on it. it might be a cheaper way out.

Shane

Priced a new starter around $850 abit to steep for me

Hello Shane,

$850 sounds like you are purchasing it from "Ned Kelly Spares", most I have seen for is about $400. Try Ebay should be able to get one lot cheeper than that.
Before it gets to expensive, check that the brushes in the starter motor are ok, I had an incident where the starter was sluggish and found it to be only worn brushes, quick clean up of the commie with some crocus paper, new brushes, from memory not expensive, and back to normal operation.
I another thing I have experienced, is that some starter have washers between the stater mounting and the engine case, if they are required, and mising, it results in the starter cog messing with the flywheel to hard and makes the start sluggish.

Cheers Keith.

It might be the starter Shane, but it also might be a deteriorated battery or wiring. I don't know if the GV400 has a decompressor, but if it does, and it isn't working, that could also cause the starter to be unable to turn it over properly. (This is an endemic problem with the B&S OHV engines, on which the effectiveness of the decompressor depends critically on the tappet clearance being exactly right. Many, many starter motors have been destroyed by people who had not adjusted their tappets properly.)

At the moment I don't see a potential explanation of why your engine stopped while you were mowing. It would be unusual for two unrelated faults to occur simultaneously.

This to reply to both the price for a new starter is from Honda, there is no after market one. yes I am about to replace all wiring and try that first. but I did try starting the starter start from the battery bypassing the switch but still no go. I haven't try another battery, because the one I have is new. It could be a dud battery. Is the decompressor that starter switch or am I missing something.

shane

The decompressor is a mechanical device inside the engine that holds one of the valves partly open during part of the compression stroke, when the engine is turning at cranking speed. It is just about universal practice to have an automatic decompressor on high compression mower engines (this mainly means overhead valve engines) and is commonplace on the larger mower engines such as yours. I do not know whether your engine has a decompressor or not. The purpose of the decompressor is to make it easier to turn the engine over for starting. There are several different methods used. Most small Briggs engines just have the intake valve stay open 0.010" during much of the compression stroke, whether the engine is starting or running. (Not much gas leaks out through that small opening in the milliseconds of the compression stroke when the engine is running fast, so Briggs found it to be a practical way to make their engines easier to start. The feature was called "Ezyspin".)