OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Rover Ride On Mower HELP!!! Squealing Friction Drive on Rover Rancher

Hi
I recently replaced the cork for the friction drive on my rover Rancher as it was nearly metal to metal. Problem is that now it won't stop squealing. It is constant in forward unless in push the pedal hard and occasionally in reverse. Its driving me nuts, it never used to squeal before the replacement. Any help would be great on how to eradicate this annoying squeal. And no turning the ipod up is not the answer I am looking for.

Not being familiar with many ride ons I would say somehting needs some form of lubrication (whether that be wet or dry) a model number (there were a few ranchers) and some pics of the area in question and of the mower in general could help immensely/

You said it is a friction drive - that is, a right-angle drive where the edge of one wheel presses against the flat side of the other, and the drive ratio is varied by moving the edge-on wheel radially across the flat-on wheel. You also said it is a cork friction material. That sounds a bit odd. Cork is inherently a rather soft, low contact pressure material, used for flat plate clutches. Friction drives generally require high pressure contact. Are you sure you have used the right material?

If the friction drive slips (and it obviously is slipping if it squeals) it will not last long.

I had the same prob on my Rancher (1866) after installing new cork pads. Fixed it by turning the nut on the actuating rod ... its on the RHS under the seat. Was a very cumbersome job as not much clearance for the spanner, from memory I turned the nut so it moved towards the front of mower. I still get a tiny bit of squeal before the clutch bites but some initial slippage is to be expected. Constant squealing means that you have slippage and will eventually glaze or burn out the cork. I would not recommend any lubricants (or belt grip which I once tried), these things are just finicky to set up.

hope this is of some help