OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield 11Hp 21 Anniversary Model

Yeah she's seen a hard life on the farm. Mother in law isn't called rip tear and bust for no reason! Hah!

Had to replace one of the spindle/shafts and pulley on one of the cutters this morning. Pulley had sheared the splines and worn the shaft down. Told them they need to replace the belt on it because it's stretched. Father in law still wants the greenfield back but I don't think I could bear seeing it go back just to be destroyed!!

You are seeing it much the same way as I am, Sparky. An abused hydrostatic drive becomes an expensive hobby, and any ride-on that can only be fixed with new parts from a dealer, is expensive too. Put them together, and your newly-refurbished Greenfield looks better and better.

Yeah, I'd be very reluctant to hand it back to be abused again, too.
You might want to do a rough estimate of the hours that were put into the job, as well.

I reckon that jobs that chew up my leisure time are worth a lot higher hourly rate than my normal working hourly. There's the time involved in chasing up parts, too.

So I only do repair jobs for others [except for family, sometimes] on an 'exchange of favours' barter basis, these days. I don't have a pro-standard OPE workshop available to me, just enough to maintain my own gear. For example, a push mower workbench top, that clamps atop my welding table...

Anyone that offers to pay me to do such work, assuming I'll do it for peanuts, gets told 'you can't afford me'.

Haha Gadge, my inlaws couldn't afford my daytime hourly rate let alone what your saying to up the rate a bit!

Well, there's a lot of truth in the old saw; you can always make more money, but you can't make more time.

Anyhow, slightly off topic lol! I've still got a few things that need fixing/replacing/tweaking.

Need to source some new pinchweld for the front bonnet edge, need to get the handbrake working which means either replacing the whole assembly or making some new liners as the old ones aren't clamping too well on the drum anymore. Still need to fit the chain tensioner but the tensioner sprocket requires boring and sleeving as the bronze bush is flogged big time. And then there's stickers/decals.

I'd like to get at the very least some safety ones for the deck etc but I'd also like to get all original greenfield ones so that most likely will be custom made. Was also thinking of getting a smaller repro sticker of the firebird from the old Pontiac trans am on the bonnet. I think that's rather fitting for this machine, to have risen from the ashes!!

Ok Gadge or Grumpy, or anyone even that's got one of these older greenfields. When selecting forwards or reverse, mainly reverse on mine, it's very clunky. So basically it'll sit there for a bit with full pressure on the pedal and do nothing, all of a sudden wham it hits reverse and off you go.

I'm assuming without looking it's just a sticky selector on the clutch shaft. Best remedy? Graphite grease?! The square shaft was very clean, no burrs or anything when it was reassembled.

It could be that, or some stickiness in the pedal or linkage somewhere.
On that shaft, you need to use a smear of dry 'assembly lube' type product, that will not run off or be a dirt magnet.

The best of these are Molybdenum Disulphide based, and contain a very high percentage of it [~50% for the pastes]. There are spray can and paste forms available, from industrial [e.g. bearing service] suppliers. Rocol, Molykote and Dow Corning Molybond are three good brands of these.

But be warned, they aren't cheap. If you have tradie mates who work in heavy industrial maintenance, they can often get hold of some.

A good cheaper alternative is to get a can of 'PTFE Dry Lubricant Spray' from Jaycar Electronics, if there's a branch/agent handy to you. That stuff is under $20, and works very well. Do shake the crap out of the can before spraying, though.

It has a lot of other uses too; e.g. it makes zippers really slick! Much better than CRC Dry-Glide etc.

Thanks Gadge. I'll raid the consumables cupboard at work today and see if I can find any. I do have a can of dry ptfe spray at home already though as well as some others like white lithium based spray on grease etc. I'll give that stuff a go bed time I've got a few spare minutes to get under it!

Sparky, the spray-on grease is not a good choice for this job: it traps dirt, which mixes with the grease to form a slurry almost identical to valve lapping paste. You need something that dries quickly but tends to stay on the shaft. Basicly that is a near-impossible mission, but you can achieve something very close to it with a molybdenum disulphide powder in a volatile hydrocarbon vehicle, as Gadge recommended. A much cheaper alternative that works pretty well for a couple of months at a time, is a simple puffer pack of dry graphite: the same stuff you put in door locks. Unlike the volatile hydrocarbon, it won't wick-in to get in between shafts and journals though, so you have to be able to slide the shaft back and forth to work it in. Above all, just stay away from the grease-based stuff.

I don't know what the load-bearing properties of PTFE are, so I can't comment on its suitability.

PTFE has good load-bearing properties in thin films.
It doesn't see much heavy load use in thicker sections, like bushings, though.

This is due to two factors; it is both fairly soft, and very slippery - so its machinability is pretty awful.
The other one is that it does creep [undergo plastic flow] under load, so thicker sections are more susceptible to this effect.

All PTFE sprays are not created equal, too - I've just found the Jaycar product to be better than most.

That is interesting Gadge - I see that there is a PTFE spray sold under the WD40 brand that is just over half the price of the one you recommend.

Haven't tried that one, so can't comment. The Jaycar one is $17.95 as a single can buy, and worth it, IMHO.

CRC also have two types of dry spray PTFE lube; I've only tried the 'Dry Glide' one, which isn't wonderful. Their 'Power Lube with PTFE' is probably better, as it's an industrial market product.

The WD40 one is $12.88 I think, at a hardware store. The Material Safety Data Sheets for both versions are interesting. First, the Jaycar one, which is actually based on INOX MX6:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/products_uploaded/NA1032_MSDS%20INOX-MX6.pdf

Here is the WD40 one:
http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/bluework13728956.pdf

Meanwhile CRC's Dry Glide sheet:
http://www.crcindustries.com/faxdocs/msds/3044.pdf

And their Power Lube with PTFE:
http://www.crcindustries.com/faxdocs/msds/3045.pdf

So, we find the Jaycar product is "less than 5%" PTFE powder, and there is no mention of PTFE at all in the list of constituents of any of the the other three. Frankly, this does not fill me with confidence in the performance of the latter items, so I prefer to go along with your choice, Gadge.

Yep, the Jaycar stuff deposits a visible white film when it has dried.

What I'd actually use on a Greenfield shaft, of what's on hand here, would be 'Optimoly Paste TA' spray, which is NLA now AFAIK.
But that stuff was about $80 a can, when it was available [pre BP's takeover of Optimol]!

If it were dismantled I suppose I'd assemble it with a fairly liberal helping of graphite powder. To lubricate it in service, probably one of the spray cans of dry graphite lube. It's a matter of history I suppose: I just don't see Teflon (PTFE since Dupont's patent ran out) as a heavy duty lubricant to prevent galling. I like molybenum disulfide even more than graphite, but in dry form, it's expensive.

Yep, I prefer moly-based dry lubes too; but as you say, they're exy.
I do keep a few reasonably exotic versions of these on hand [as my usage is very low these days], but they are usually way too exy to buy for one-off jobs.

Except where they are essential to prevent rapid failure of expensive bits, e.g. the splines on motorcycle drive shafts.

'PTFE' is the generic acronym [for PolyTetraFluoroEthylene], but 'Teflon' is still a registered DuPont trademark, BTW.

Nothing like a healthy debate!! Once the wife goes to work and removes her car from the garage/workshop I'll make my way through the piles of machinery and get to my bench and find out what sprays and lubes I have. I know I have a can of WD40 white lithium spray I think and a can of dry glide as well. I've used the White speay before on my garage panel lift door and it made a remarkable difference. Between all the pivot pins on the panels themselves, on the rollers and tracks, the drive chain and the spring tensioner got sprayed with this stuff and once it worked in the only noise you can hear now is the motor. Obviously the pressures associated between a garage door and the greenfield clutch will be vastly different though. However I think it's lithium based but won't know for sure till I get to the can.

As grumpy and I have said, in different ways, what's needed is a lube that will end up dry and non-sticky.

Spray lithium grease is usually a bit tacky when dry, in my experience.

G'day Mate,

Could you share these manuals with me?

I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Jim

We do not have those manuals at Outdoorking - all we have are parts lists, and a single owner manual. Those are in the manuals section, which is a subscription area. If Sparky19862 sends his manuals to us we will be able to upload them, of course.

Grumpy, the manuals I have a more or less just a parts list. I have a parts list and adjustment procedure for the anniversary model 11hp and for the 12-32 model which my mower uses both parts. If you don't have these parts lists PM me and I'll email them to you.

Just as an update too! Mower still works well. Haven't got the electric start going yet but that just requires a battery.

As for the sticky clutch it comes and goes. Not entirely sure if it's a linkage issue of if its still falling slightly on the square shaft. Sprayed it a few times with some dry lube and it comes good but just not certain it's wicking in so may have to drop the clutch out and reassemble with some better lube.

Also thinking of modifying the deck to add a set of wheels on the front to help maintain a level deck. Seeing as my yard is fairly undulating I think it warrants a set of wheels on the front.

Updates with progress when I can!

That sounds like a sticky clutch disk on the clutch shaft, Sparky. The best cure is to strip it and clean it properly, then dry-lube it before you put it back together. Applying lube externally won't remove the built-up crud that is in there at present, and the old crud will be made up of equal parts dried oil and dirt, so it is quite abrasive on the clutch and shaft.

It seems to me that most ride-ons have a pair of small wheels on the deck to keep it from scalping on rough ground.

Grumpy, it does have a set on the rear but it still allows the deck to nose into the ground. So I figure lost new ones have fore and aft ground wheels on the deck so why can't I make the same mod to mine? Surely it should level it out some more!

Thinking this weekend or during the week even I'll pull the clutch assy out and reassemble properly. Might as well, still have to fix the old tensioner for the chain!

I think the deck is usually tilted slightly so the front is higher than the back. This may be partly to reduce the number of wheels needed, but I think it may also be because such tiny wheels on the leading edge of the deck might cause dig-ins rather than cure them. It might be worth trying it with a temporary rig rather than welding everything in the first place, in case you find it pole-vaults your deck and you have to take them off again. It will mainly depend on the size of the wheels, and the compliance of the system that holds the deck up.

While you're working on the chain, you might clean and dry-lubricate it, and check it for wear. A worn chain ruins sprockets.

For the Evo3 13-32 the manual says the back should be 6mm higher than the front. Phil

Thanks for that Phil. I'm now wondering how that can work, without wheels on the front.

Hi Sparky and others, just a thought on your deck , if it's tilting forward with obvious play in the hangers, then you will most likely find the brass bushes and or the hangers themselves are worn. Most Greenfield decks that have no play in them will be fine to use even if they dont come with anti scalping wheels, tilt can then be adjusted by the side adjusters. hope this helps, pete

Pretty fortunate with this one Squizzy that all the bushes on this old girl are either hardened steel or gunmetal. None are bronze/brass or any other soft metal bush. Check all that when I stripped the thing right down to nothing. It could just be the fact that I have too many high spots in my yards and the mowers just helping to level things out!!

I've got the clutch assembly out again to try and fix the sticking issue. Grumpy/Gadge or anyone else - tips to space out the clutch assembly properly? Noticed when I pulled the driven plates off that the springs between the square shoulder and driven plates were stuck down hard by washers. Assuming I've got it all shimmed too much perhaps? Found quite a few high spots on one of the discs so hopefully it'll fit in my lathe and I'll face it a lil bit more. Drive corks look new still which is good but I read elsewhere on here that it's suggested to smear some graphite powder over the corks to eliminate some squealing which I do get in forwards occasionally. True or false?!

Thanks.