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

Ok guys I need some help here. I've got an old 11HP 21 Anniversary model Greenfield ride on that needs some work.

So far i've had to strip this thing down to the very last bolt, and I mean quite literally down to the last bolt. Nothing is left bolted together so I have a million parts in the garage at the moment.

Now my biggest problem isn't getting all of this back together, that's the easy part, my problem is trying to find all the bearing sizes and numbers, replacement belts and a few other parts such as cork drive discs etc etc.

Now I know its an 11HP 21 Anniversary Model, its got an 11 HP B&S engine and im assuming its about a 28 - 30" deck. Also as soon as I find out how to upload photos i'll upload some photos of the billion pieces of this poor old mower for you guys to see.

Essentially what i'm undertaking with this is an entire rebuild less the engine. Engine runs fine, no smoke, starts first or second pull so pretty happy there. Everything else is being done, body work, all bearings, all bushes, de-scaling the entire chassis/frame of rust, priming, repainting, panelbeating etc so this is a fairly big job which im hoping to complete within a month or two parts pending.

Any other info you guys may need from me to help me find the parts I need just let me know.

Cheers.

Edit - I looked up the serial on the B&S engine and nothing comes up on their website. The engine serial number is 255707-0422-01-87092431 and the chassis number is 8365 F.


Luke

Are sure it isn't 255707-0122-01?

Thought that myself but it certainly appears to be a 4 to me. Have a look for yourself.

There is a full illustrated parts list for the Anniversary 12-32 in the Manuals section. I can't tell you how similar that is or isn't to yours, though.

Thanks Grumpy. I've contacted greenfield and they've supplied me with two manuals for the 8 and 11Hp Anniversary Model and for a 12-32 model aswell. I'll be printing these out later on today and working out what parts I require from greenfield and what I can source myself through our contracted bearing supplier at work.

Fingers crossed this project doesn't become a black hole for money! Majority of the work I will do myself. I've got to face off all the drive disks as they're all galled up from having no cork left on the plates. I'll spin up all shafts in my lathe and correct any high spots and polish them up.

This thing is essentially a 'ground up' rebuild.

If those are full owner manuals, not just parts lists, could you send them to me attached to a Private Message please? We have a reasonable range of IPLs, but I think only one full owner manual, and that is for a later model.

Grumpy, just spoke to Greenfield again, they don't even have any copies of the original owners manuals. All they have left literature wise is just the parts lists.

Seems also that my particular mower has been through a few upgrades over the years. Majority of it still runs the standard 11Hp setup however some parts have been changed to the 12Hp parts like hand brake for instance. The standard 11HP Anniversary model runs a park brake disc with notches in it. Mine runs the allow drum brake version which was standard on the 12HP but retrofitted to the 11HP after a certain month. Also things like the flanged bearings etc are different.

This is really doing my head in having to consult two different schematics for one mower!! Haha!

Okay, silly question. Has anyone replaced the drive axle bearings in this model without going through dealerships and buying genuine bearings?

I'm trying to work out what the bearing code is for these bearings so I can just order them from the bearing supplier so it'll be cheaper. Best I can work out so far is that the drive axle bearings are, and this is just in SKF brand, a YEL-205-2F bearing.

Anyone come across this??

Do you mean the bearings usually used on the clutch shaft, with the extended inner race with grub screws through it?

If so, these are known as the 'set screw mounted' bearing type. Yes, they are available through bearing specialists. NSK make a range of them, among others. You'll need to determine the type number, stamped on the edge of the outer race. Or go by the dimensions.

But unless you can get them at trade price, Greenfield may be OK on price, and certainly less mucking around.

You might find THIS Greenfield drive rebuild thread useful. The ODK online shop can supply the belts and probably the clutch cork facings - there are a couple of different sizes.

Gadge, I'm definitely going to have to replace all belts and the drive cork liners. Not much left there if any.

As for the bearings I'm pretty sure we get a better price than greenfield would get from our bearing suppliers. I don't know how but some of the discounts we get from some suppliers makes me wonder if they make any money of them at all!!

I've come across these bearings before through jobs at work. However I generally deal with larger, much larger bearings than 1" shafts! I was just hoping that someone had a bearing number I could cross check to make sure I had the right one.

Interestingly though is that the clutch shaft bearings operate the set screw mounting for its bearings yet the drive axle bearings use the eccentric collar method to locate the bearings inner race. Why use two types?! Doesn't make much sense to use the same bearing that allows for a certain amount of misalignment but change your actual clamping method! Strange.

Okay so update time.

So far it's only taken me a week, and that's been purely weekends and after work in the evenings to get some work done. I've stripped the entire mower down to pieces and I mean quite literally to the very last bolt. Nothing was left assembled.

I then went through the process of working out what was stuffed and what was salvageable. All bearings were replaced as they should be on a rebuild like this so axle, clutch and all idler pulleys were either replaced or refurbed.

All components from the base chassis to pitman arms, steering rods etc were hit with a needle gun to remove as much rust as possible and all parts were painted with a red oxide coating to ensure that even after final painting any surface that is unreachable is still protected from corrosion. All bolts were cleaned, threads inspected etc and either considered good or replaced. All bushes were done with the same.

I did run into a few problems however. Seems some moron who owned or repaired this mower at some stage prior to my Inlaws owning it decided it would be in the best interests to cut, and I mean quite literally cut, the support bracket that bolts the from beam axel on, off from the reduction pulley frame. This resulted, once all back together and free moving, an extreme and I mean extreme amount of flex in the entire front end which was noticeable right through to the steering. I couldn't leave it this way so I welded it all back on.

I also found the solid bar or tie rod between both front wheels to have nearly in excess of 20mm of free play in the bushes which would allow the two steer wheels to point in almost opposite directions. Rather than make a new bar and do all the bending and slotting of the old one I just found a nut the same size as the bolts that connect the bar to the spindles, drilled it through so it was a nice slightly oversize fit for this bolt and welded it to the bar as a form of bush which has now settled the steering problem.

I've replaced the drive corks on both forwards and reverse plates, selector bearing and also shimmed to remove as much slop out of the pedal as possible. I've also adjusted the tie rod for this too so I can wind it in to adjust in future for free play. I've test run the machine and it drives great but noticed that in reverse it make a hell of a noise because the shaft wasn't fully in the right position which allowed for the drive plate to smash into the selector fork support frame when reverse was selected. I adjusted the shaft but it continued to do this so I shaved about 5mm off the upper plate to allow plenty of clearance but still do its job right. I know not necessarily the right thing to do but there was no way around this as the amount of shim that were in the clutch was the minimum I could have without the thing driving itself with no neutral.

Anyway all this work has been done, next step is to tidy up the engine and electrics, engine runs great, need to tidy up all the old grease and dirt etc and give it a lick of paint, then rebuild the cutter deck and then panel beat the guards and respray. I'm waiting to hear back from Greenfield as to wether they have a sticker set for this or any of their mowers of wether I need to get them custom made. Also if anyone wants to know I used a Dulux Red Oxide primer for all parts and the base frame was painted with Dulux Metalshield Epoxy Enamel in gloss black and I'll be using the same for the exterior and deck also. A very easy one part paint to use, I don't use thinners to spray so it went on rather thick which allowed me to get enough paint into seams and panel joins to seal up to mitigate water ingress. Very happy with the results from this enamel paint. I would normally use a 2 pac paint like Dulux Durebuild for anything that's out in the weather or submerged but for an enamel this paint is pretty [Censored] close to what I expect of the Durebuild so far.

Anyway here's some pics. I didn't quite photograph the whole venture but I'm sure you get the idea.

An interesting project Sparky, and well worth-while if you are keeping the mower for your own use.

I didn't really follow what was wrong with the drive clutch mechanism causing you to turn some of the clutch plate off to get clearance, so I can't say there was a better way, but I hope there was: that is pretty desperate stuff.

Grumpy, It was a fairly desperate move i'll tell you!! To have to take a 5" grinder to something that should never change is definately desperate!

The problem was as the drive plates slid over to engage the forwards driven plate, the reverse drive plate on the backside, so the face that is on the selector bearing side, was smashing into the support frame for the selector fork. It still drove fine but it would just make this loud smashing noise which no one would put up with. If I removed or added anymore shims to the clutch pack it would have been far too sloppy on the pedal for anyones liking and the cork liners would have been engaged almost constantly and just prematurely wear down. I could have spun the drive plates up in the lathe but I really couldn't be bothered making a mandrel to suit the square shaft!!

Hopefully this picture shows you what I cut back. It hasn't and won't affect the structural integrity of anything so i'm not overly concerned that I had to cut it back.




So while i'm at it i'll do another quick update. I've got the engine 90% refurbished, a decent coat of paint in Dulux Metalsheild QD enamel in Signal Red. Looked the closest to an original B&S red that I could find. Just have the fuel tank straps and the starter motor to do and the engine is done. The plastic throwout gear on the starter motor is stripped badly so i'll have to chase a new one of those. Also when I was removing the covers on the engine to remove all the old wildlife and dirt from within I noticed the positive wire from the alternator/generator had deteriorated and been shorting out on the crankcase. So I removed the flywheel and the generator and repaired the wiring, cleaned and reassembled all of it. Also gave the generator a quick coat of Isonel Clear spray varnish just to give it that bit of extra protection on the coils.

I've now got the engine bolted back down onto the chassis and thats the last time it comes off!! Unless it fails or whatever. Fixed my handbrake after I found a few pics of some machines on here to see what was required. So hopefully tomorrow i'll attack some of the guards and get some new paint on those. I've stuck with the Dulux Metalshield Epoxy Enamel for the body and chosen Golden Yellow for the color. Seems to be the closest I can find to original color in that range. I emailed Greenfield to see if they had any stickers available at all to replace the important ones such as cutter in/out, E Brake etc but got given a rather rude response and told very bluntly no theres nothing. So i'll take photos of the ones that are left and see if I can get them made somewhere.

Anyway heres some photos. Enjoy.

I agree that if you haven't taken much off, it should do no harm, but it must be the result of wear or a missing part along that clutch axle, between the two disks.

That machine is coming along nicely: congratulations.

Fully agree with you Grumpy, you should never have to cut material off to allow things to clear. I did look into what parts had too much wear etc but couldnt easily track it down.

At this point I don't see why you couldn't just put spacers between the disks and the clutch thrust bearing, then back off the nuts on the ends of the shaft to suit. I don't see why that would affect size of the correct shim stacks, since it allows both plates of each clutch to move outward. No doubt Gadge will sort me out if I'm full of prunes on this.

True, but I'd exhausted all my shims taking up the slack.

I also believe that this support bracket for the drive idler pullers and the selector fork has also been repaired at some stage. So whoever repaired it welded on a price of steel larger than the original thus reducing the amount of clearance. I believe this is more the case than any sort of misalignment because the plate was actually welded on crooked not straight.

I noticed the crooked welding - it was the main reason I didn't feel badly about you grinding the sides of the bracket.

All good grumpy, good to throw other ideas out there as to what may have been the cause, makes me think about looking at other components but once I noticed the average crooked weld I knew what was wrong. I'm no expert welder but I can weld fairly straight so lead me to believe that it was a novice or a repair shop that didn't want to spend much time on it. The mower was originally bought by my I laws second hand for $800 from an agricultural dealership and I've seen this particular stores repair work first hand so I'm fairly certain they fixed it.

All that aside when I get home I'll reassemble the freshly painted guards and upload some more pictures for you all to see.

The nuts pull the inner races in the clutch pulley bearings hard against the drive shaft shoulders I think, grumpy. So it wouldn't just be a matter of backing the nuts off; shims between the shoulders and races would be needed. I'd say equal shim thickness on both sides would be necessary, too. Then the clutch discs would need to be shimmed, to suit the wider pulley spacing.

I think he feels he has his shim stacks right at this point Gadge, he just had the inner faces of both clutches hitting the clutch thrust bearing bracket on both sides. He ground away the bracket, which should be fine (it looks as if it had been modified, which seems to have caused the problem) but I'd suggested as an alternative, he could have left the shim stacks as they were, put spacers between the clutch thrust bearing and the clutch hubs on both sides, and just clamped up the nuts on that entire stack. The clutches would have been further away from each other, due to the spacers, but there should have been no change in the clutch clearances I think, because the shim stacks would not have been changed.

Yep, another 'previous tenant improvement' there. And the grinder was the appropriate solution.

Okay gents. Final assembly went ahead, had some dramas. Mainly the paint not sticking to the guards so had to strip the paint back and respray but it still hasn't fully adhered at this point. I'm not overly concerned. The paint will harden over time and it just makes it look like the age it is! Ha!

So now it's all back together, new second hand seat with a higher back so it's a lot more comfortable on those long rides! And it drives well, cuts great and works a treat. All in all it runs pretty good for an old duck whose sat in the paddock for the last ten years or so!

It looks a nice job now, and should be a very good mower, if other similar Greenfields are anything to go by. You seem to have been rather lucky that it had so few mechanical faults.

Believe me Grumpy, she had her mechanical faults. Not long after I posted my previous post the cutting deck jammed up. Turns out there wasn't enough clearance in the cutting deck pulley to clear the belt keeper on the deck and she stoved the pulley fair into the deck. So off the deck came and shim it up further so all cleared.

I will say one thing though. I'm used to driving hydrostatic type mower and this heel toe setup is very different. Good that I don't need to change any gears, just vary the pressure on the footplate but very different when I have to change my driving style!!

I've already had requests from the neighbours family to look at their ride ons now!!

If all goes well Sparky, at about this stage you understand that machine fairly well, and have tidied it up so the really annoying faults are gone. You can still get it working even better as you gain some actual experience with it and find the smaller faults that weren't even noticeable at first, but you've broken the back of the job.

Of course your neighbours would like you to make their old ride-ons look and work as well as yours, preferably for free. Is that a surprise?

Haha no not a surprise. It'll be a surprise to them when I breakdown the costs associated with rebuilding this one. Admittedly I didn't need to spend the amount I did on paint, but I always figured if you were going to rebuild something, make it look like it's been rebuilt!! And I never do things by halves or quarters!!

It also really wouldn't surprise me if the jnlaws put the hard word on me to swap it back and have their jonsered 16HP and give them back the greenfield. They loved that mower and have been keen as mustard to have a ride on it again!! Haha!

I'm not familiar with the Jonsered range, which I think may be sold under other brands as well? We have quite a few threads on Greenfields though, and it seems to me to be an excellent mower for simple straight-line mowing. If you are going to back and fill and manoeuvre around the rose gardens all day, you need something different of course, but more complicated machines with higher wear rates and more expensive parts are not the answer for simple jobs. On the other hand, in-laws are family, and they do seem to have given you the thing.

Good luck with finding a happy answer for everyone concerned.

Your right, they are sold under many names. Closest I can find to this is a Husqvana LT2216 I think. Twin deck, solid cutters not swing backs, steers good, hydrostatic 6 speed. Not a bad machine. But I know what she's been through. I have fond memories of a 4" galvanised pipe socket flying out the discharge chute one day and the ensueing speed wobbles from the blades once they were mangled to near irreparable!!

I wouldn't say no to the machine, but I'd definitely make them pay for all the parts spent on the greenfield if they did want to trade!

You could probably fix it fairly easily if you decided you would like to go hydrostatic. To me the main question is whether the transmission has been cooked, impacted, or worn out, because it isn't usually worthwhile fixing them if so: it is cheaper to scrap the machine and buy a used Greenfield for less than the cost of parts.

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.

I'll leave the subject of tips on assembling the clutches to Gadge. Graphite on the clutch facings probably will reduce any noise the clutches are making, but will not fix the cause. Because you only get squealing when going forwards, not backwards, it sounds as if it is more likely to be belt squeal than clutch noise. Greenfields are very prone to slipping their belts in forward but not reverse, if there is insufficient belt tension. There is an automatic belt tension adjuster built into the idler pulley right in front of the clutches, under the seat. That pulley is on a slide, with a spring pushing it forward and a ratchet to restrict it to only sliding forward, to tighten the belt. If it did not have the ratchet the pulley would be pulled backward, loosening the belt, whenever the mower is driving forward, and it wouldn't ever go anywhere. However all ratchets unavoidably have finite steps between engagement points, and they also have to move some distance backwards to achieve full pawl engagement. Both of these effects reduce belt tension. The Greenfield's fairly elementary ratchet mechanism also has considerable friction, partly because it uses a spring steel leaf as the pawl, and this exerts a fair amount of pressure on the ratchet rod. So, when you get belt slip in the forward direction from time to time, you need to remove the seat and lever the sliding pulley forward slightly, listening for a click from the ratchet as it moves forward a notch. A beady-eyed critic would say that in Greenfields, the automatic belt tensioner is more semi-automatic than fully automatic.

Thought that myself too grumpy with the belt tensioner. When I first got it, it never had the spring for the tensioner to begin with. Checked all of that, took the guards off. Hung off the ratchet until I was satisfied that my miniscule amount of weight had moved it as far as the belt would allow so I'm fairly certain it wasn't belt squeal. I'm thinking it may be more an issue of the corks or the drive plate having some slightly high spots.

Thanks for clarifying that Sparky. Putting graphite on clutch facings increases the required clamping pressure, but it does usually reduce the effects of high spots in the early stages of breaking in a new facing. I'd be reluctant to endorse it as an ongoing feature of your clutch, but for a break-in process, it makes sense to me.

Incidentally because you are pushing the tensioner pulley forward while standing behind the mower, the usual way to take up the belt tensioner ratchet is with a short lever applied to the pulley. I don't mean some six foot crowbar, which would damage the pulley, of course. One member reported some success with a size ten right foot, but he may be a rather meatier fellow than I am: I wouldn't expect much effect if I used my foot. Anyway, as long as you are pushing the pulley toward the front of the mower, with enough force to see the pulley move slightly along its slide and tend to stretch the belt, that is what is needed.

Hi sparky, squeal usually comes from a dry drive shaft, i know there's been lots of discussion on what to use on them, but i've only ever used the inox high temp bearing grease with no probs at all. make sure the shaft is smooth and square, no notches or chucks out of it, and most important , that the turned ends where the outer mounting bearings sit ,are not worn, if the grub screws come loose, they slide on the shaft and wear it down.......meaning the whole assy moves, which means building them up again or replacing the shaft. just a tip to , make sure you chamfer the inside edge of the small discs on each side of the inside square, this stops them catching on the shaft causing sticking. i wouldn't use graphite powder on the cork as i would think that would cause slipping, ?? and i would finish the drive faces with emery, you dont want to take to much off. doing it that way, you'll find the high spots arnt that high. shimming is most critical, and may take a couple of assemblies to get it right, and make sure the shims are in the right order or you get the problem of stuck/jammed springs that you mentioned, and as long as you get the last 'click' on the top pulley when you get it all back together, you should be right.......? cheers pete

If you would like another minus the engine, you are welcome to it. I'm on the Sunshine Coast. Some new parts.

I've owned a 21 Anniversary model for quite a few years. Bought it used and in excellent condition but now the replacement engine (TWM QPVS11) that it came with is starting to give in. Lots of smoke, lack of power. I'm considering just getting another newer used Greenfield but perhaps replacing the motor is cheaper and it is something I would be able to do.

The question is: what do I replace it with? What are my options here that would slot straight in? The current TWM needed one or two parts to be slightly modified, but nothing serious. Do I have to buy a B&S? Are there cheaper options?

Thanks for your help,

Oli

Thought I'd update this question of mine. I ended up lashing out on a B&S which works great. Pretty much bolted straight on without much fuss. The hardest part was working out what to do with the extra wires..... worked it out in the end :-)