OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames Victa Imperial - Clutch Problems

Hi is there a operators manual for the victa imperial 125 I have just bought one, it runs but am having trouble getting it to engage drive I'm new to reel mowers have always had the four stroke push mowers until now. growing up dad had a Suffolk punch that worked really well and was self propelled. and since having back surgery it has been getting harder and harder to push the mower all over so I thought i would give the reel mower ago. engine runs fine the clutch allows the drum to move freely but when disengaged the drive doesn't engage I only got it tonight and just had a quick look fired it up but couldn't get it to engage the drive am I missing something ?. please excuse my naivety on this any help greatly appreciated
regards Karl

Which clutch isnt working? There is one on the engine that engages the reel when you rev it up then ( on mine) you squeeze the handle when you don't want it to drive, slowing the engine down stops the drive and reel

Joe, that sounds as if the centrifugal clutch is in the engine output shaft, so it starts and stops both the reel, and the drum drive upstream of the drum clutch? If that is correct, drum drive is only available when the engine is running fast enough to engage the reel (cutter).

So, is the reel spinning when you can't get it to propell itself? If the reel is not spinning, the drum drive will not work until you rev the engine up a bit more and make it spin. Then the drum drive should engage. If the reel stops when you try to engage the drum drive, the centrifugal clutch is not fully engaged and you need more engine speed. If the reel won't run even when you rev the engine, there is a problem with the centrifugal clutch that is in line with the engine's output shaft.If the reel is spinning but the drum doesn't drive, then you are having some kind of a problem with the drum clutch or its manual control on the handlebar.

To go further with this, we need to know the results of those tests.

Thats exactly what I was getting at Grumpy

Thanks guys
got some time to have a good look today fired it up and put the revs up high no drive or cutter spinning, then noticed smoke coming from the centrifugal clutch turned it of with difficulty lol! will have to ajust the throttle I think, unfastened the motor and moved it to one side so I could see the clutch looks like it works similar to drum brakes and the pads look worn and were very shiny almost like they had something on them like wax or something tried to scrape it of but it didn't want to come of. Can you get new pads if so how are they fitted if not can mine be adjusted.
Thank you again
regards Karl

The shiny friction shoes/pads are glazed, karl, due to slipping at high speed, which overheats them. That could either be because they are worn out (or the centifugal clutch mechanism is stuck or has run out of movement range), or because the cutter or drum is seized up and refuses to rotate. First, see if you can rotate the reel (cutter) easily with your fingers. Then see if the mower will roll forward on the drum. Finally, see if you can move the centrifugal weights (usually part of the shoes) out (they are held back by springs) further than is required for engagement of the shoes with the drum. Just look at the mechanism and see if it moves properly.

I haven't seen a drawing of the centrifugal clutch, so that is as far as I can get at this stage. The engine speed should be controlled by the normal Victa governor.

Hi grumpy
On further inspection and a bit of testing it would seem that the cutter is jammed in some way as it is quite hard to turn

That means there was hopefully nothing wrong with your clutch, karl, though it won't be happy about slipping a lot and getting glazed. The reel should not touch the bedknife (or only touch it with approximately the force of butterfly wings). I suspect what may have happened here is the reel has been adjusted to contact the bedknife fairly solidly (naughty, naughty) and then the mower has been out of service for a while and the reel blades and bedknife have both developed a coating of rust, which has jammed it up fairly severely. I suggest you oil the bedknife then rotate the reel just a few turns by hand, wearing a glove, to see if it frees up. Chances are it won't, and you'll have to adjust the clearance, which is something of a black art, so it is worth at least checking to see if it will come free.

Hi grumpy
Just had a look and the clearance from the bed knife is if anything too big, I removed some parts today to try see what the problem with the cutter is, but was unable to undo the cogs attached to the cutter is there some trick to this ? It looks like the previous owner ran over some nylon string cause at one end I can see it still jammed in there I tried to get it out but it just breaks so only very small strands come out, that's why I wanted to remove the cutter. I could remove the string and check the assembly to see if there is any other problems and at the same time while it is of the mower I could have it sharpened save having to dismantle it later.
Again Thank you for your time it is very much appreciated
Regards Karl

Karl, there is an illustrated parts list for the Imperial in the manuals section of this site (subscription required). Here are a couple of excerpts from it:



The parts in the box on the right of the diagram are only for the 24" HD model.

I do not have enough information from this to see how you take the mower apart, but it shows us what the parts are, and gives their names. It looks as if you have to remove the sprocket (68) and then remove the reel complete with its bearings in their housings (60 & 61). If you post some pictures of the sprocket, and the bearing housings, we may be able to see how to remove the reel.

Thank you
Good news I managed to free up the cutter a good couple of hours perseverance with a set of long nose pliers and tweezers I managed to get all the nylon removed, I was amazed at how much was in there. So I put it all back together adjusted the blades to within a whisker of the bed knife fired it up and it worked first go. Just have to try and get the carby adjusted so when I take it all way of throttle it will cut out so far I've had some trouble adjusting it, it doesn't seem to stay at the setting, I had it so with the throttle of it was at low idle I gave the mower a go over some lawn and when I went to put it back to idle it went a bit nuts lol! I had to block the air filter to cut the engine. Powerful little motor I was nearly having to run behind it lol! being new to these mowers a bit of practice is needed I think. Still a bargain at eighty dollars

All your help and advice has been greatly appreciated
P.s is it possible to get replacement parts for these mowers ? I think the muffler has seen better days and could do with replacing

Kind regards Karl

karl, I think two stroke engines don't mix well with centrifugal clutches and the consequent need for slow, stable idle speeds.

If you post pictures of your engine and its muffler, the Victa 2 stroke experts should be able to tell you whether there is some standard muffler that will fit.

A History Record is now available for the Victa Imperial.
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=72511


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