Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. Not sure how everything works here so bear with me. I have aquired a Rover Colt without a build plate on it so I dont know much about it's history.
This is what I know.
The front tyres have been changed with a new tube in one of them. Unfortunately tube has straight valve stem. The Motor has been replaced with a 6hp Tecumseh with its own list of problems. The seat was remade by some railroad engineer. The gearbox pulley belt has been replaced with a ribbed bosch belt. 2 of the 4 cutting blades have been replaced with bent up backs like on a traditional mower.
This is what I've done.
I have cut out the big holes of rust in the deck and welded a new piece of steel in. I've given it a green spray job after my love of the SB cylinder mower to prevent further rust. I've modified the front suspension to stop the front wheels from rubbing on the guards when turning. I"ve pulled open the Foote 35 Gearbox to check it's condition.
These are my questions. (I'm from Brisbane QLD so bear in mind if recommending suppliers.)
What spec tyres/tubes do they use on these and where do you get them. What spec v Belts should they have/where to get them. What size/diameter wheels should they be on the deck and where to get them. Should the cutting blades be all flat or should they have bent up backs like normal mowers/where to get them. Once I clean out all the old grease from the gearbox, how do I repack it with grease? I can't find an explanation anywhere. From reading the forums I'm told to use the Penright 00 fluid grease and about half a tube but what's the best way to get it into the gearbox and where do i want to put it? Is it normal to feel more rolling resistance on full lock when moving the mower by hand. The more I turn the wheels, the harder it is to push or pull. And finally, What the hell is the difference between the Colt Major and the Colt Minor apart from the 5 and 4HP engines?
Here are some images to get you interested. Thanks in advance for any help.
My best guess is that this is a Model 7110 or 7113. The former had a 10 Series Briggs; the latter a 13 Series Briggs. These were named as the Colt Minor and the Colt Major.
This is an early model Colt (but not the earliest model).
Note the steel seat base. This means that the seat, itself, was foam bolstered and with a red-coloured synthetic cover. This would be first half of the 1970s.
It is normal to find more resistance when turning, as these machines dont have a differential, so one wheel has to slip when you turn.
Cutting blades traditionally fitted to all early ride ons are usually 1 pair of flat blades and one pair of fluted (bent up) blades.
Wheels on the deck as bruce has said are the standard 6" rover type, fitted to the front of all their early push mowers.
Tubes & tyres are as bruce posted 2.50-6, you want bent stem tubes, I would recommend leaving the original tyres as they look better than the modern ones, unless they are really bad. You should find tubes at any mower shop.
I have only ever used just plain old grease in all my foote gearboxes, biggest problem is they were never designed to hold oil, so you will find if you use a liquid based lube it will gradually leak out. this also means if you wash it a bit too thoroughly water will get into them and ruin you're grease. They aren't exactly a state of art piece of engineering like a car gearbox. Just make sure you put plenty onto the bearings as you assemble it, and I generally just pack as much as you can into and around the gears as you put it together.
Thanks Bruce - Will check out the links in detail. Thanks Jack - So the Minor and Major were identical but had a different series of engine with the option of a 4 or 5HP in either series? Still a little confused on the difference. I guess I'm trying to find out if there is any way to tell what mine is based on its physical appearance or is it impossible without the build plate and knowledge of the orignal powerplant. Thanks Nath - So the resistance is what I suspected and not a fault in the chassis/wheels somewhere. Most of the Colts I've seen seem to have flat blades with no fluted ones. What is/was the reason for using this combination? As for the grease, I was going to give the Penrite 00 Fluid Grease a go since its only $16 a tube from the local Repco store and monitor any leakage. I can also get a Castrol Spheerol HTB 2 Grease Cartridge which I was reading someone else recommending. The castrol is a NLGI 2 though and I thought this might be too thick for the application. Any thoughts?
The 00 grease is the way to go if you can keep it in. The problem with normal grease on gears is that it gets flung off and won't return till it gets hot enough to melt it. The Indians when they started building Enfields in the sixties started using 00 grease in the gearboxes because they couldn't keep the oil in them. Fitting sealed bearing in those gearboxes solved the problem and you can keep oil in them.
Here I use the 00 grease for the Peerless gearboxes and the MTD single speed transaxles with only minor seepage pass the bronze bushings. Anyway you want a little seepage at the bushings to keep them lubed. Yes there will a little separation of the oil in the grease but that is to be expected.
G'day folks, For this application, the Penrite 00 grade semi-fluid grease is the way to go.
Not that other makers' 00 grade EP greases are any less suitable, just that the minimum pack size is 2.5kg for other brands.
Castrol Spheerol HTB2 is totally unsuited to use in gearboxes; it's a non-melting formulation, intended for tapered roller bearings that are subjected to high temperatures, e.g. wheel bearings of cars with disc brakes.
I use a round-ended flat spatula to pack grease into this sort of unit, as it's easier to wipe clean than an old spoon would be. It's just a ~150mm long piece of old power hacksaw blade, with the teeth ground off and one end ground to a rounded profile. The other end is ground straight across, for use as a gasket scraper. If you get a 450g grease cartridge, use a spatula that will fit into the cartridge.
Cheers, Gadge
"ODK Mods can explain it to you, but they can't understand it for you..."
"Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated - but there is no cure for stupid..."
I got me some 00 Grease as suggested and packed it in and around the bushes and gears. The picture I took with the grease was when I had just started to pack it in so I put in more than you see here. I'm now finding that its not going into forward and reverse as easily as it used to. Sometimes it shifts cleanly into place but most of the time it wont click in until there is some slight movement (either forward or reverse) of the gearbox. It cant be through lack of lubrication so I was thinking that the 2 halves might not be aligned properly as they have some play when doing up the 6 bolts. Is there some foolproof method for putting the box back together or is there something else I'm missing. I've also attached a pic of the seepage. Would you consider this normal.
Are you able to tell me why they used to use a fluted and flat pair of blades on the early rideons? What was the purpose? Also, Do you know what the early brake pads were made out of (Im hoping not Asbestos)? Any tips for changing them? I ran over the chain that anchors the deck to the chassis during a test run. I may have to replace the entire chain or some links. How do I know what length of chain I need to use. Thanks.
If you are still in need of info, Fluted and flat is kind of a sweet spot for the deck setup, you want some wind to throw the grass but not too much it blocks up the deck, if that makes sense? you can fit 4 fluted if you intended to catch or 4 flat if you only wanted to slash/mulch.
Brake pads are fibrous, couldn't tell you what they are made of.. that one looks fine? but they should only be held on by 2 pop rivets,
The chain is only there so if you lift it up to say load it onto a trailer, it wont droop right down and be a nuisance. just make it long enough so it is loose at the lowest cutting level. it isn't really even necessary most of the time.
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