The riding mower broke yesterday, so I had to survey the damage, and figure out what happened. This is what happened.
The repair was a $50 idler pulley, more sweat than I like, and about an hour of pulling wrenches. It should have been a lesser amount of time, but the learning curve demanded more time. I live and I learn. I'll change the pulley in about two years just to make sure this doesn't happen again. Hopefully it doesn't.
Oh Boy do I feel ya right now.
ReplyDeleteI literally just came in the house from changing the drive and deck belts on my riding lawnmower, plus the little cable assembly that engages the blades.
At 64 1/2 years of age and after a lifetime of turning wrenches, I am ready to say that I'm getting too old for that shit. Laying on my back in the driveway was brutal.
I did find all the parts I needed on Amazon though. You would be surprised at the selection they have.
Phil @ Bustednuckles.com
We have a local small engine shop that carries just about everything for my deck and at prices below Amazon.
DeleteI'm lucky because my brother-in-law has an overhead hoist, so I can lift the mower up, and down, where needed. The worst part was the long bolt holding the idler, and tensioner assembly would fall out, and I couldn't reach both to start the nut. I used a hydraulic jack, with a board, jamb the bolt from underneath, which allowed me to start the nut and finish the assembly.
Yeah,, this gettin old shit is getting old. I just did the bearings on all three shafts. Only took around four hours to put it together. Probably an hours worth of work. IF I manage to keep making a shadow, I'll be 70 in December and I'll be the oldest man of any in my family. None of them made it to 70.. So they never knew the joy of getting on the floor only to realize the socket is on the work bench.. Aaargghhh.
ReplyDeleteI'm the last of my nuclear family. I turned 68 the other day.
DeleteI had to change a spindle for a blade last week. The cheap steel used didn't hold the thread, so when replacing the blade, the threads sheared.
At least it was fixable and the part was available. These days you can't count on either of those things anymore.
ReplyDeleteI see the same type of mower in many places. I'm hoping the popularity will last, and the parts available for a long time. The mower is 4 years old, and the heavy duty deck is showing no signs of giving up.
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