Well I could not install the new drive belt. It takes a special tool to get the drive pulley off the engine. There were three pieces of metal that kept the belt in place on the engine pulley. So one has to remove the engine pulley. If I had a air ratchet it would have been a piece of cake to remove the pulley but alas I did not have the tool so I kept the old belt on the machine. May have to visit Harbor Freight and get a cheapo air ratchet aka pneumatic driven wrench. I have the air compressor so I can power the wrench but I do not have the wrench.
I did make a run with the new spindle and the mower is almost silent. Well it was quiet and did not make a lot of noise. The most noise came from the engine as it should. So things are back to normal.
One thing I did was really pack the grease into the new spindle as well as the other old one. I must have put 8 or 9 pumps off the old grease gun. Now I know the bearings have lots of grease in them and the potential for failure goes down. The lower bearing, the one that failed, has one open face that faces upward. So the extra grease will be there to keep it lubed up. The old spindle seemed to have grease but apparently not enough of it to keep the bearing from failing. My opinion is that the design is such that the lower bearing is doomed for failure because there is not enough grease getting to the bearing.
And the mower is ready to go again. Just needs to gassed up and I am off and cutting.
Another comment. I bought the new spindle for $23 and change. I was shipped in two days and the shipping was free. That is Amazon Prime for you. But I noted I could have gotten the replacement bearings and installed them in the old spindle. But the difference in price was negligible and I did not have do the bearing installation job. So it made sense to get the new spindle. Another one of those marketing issues. So less work and same money.
Another successful job done.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
John Deere Spindle . . .
The spindle was delivered on Memorial Day, amazing to me but then it is Amazon, right.
I installed the replacement spindle. It looked right, it fit but it was a fight to get the old retention bolts to work. It appears the threads in the new spindle were just a tad undersized. So it was fight to get the bolts started but "I got er done." Now with tearing up one knuckle and opening another tear on the top of my hand thus a little blood spilt it is finished. Band aids and Neosporin took care of that. And the tight fit means nothing is going to come loose.
Since I had the deck off I thought I would replace the drive belt on the tractor. So off to Home Depot to get a new belt and some other stuff we could not live without. It was Memorial Day and there was a army of people swamping the aisles of Home Depot buying every thing in the world. We did find what we want but no drive belt. We were told the only people who had that in stock was the John Deere dealer.
I find that ridiculous. It is just a belt. It is of a certain size, etc. and should be available at any hardware store that stocks belts. But we do have a brand spanking new John Deere dealer so I know they will have it in stock. It is a common item for a number of models of their lawn tractors.
I get really fed up with marketing that tries to BS the customer. For instance, I replace the oil filter annually on the tractor. The John Deere oil filter goes for about $14, the Briggs and Straton oil filter (really the same item in a different package) goes for about $12. The Fram equivalent oil filter goes for about $7 and guess what the Walmart brand filter, an equivalent unit sells for $3.45. Give me a break, this is silly. Profit upon profit for essentially the same equivalent item. It is even getting hard to find cross reference for the filters, they are all trying to hide the simply known facts to make more money. I would not be surprised to find out the same manufacturer made all of them, with different numbers and paint colors but the innards are identical. John Deere will not generally provide a parts breakdown for their tractors. The good news there are dealers on line that do provide the data and sell the parts (cheaper but one has to wait for delivery). Dealers are counting on ignorance and the urgent for instant service.
Well in a fit of timeliness, I will get the belt from John Deere. The old one is 9 years old so I thought while it is available and open, get it done. Preventive maintenance was something I learned in the USAF, it pays off.
Any way I have some hot work to do putting the mower back together again. Got to rehang the mower deck on the tractor. Not hard to do, just a space and weight issue. The deck must weight 60 or 70 pounds. Drag it around and hooking it up will be a hot job in the sun. But once in every 9 years, well that is not so bad.
I'll soon be cutting grass again.
I installed the replacement spindle. It looked right, it fit but it was a fight to get the old retention bolts to work. It appears the threads in the new spindle were just a tad undersized. So it was fight to get the bolts started but "I got er done." Now with tearing up one knuckle and opening another tear on the top of my hand thus a little blood spilt it is finished. Band aids and Neosporin took care of that. And the tight fit means nothing is going to come loose.
Since I had the deck off I thought I would replace the drive belt on the tractor. So off to Home Depot to get a new belt and some other stuff we could not live without. It was Memorial Day and there was a army of people swamping the aisles of Home Depot buying every thing in the world. We did find what we want but no drive belt. We were told the only people who had that in stock was the John Deere dealer.
I find that ridiculous. It is just a belt. It is of a certain size, etc. and should be available at any hardware store that stocks belts. But we do have a brand spanking new John Deere dealer so I know they will have it in stock. It is a common item for a number of models of their lawn tractors.
I get really fed up with marketing that tries to BS the customer. For instance, I replace the oil filter annually on the tractor. The John Deere oil filter goes for about $14, the Briggs and Straton oil filter (really the same item in a different package) goes for about $12. The Fram equivalent oil filter goes for about $7 and guess what the Walmart brand filter, an equivalent unit sells for $3.45. Give me a break, this is silly. Profit upon profit for essentially the same equivalent item. It is even getting hard to find cross reference for the filters, they are all trying to hide the simply known facts to make more money. I would not be surprised to find out the same manufacturer made all of them, with different numbers and paint colors but the innards are identical. John Deere will not generally provide a parts breakdown for their tractors. The good news there are dealers on line that do provide the data and sell the parts (cheaper but one has to wait for delivery). Dealers are counting on ignorance and the urgent for instant service.
Well in a fit of timeliness, I will get the belt from John Deere. The old one is 9 years old so I thought while it is available and open, get it done. Preventive maintenance was something I learned in the USAF, it pays off.
Any way I have some hot work to do putting the mower back together again. Got to rehang the mower deck on the tractor. Not hard to do, just a space and weight issue. The deck must weight 60 or 70 pounds. Drag it around and hooking it up will be a hot job in the sun. But once in every 9 years, well that is not so bad.
I'll soon be cutting grass again.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Windows 10 Pro Version 1803.
Beware of down loading the update of Windows 10 or Windows 10 Pro to install version 1803. It has bugs. I ruined not one but two of my computers. As a result I had to get a new computer, actually I got two of them.
The first was a HP cheapo from Walmart. I has a small key pad, 14 inch screen and solid state hard drive (means not much space). But it was about a $100 cheaper than a 9 inch screen Samsung tablet and comes with Windows and some other bundled software. It gave access again to the internet and that is where I learned version 1803 was screwing computer after computer and Microsoft has been very blaze' about it all.
When I called Microsoft they said Windows would not run on my Dell Inspiron 530. I knew that was BS because my good old Inspiron has been running Windows 10 Pro since the software became available.
But that led me to my second computer purchase. I got from a Walmart source (actually a Walmart contractor) a Dell OptiPlex 790 with Windows 10 Pro on it, Intel i5 CPU, 8 Gigs of RAM, 2 Terabyte hard disk and a optical disk (aka DVD read/writer) shipped to me for the princely sum of $207.
I got that computer, hooked it up and it was DOA. Called the techs and they said probably a memory stick was dislodged. Sent me a link to a YouTube video that showed how to get into the computer. It is neat, no screws, it all snaps together and plugs in to its various cables. So sure enough, I opened up the case (no screws just a big latch), followed the video instructions and reseated the memory sticks. I actually moved them around and reinstalled them. Closed up the computer and powered it up and it is running like a champ.
This machine is much faster than my old reliable Dell Inspiron. I dislike the compact design but for the price it is worth it all. The computer came with a host of bundle software, some is open source and some is not.
I am typing on it now. I had to go get all my old addresses and plug all that in. But it is mostly back in operation.
Now I have to go fix my old lap top, it is about three years old, not used much except on trips. But I checked in with a computer shop in town and got a colossal load of BS. They said it was a bad hard disk. I already knew about the Microsoft fiasco regarding version 1803. I am sure more will come out and I expect a big class action suit to transpire.
The first was a HP cheapo from Walmart. I has a small key pad, 14 inch screen and solid state hard drive (means not much space). But it was about a $100 cheaper than a 9 inch screen Samsung tablet and comes with Windows and some other bundled software. It gave access again to the internet and that is where I learned version 1803 was screwing computer after computer and Microsoft has been very blaze' about it all.
When I called Microsoft they said Windows would not run on my Dell Inspiron 530. I knew that was BS because my good old Inspiron has been running Windows 10 Pro since the software became available.
But that led me to my second computer purchase. I got from a Walmart source (actually a Walmart contractor) a Dell OptiPlex 790 with Windows 10 Pro on it, Intel i5 CPU, 8 Gigs of RAM, 2 Terabyte hard disk and a optical disk (aka DVD read/writer) shipped to me for the princely sum of $207.
I got that computer, hooked it up and it was DOA. Called the techs and they said probably a memory stick was dislodged. Sent me a link to a YouTube video that showed how to get into the computer. It is neat, no screws, it all snaps together and plugs in to its various cables. So sure enough, I opened up the case (no screws just a big latch), followed the video instructions and reseated the memory sticks. I actually moved them around and reinstalled them. Closed up the computer and powered it up and it is running like a champ.
This machine is much faster than my old reliable Dell Inspiron. I dislike the compact design but for the price it is worth it all. The computer came with a host of bundle software, some is open source and some is not.
I am typing on it now. I had to go get all my old addresses and plug all that in. But it is mostly back in operation.
Now I have to go fix my old lap top, it is about three years old, not used much except on trips. But I checked in with a computer shop in town and got a colossal load of BS. They said it was a bad hard disk. I already knew about the Microsoft fiasco regarding version 1803. I am sure more will come out and I expect a big class action suit to transpire.
John Deere Tractor
Today is the hottest day in the year so far. I started out to cut the grass. First I edged. And it was still relatively cool then.
Then I fired up the John Deere lawn tractor and began cutting grass. As usual for some time now a lot of deck vibration. But everything was working. Just about finished cutting the entire front lawn, really not much but . . . And then the vibrations got really bad.
I knew then that I had ball bearing failure in one of the mower deck blade spindles. A spindle has a large pulley on top, a disk that the mower belt loops through. On the bottom of the spindle is the grass cutting blade. The spindle bolts on to the mower deck.
I pulled up in front of the garage and grabbed my grease gun and gave both spindles a shot of grease. That really did not make much difference. I pressed on and cut most of the rear yard and pulled up in front of the garage.
I got out the old instruction book and sure enough it gave instructions on how to take the mower deck off. I got that done pretty quick, though had to take a cooling off break as I was sweating like a stuck pig. Hot day, remember.
I parked the tractor in its spot in the garage and move the mower deck over to some shade. Sure enough one of the spindles was bad. I removed the bad spindle and took it apart thinking I would just replace the bearings. I found some pretty bad wear on the internal spacer so I elected to get a new spindle complete with bearings.
I found one on Amazon Prime for $24 shipped in two days Well I do not care if it comes in one day or three days, I do not have to cut the grass for a while yet. I have at lease a week before that comes due. I ordered up the spindle and will in the mean time sharpen the blades and grease up the remaining good spindle.
It will be another sweat job to get the mower deck back on but it is not to bad of job. It looks pretty simple as I took it off. All the work is close to the ground and that is an irritant but cheaper than taking the deck to the John Deere place to do the work. It is after all something I can do.
And the beat goes on.
Then I fired up the John Deere lawn tractor and began cutting grass. As usual for some time now a lot of deck vibration. But everything was working. Just about finished cutting the entire front lawn, really not much but . . . And then the vibrations got really bad.
I knew then that I had ball bearing failure in one of the mower deck blade spindles. A spindle has a large pulley on top, a disk that the mower belt loops through. On the bottom of the spindle is the grass cutting blade. The spindle bolts on to the mower deck.
I pulled up in front of the garage and grabbed my grease gun and gave both spindles a shot of grease. That really did not make much difference. I pressed on and cut most of the rear yard and pulled up in front of the garage.
I got out the old instruction book and sure enough it gave instructions on how to take the mower deck off. I got that done pretty quick, though had to take a cooling off break as I was sweating like a stuck pig. Hot day, remember.
I parked the tractor in its spot in the garage and move the mower deck over to some shade. Sure enough one of the spindles was bad. I removed the bad spindle and took it apart thinking I would just replace the bearings. I found some pretty bad wear on the internal spacer so I elected to get a new spindle complete with bearings.
I found one on Amazon Prime for $24 shipped in two days Well I do not care if it comes in one day or three days, I do not have to cut the grass for a while yet. I have at lease a week before that comes due. I ordered up the spindle and will in the mean time sharpen the blades and grease up the remaining good spindle.
It will be another sweat job to get the mower deck back on but it is not to bad of job. It looks pretty simple as I took it off. All the work is close to the ground and that is an irritant but cheaper than taking the deck to the John Deere place to do the work. It is after all something I can do.
And the beat goes on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)