OT: Self Propelled Mower pulls left...

[oldbike54]

Easy. Big walk behinds have pneumatics. <shrug>

 Rare beasts in the US . we buy riders for any yard thst takes more than ten minutes to mow 

 Dusty
 

[Muzz]

Rare beasts in the US . we buy riders for any yard thst takes more than ten minutes to mow 

 Dusty

 

Wot can I say. When I went to school I had to walk 15 miles and it was uphill both ways!

[oldbike54]

Wot can I say. When I went to school I had to walk 15 miles and it was uphill both ways!

 Barefoot , in snow up to your waist 

 Dusty

[GearheadGrrrl]

In my little town I'm about the only person who doesn't have a rider, and I don't have the smallest lot here. Like the suburbanite that buys a big pickup truck, riding mowers have become a status symbol or at least a symbol of our fitness status. When I first moved out here I left my Ranger pickup at my last place for a couple months, the locals took pity and were searching for a pickup for me...

[Muzz]

Barefoot , in snow up to your waist 

 Dusty

Now on our West Coast Dusty (Coasters are a breed all of their own) it was not snow, it was water, so they often went barefoot to school to keep the shoes dry. If it was cold they stood in a cow pat to warm their feet up.

In junior school (up to 12 years) I always went barefoot in summer, but shoes in winter. One rugby competition I remember our senior A and B teams playing each other in the finals. Boots came off and they played barefoot. I remember the ground commentator expressing amazement when a kick was slotted from the touchline by a guy in bare feet. We were tough back then, chewed up battleships and spat out nails. (we did come from a rather isolated community ) My own weekend task was to mow two large lawns with a 12" push mower.

[GearheadGrrrl]

Found the problem... The tech put the right side ratcheting drive gear on backwards! Reversed it and pulls as straight as a $400 lawnmower can. The tech has been given two days suspension without pay, but being as she wasn't getting paid anyways she isn't complaining! Day off to do a parade tomorrow, threshing show on sunday, then maybe reopen the shop for an overdue tire change on monday.

[yogidozer]

On a walk behind ???

 
 Just mow in circles ..


 Seriously , is it front wheel drive ?

  Dusty

A walk behind is still self propelled. Steering works off of braking one side or the other

[GearheadGrrrl]

No brakes on this low end model! The "differential" is the one way clutch pawls in the drive gears that allow one wheel to move faster than the other for a bit. Steering is by a long lever which also serves as a mount for the "dead man" switch and drive engagement lever.

[normzone]

Found the problem... The tech put the right side ratcheting drive gear on backwards! Reversed it and pulls as straight as a $400 lawnmower can. The tech has been given two days suspension without pay, but being as she wasn't getting paid anyways she isn't complaining! Day off to do a parade tomorrow, threshing show on sunday, then maybe reopen the shop for an overdue tire change on monday.

Then I'm going to file an application for closest correct answer. I will begin patting myself on the back and not cease until I am overuled, or lose interest, whichever comes first.

" Perhaps the breaking of the drive belt event had further ramifications than just the belt, and something in the black box that turns motion around the corner took a hit at the same time? "

[GearheadGrrrl]

OK, sounds like a strong contender for the honor. and what the heck, we already managed to milk this errant lawnmower
for 44 posts, lets keep it going!

[twowings]

Goats use a lot less fuel!

[yogidozer]

I don't think this mower is quite that sophisticated .

 Dusty

Only if you want to steer it, or is this a little 3.5 hp mower? I was thinking something like a Toro with a transmission & differential

[yogidozer]

OK, sounds like a strong contender for the honor. and what the heck, we already managed to milk this errant lawnmower
for 44 posts, lets keep it going!

It's because of the grass ;-)

[sib]

....I will begin patting myself on the back and not cease until I am overuled, or lose interest, whichever comes first.

Be careful you don't come down with a nasty case of Manager's Elbow, which you get from patting yourself on the back while covering your butt (credit to Dilbert).

[CalVin2007]

My mower has a weird one way dog clutch in each wheel made from monkey metal. One of mine is knackered so only drives one wheel instead of two
Might be worth a look

     In order to save norm from that nasty elbow malady I re-post the above. tris is the clear winner here....shame on you, norm. 

[GearheadGrrrl]

Pretty close, the Tech put one of those dog clutches on backwards and so it got power mostly only on that side (the right) and pulled to the left. Still trying to figure out how it can pull left when it's getting no drive on the right...

[Perazzimx14]

Rare beasts in the US . we buy riders for any yard thst takes more than ten minutes to mow 

 Dusty

Hell I bought a zero turn with a 48" deck to mow my total of 1/8th acre of grass. Then I showed the daughter how to run it. I haven't mowed grass in 4 years. One of best investments ever

[oldbike54]

Hell I bought a zero turn with a 48" deck to mow my total of 1/8th acre of grass. Then I showed the daughter how to run it. I haven't mowed grass in 4 years. One of best investments ever

 Good grief man , on 1/8th acre where do you store that beast ???

 Dusty

[GearheadGrrrl]

Or more like, where do you stuff them all when they crap out? The low end riders most people buy are thousand dollar throwaways that die soon after the warranty expires, then they sit in peoples sheds and garages forever in hopes they'll "get around" to fixing them someday. When I bought my small town home 6 years ago a dead rider was in the garage, I quickly determined it was beyond salvation and gave it to a neighbor who lusted after it. I was happy to help him drag it over to one of his garages and help push his Ford 601 tractor in behind it, 6 years later both are still there. At least it's in the garage- He's got a 1xx series Deere riding mower hiding in the tall grass outside and a handful of other dead or dying mowers and tractors scattered around. A few of my neighbors with an acre or more have invested in small diesel Kubota and Deere tractors that will outlive them, the rest just buy a new thousand dollar rider every few years and bury the old ones along with the rest of their throwaway junk in the garage and park their car outside. 

[GearheadGrrrl]

Why is it that every technical discussion thread devolves into the discussing the virtues(?) of goats? Over at tdiclub.com we had a megathread going on the VW TDI recall/buyback that devolved into a debate on whether a VW or Saab was the best vehicle for hauling goats...

[Muzz]

Hell I bought a zero turn with a 48" deck to mow my total of 1/8th acre of grass. Then I showed the daughter how to run it. I haven't mowed grass in 4 years. One of best investments ever

We have a 60" ride on (triple cutters) to cut the grass at our family bach. 16hp. Probably a bit down on hp but I can tell you a % foot deck quickly makes a hole in any lawn.

[Perazzimx14]

Or more like, where do you stuff them all when they crap out? The low end riders most people buy are thousand dollar throwaways that die soon after the warranty expires, then they sit in peoples sheds and garages forever in hopes they'll "get around" to fixing them someday. When I bought my small town home 6 years ago a dead rider was in the garage, I quickly determined it was beyond salvation and gave it to a neighbor who lusted after it. I was happy to help him drag it over to one of his garages and help push his Ford 601 tractor in behind it, 6 years later both are still there. At least it's in the garage- He's got a 1xx series Deere riding mower hiding in the tall grass outside and a handful of other dead or dying mowers and tractors scattered around. A few of my neighbors with an acre or more have invested in small diesel Kubota and Deere tractors that will outlive them, the rest just buy a new thousand dollar rider every few years and bury the old ones along with the rest of their throwaway junk in the garage and park their car outside.

I originally had a MTD mower from Wally World 1993 . Use it for 14 years and in all that time it took one deck belt and a couple batteries. My brother is still using it 4 years later. Damn cheap junk will probably only last 25 years or so.

[Two Checks]

MTDs are nowhere near the mower they used to be. A friend owns a repair shop and cringes every time he sees one. When the customer hears the repair estimate they cringe.

[LaMojo]

I also brought a MTD - 42" cut, with bag attachment from Sam's Club 1993. $1800.  Mowed a 3 acre yard about every two weeks from spring to the end of November.  Engine finally seized about a month ago.  Plenty of oil in motor.  I'll take it (18hp B & S) apart this winter and see what the problem is.

[Sasquatch Jim]

Wot can I say. When I went to school I had to walk 15 miles and it was uphill both ways!

 It was like that where I grew up too except it was against the wind also.

[Two Checks]

That mower is aout the same price today.
How do ya think they held the price point?

[Penderic]

There is a nice 50 dollar mower down at Mr. Haneys' Used Auto Mart....




Act now! Operators are standing by.


Thats right, it mulches at no extra charge!

[Two Checks]

And it fertilizes, too!

Is that a Hoyt-Clagwell?  (Which, BTW was actually a Ford)

[rodekyll]

Found the problem... The tech put the right side ratcheting drive gear on backwards! Reversed it and pulls as straight as a $400 lawnmower can. The tech has been given two days suspension without pay, but being as she wasn't getting paid anyways she isn't complaining! Day off to do a parade tomorrow, threshing show on sunday, then maybe reopen the shop for an overdue tire change on monday.

Suspended?  I'd fire her sorry self!  No excuse for that.  As the owner of a one-man business, I understood the need to be ruthless with those lazy, incompetent drones -- beat them daily and fire them regularly. 

My first mechanical project was a riding lawnmower that I mowed the guy's lawn all summer to buy and repair.  I tossed the blades and extra metal and made a go-kart out of it.  It had high and low ranges and 4 or 5 speeds in any direction.  It started like an ice cream mill -- you wound up a big spring for about 20revs and pulled a lever to release it and spin the motor.  I was about 9 and got a whole new vocabulary out of the experience.  No -- not THOSE words.  Words like "head gasket" "compression" and "magneto".