First Run Video

After bodging the suspension I installed the brake and the drive chain.   The engine would not start because the kill switch was shorting.  A friend helped find that.  It is nice to have a 2nd pair of hands and eyes.

At any rate here is the video.  The neighborhood kids are guest stars in this video in that they were helping their mom trim trees while I was shooting.

What next?  I am planning on having the seat recovered.   Need to get the vibrating mechanism put but together etc.   No rush on any of it.

Replacing the Front Drum

The drum is not as heavy as it looks.  Popped it up into the bucket with no problem.











Used the loader to slide the drum under the body.

Pushed it about 1/3 of the way and it snagged the body pushing it about 6 inches in the front,

Repositioning the drum and tractor once was enough.

Drum all the way in and the flex mount bolted to the body.

Longer view.

This is the 'repaired' flex mount from the driven side.  It will be used on the non driven side because it is easier to get to if it fails again.   Note the red loctite in 3 of the 4 threaded holes holding it together.  The 4th hole has a lock washer and nut.

Greased the axle and slid the flex mount in place.

Bolted the flex mount support in place.  Only the 3 bolts that hold the flex plate to it are left.

Flex Mount Bodge

I am calling this a bodge rather than an repair in that I do not know how long it will last.

Two 3/8" bolts installed from the back and threaded into tapped holes in the top plate

Drilling the 4th hole.

There is a broken off grease zerk at the position indicated by the arrow.  We flipped the rubber disk over so that zerk will not be at the top.  It looks like I will have to remove a 9 bolts to grease it.

I am swapping the left and right flex mount this will allow access to the bodged one without pulling the front drum.

Front Drum Inspection and Removal (part 3)

Yesterday with the help of a friend we removed the front drum.  It would be more accurate to say we removed the rest of the machine from the drum.








After removing the brake band and blocks we used a forklift to raise the machine slightly and slide it sideways off the drum.

The good news is that although the flex mount on the bearing is separated from the backing plate but it may be useable.  Thinking of welding a cage around it to hold it in place

One the left is the good flex mount and the broken one on one right.  The backing plate for the broken on is still on the machine.