what's your 3pt mower sound like?

[coachgeo]

Never truly having a 3pt mower I'm not sure what is normal. Had once an ATV pull behind Bush Hog like mower with it's own engine. My new to me RM59 mower does have similar sound to that.... which is..... best I can describe it almost like lightly grinding brakes.

 

[hodge]

I have an RM59, and it is smooth as butter. The only thing I hear is the blades whipping through the air. You need to pull the covers off and check the belt paths, the u-joints in the driveshaft, and the spindles. My money is on bad spindles. Again, your RM should not be making a grinding noise- that isn't normal.

 

[coachgeo]

I think it is normal but I do plan to lube it all better. The wosh itself if I remember my old bush hog too sounded little gridy if one was to make a sound comparison to something else folk might be familiar with.

 

[hodge]

I ask this respectfully- if you think it is normal, why did you ask? Again, mine makes no grinding sound at all, and any mower that I've ever heard with grinding sounds had an issue. If your mower is making sounds like "lightly grinding brakes", I wouldn't just assume it is ok. It is cheaper to replace bad bearings than scored and buggered spindle shafts.

 

[Daren Todd]

Sounds like the mower needs a good greasing and oil change on the gear box both my rotary cutter and finish mower are nice and quiet. The only noise I hear is the hum from the blades spinning. The only other noise I'll hear is from what ever the rotary cutter is chopping up, or the bang, bang, bang, if I found something I shouldn't have

 

[coachgeo]

RM59 is old style. No gear box. Just belts. The PTO shaft attaches to a pulley mounted on the tractor and belts come of it and drive everything else.

 

[coachgeo]

... I wouldn't just assume it is ok. It is cheaper to replace bad bearings than scored and buggered spindle shafts.

[Yoda voice on]not assume it is[/voice off] .

It's old and why I'm diving into this little further. Figured if I was in Deep shiat and things are about to blow apart someone would say something I guess is more why I brought it up. Will see how it sounds once I dig out the grease gun. All my tools etc. that were in a cargo container shop are now stuffed into a small shed from floor to ceiling randomly.

 

[Tooljunkie]

If it was new to me, first thing is to pull belt and spin each shaft and listen for rough bearings. As a rule of thumb, if it spins easy and is at all rough sounding-it needs bearings.
They are cheaper to replace before they self destruct an burn belt/destroy spindle and housing.

I bought an old allis chalmers last year and it is quiet as can be. Woods blades work on it so im happy.

 

[Diydave]

Yet another use for an IR thermometer. Start the mower, run it for a while, and take the IR thermometer, to each bearing. A woods RM59 has plenty that can go wrong, hot bearings are easy to spot, with it...

 

[coachgeo]

If it was new to me, first thing is to pull belt and spin each shaft and listen for rough bearings.......

Ahhhh. smart man .. sounds good will try that.

 

[coachgeo]

Yet another use for an IR thermometer. Start the mower, run it for a while, and take the IR thermometer, to each bearing. ....

combined with above..... even better... now where is that damn IR meter of mine I remember it is yellow and in a black canvis zip up case... hmmmm

 

[coachgeo]

Main reason I brought up metal to metal sound was cause to me this sound is very similar to what the sound of whirring blades sound like. thus my wonder on if it actually could be whirring, metal to metal or some of both.

Today while mowing I recognized that in thicker grass conditions like either thicker grass or grass plus windrow mulching the whirring/metal to metal sound went away. In fact the whole thing got surprisingly nearly silent (but still cutting) so that tells me the sound I was hearing was most likely that of whirring blades and not actuall metal to metal. I'll be greasing her up anyway. Just have not un-buried my grease gun yet. Not mowed much either.