Spring is here, and that means I'm back working on the used ZD326 mower I bought last year.
Last season, I got this thing in shape for the most part, but I did not finish fixing up the front scalp wheels on the deck.
When I bought the mower, I didn't know what I was doing, and I found out it had no front scalp wheels. The reason was that the bosses (vertical tubes) that held the pins (vertical wheel shafts) were messed up. I don't recall all the details, but at least one of them had metal stuck to the inside of it, as though somebody had drilled out a frozen pin and left the skin adhering to the boss.
Last year, I got things opened up as well as I could and installed new front pins and wheels. The mower worked, but one wheel liked to drag in the dirt, so my yard has some scars.
Today I went to work getting the metal out of the boss with the wheel that didn't turn well. My hope is to make it turn and quit digging into the ground. It also had a snapped-off zerk I had to deal with.
I got the metal out by alternating a propane torch with a can of computer dust spray. I heated and then froze. I sacrificed a punch, driving it between the unwanted metal and the inner wall of the boss, and eventually, it broke loose. The spray was what did it. I held the can upside-down and sprayed the liquid contents on the inside of the boss, and it froze the extra metal very well.
I was not able to do anything with the frozen zerk. There was no way to make it turn. I ended up opening it up with a unibit, and then I ran an M6 tap through it. Somehow, this created threads strong enough for a new zerk, so I ordered some to install tomorrow. I don't know if I cut threads in old rust and bits of mangled zerk or what, but if it holds, I don't care.
Once the zerks are in, the assemblies will look like the parts diagram, but I'm not sure it shows everything.
My question: are these pins supposed to be loose? I would say there is over 1/32" of difference between the bore ID and the pin OD. Seems likely to cause binding when the pressure is on, but I don't know. I don't think there is room for a bushing in there to tighten things up, but I could be wrong.
These pins are not like the rear pins, which need to be loose to prevent rusting and seizing permanently. Because these pins turn in their bosses, they should be less likely to seize, although I guess it would be possible, especially if the mower sat in a rust-friendly environment over a winter.
I can feel a small depression inside one boss around the zerk opening, so I assume that is a grease pocket. I didn't feel anything like that inside the other boss. I am thinking I should go in there with a carbide burr and make some space for grease.
Last season, I got this thing in shape for the most part, but I did not finish fixing up the front scalp wheels on the deck.
When I bought the mower, I didn't know what I was doing, and I found out it had no front scalp wheels. The reason was that the bosses (vertical tubes) that held the pins (vertical wheel shafts) were messed up. I don't recall all the details, but at least one of them had metal stuck to the inside of it, as though somebody had drilled out a frozen pin and left the skin adhering to the boss.
Last year, I got things opened up as well as I could and installed new front pins and wheels. The mower worked, but one wheel liked to drag in the dirt, so my yard has some scars.
Today I went to work getting the metal out of the boss with the wheel that didn't turn well. My hope is to make it turn and quit digging into the ground. It also had a snapped-off zerk I had to deal with.
I got the metal out by alternating a propane torch with a can of computer dust spray. I heated and then froze. I sacrificed a punch, driving it between the unwanted metal and the inner wall of the boss, and eventually, it broke loose. The spray was what did it. I held the can upside-down and sprayed the liquid contents on the inside of the boss, and it froze the extra metal very well.
I was not able to do anything with the frozen zerk. There was no way to make it turn. I ended up opening it up with a unibit, and then I ran an M6 tap through it. Somehow, this created threads strong enough for a new zerk, so I ordered some to install tomorrow. I don't know if I cut threads in old rust and bits of mangled zerk or what, but if it holds, I don't care.
Once the zerks are in, the assemblies will look like the parts diagram, but I'm not sure it shows everything.
My question: are these pins supposed to be loose? I would say there is over 1/32" of difference between the bore ID and the pin OD. Seems likely to cause binding when the pressure is on, but I don't know. I don't think there is room for a bushing in there to tighten things up, but I could be wrong.
These pins are not like the rear pins, which need to be loose to prevent rusting and seizing permanently. Because these pins turn in their bosses, they should be less likely to seize, although I guess it would be possible, especially if the mower sat in a rust-friendly environment over a winter.
I can feel a small depression inside one boss around the zerk opening, so I assume that is a grease pocket. I didn't feel anything like that inside the other boss. I am thinking I should go in there with a carbide burr and make some space for grease.
