Garden tractor acquisition

[kevm14]

Today I had been mowing for maybe 10 mins. I finished the small front part of the lawn and was in the driveway heading to the back yard when the machine shut down as if I had turned the key off. That has never happened before. I pushed it back to the garage area and removed the upper engine cover to get to the coil. Seemed fine. After cooling for a bit I tried it again and it started. I inspected the coil and nothing seemed amiss so I put the engine cover back.

The rest of the yard went totally normally, even tried a few hot restarts. Very weird.

[bill25]

Any chance you moved on the seat? The safety switch under the seat grounds the engine and it is basically like turning the key off.

[kevm14]

It has never been hooked up.

[kevm14]

Gator blade G3 for my machine appears to be this:
http://www.griggslawnandtractor.net/ore ... er-96-638/

Though I need to see if they make a G5 for it.

G3 Gator Blades: The G3 is the standard gator mulcher blade. It gives you the ability to mow faster at higher speeds than traditional mulching blades.

G5 Gator Blades: G5 blades have higher air lift and a longer cutting edge than the G3. This promotes even better mulching performance. Plus with Fusion technology, your blade stays sharp 40% longer than traditional blades.

G6 Gator Blades: G6 blades are considered the heavy-duty gator blades. The increase in thickness and width extends the life of the blade. Combine longevity, sharpness, and an extended cutting edge, you have the ultimate mulching blade.

[kevm14]

My automated snow blower search turned this up:
https://nh.craigslist.org/for/6679806629.html

Snow Blower attachment for Simplicity tractor - $350 (Manchester)
condition: good
make / manufacturer: Simplicity
model name / number: 1690547
size / dimensions: 36"
Complete attachment for Simplicity tractor, 4000, 5000, 6000 series. Part Number: 1690547

I decided not to repaint this as you can see for yourself it is original paint and in good condition with very little rust. Bearings and grease fittings are good and even the belt could be used. Complete, with all locking pins, I separated it to fit on that pallet.

It could be left as is and work fine. If you plan on pushing salty snow with this, I'd suggest to at least spray it with some light grease or repaint to your liking before the snow falls.

Cash is good, but I'm open to trades if you have something worthwhile.

*Craigslist used to be a great site to buy/sell. Five attempts to upload my pictures...what exactly am I doing wrong? please ask if you'd like to see pictures. Thank you.

Of course as before my missing piece is that long accessory handle/lever. And of course rear wheel weights. I guess I will inquire though this price is kind meh. And it is in NH. What, is it snow season up there now or something?

[kevm14]

He figured out pictures. Well, he figured out how to post them at least...

[kevm14]

Also I did a mid-season oil change and blade sharpen. The blades weren't terrible but they are sharp now. They are pretty worn but I can probably milk them for a few more years. The oil was pretty dark. Maybe I will do like Adam and just set my change interval according to when the oil starts to darken. I should add after my last round of MMO treatment (the change before the last I think) the oil consumption has tapered off dramatically to basically nothing.

[kevm14]

Finally decided to adjust my parking brake. The symptom was when I backed up to the edge of my lawn the brake would start to slip and grab, which makes me nervous. So I adjusted it. It is a disc brake. A few turns with a 1/2" socket and it seems much better. Will test next mowing. Maybe i should consult the manual to make sure I did the right thing.

[kevm14]

Looks like they want a 2 step process.

First, adjust the parking brake nut so there is 0.010" clearance between the pads and disc. I did not do this. I just tightened it some.
Second, adjust the nut that controls preload on the brake rod spring so the nut is snug against the spring, but the spring can still turn. I did not do this, either. I think this adjustment merely compensates for any spring slack (i.e. the spring may slowly lose its springiness over time). Next time I feel like it, I'll take a second pass but I think it's fine the way it is.

[kevm14]

Went at it again per the manual.

A couple shots of the disc, feeler gauge and adjustment nut. This is all pretty easy.

Shot from the bottom. Set it with a 0.010" feeler. Close enough. It took another little bit of a turn but I had it pretty close before.

Here is the brake linkage spring adjustment nut. I tightened it a bit and was able to still spin the spring per the manual. The nut turned with no issues. Who knows how long it has been since it was last adjusted. Never? I just set the deck all the way down and there was easy access to this, too.

Brake seems to grab even better now. All I need it for is holding the tractor on an incline. I suspect it will hold now. I would never use it for anything but a parking brake, even though you can press it while driving. It just doesn't make any sense to do so as the hydrostatic lever gives positive control of speed at all times. Only when I get off with it running do I use the parking brake.

I also put a few drops of oil on the hydrostatic speed lever and operation seems to have smoothed out, which is great. It was a little sticky. I find this all very satisfying, even if adjusting my parking brake on my lawn tractor is very Hank Hill. I wouldn't take offense to that...