Woods XT172 Problems

[stkline81]

I purchased a L3010 GST two weeks ago & it came with a few implements. One of the implements was a Woods XT172 rotary cutter. I hooked it up this afternoon & made it about 100 feet through some blackberry canes & 1-2" sweet gum saplings. I hit a small piece of an old aluminum trash can & it sheared the shafts off. I've never owned a tractor before & have very limited time running them. Is there an easy fix for this or do I need to buy a whole new gearbox assembly? Thanks in advance for the help!

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[D2Cat]

Hard to believe that was caused by 1-2" sapling, or a piece of alum. trash can. You might want to go back over where you mowed and look for something solid sticking up, like an abandoned oil well casing!

Probably least expensive would to take the gearbox apart and replace the shaft. Or, find a used gearbox.

I'm not familiar with your particular mower, but it should have a shear pin (weak bolt) or friction clutch to allow for "mistakes".

 

[stkline81]

I was told it hadn't been used for 6 or 7 years. It is possible that there was already damage to the shaft & I just sheared it the rest of the way off. I went back & looked the area over for more debris but there was just more small pieces of the trash can. I found parts lists for the gearbox but it looks like they don't sell the shaft as a separate piece any more - you have to purchase the entire gearbox. I wonder if a part from another gearbox is interchangeable.

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[Tooljunkie]

That bolt should have sheared. Unless shaft was siezed in yoke.
No old breakage from the photo. All new metal.

 

[stkline81]

It cut beautifully up until I hit the piece of the trash can. The blades were swiveling and spinning properly. Maybe the bolt is not the right grade shear bolt.

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[stkline81]

So I had to buy a whole new gearbox. The shear bolt on the shaft ended up being a grade 8 bolt.

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[D2Cat]

Too bad those kinds of things happen. I would still walk through the area you are going to mow very carefully.

That shaft shows no sign of previous failure. There is no rust showing in your picture of where the shaft separated. It took great force to do that damage. Just be careful it doesn't happen to your new gear box.

 

[Billdog350]

Make sure to yank that Gr8 bolt and replace with the right Shear bolt! I had the same issue with the gearbox on my snowblower. It go bound up on a rock and shattered the gearbox...my fault...shouldn't have used the Gr8!

Cost me over $550 for a new gearbox for that mistake...

 

[stkline81]

Dented & bent up but not even close to breaking. Never thought to check the bolts after I bought it. Won't make the same mistake twice!

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[ShaunRH]

Yeah, Grade 8 as a sheer bolt is everything else shears first. Grade 2, standard, is what my dealer recommends for my Land Pride rotary mower. Sorry to hear you had to replace the gearbox.

Do your blades swivel? That has been the biggest gearbox saver on my LP1260.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Sorry for newbie question, but how do you tell by looking what the grade of a bolt is?

 

[ShaunRH]

Sorry for newbie question, but how do you tell by looking what the grade of a bolt is?

 

[stkline81]

Yeah, Grade 8 as a sheer bolt is everything else shears first. Grade 2, standard, is what my dealer recommends for my Land Pride rotary mower. Sorry to hear you had to replace the gearbox.

Do your blades swivel? That has been the biggest gearbox saver on my LP1260.

I just checked the blades. One swivels freely & the other one takes some muscle to swivel at all.

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[sheepfarmer]

Ah so, a secret code! Thank you Shaun! I should print out and post where I won't lose it. If such a place exists on my farm

 

[D2Cat]

sheepfarmer, to keep it simple you will only need to know grade 2 (the smooth headed one), grade 5 has three marks (yep, I know seems wrong!), grade 8 has 6 marks.

Reason, when you go the the farm store/hardware store that's all the will have. These are for ASE bolts.

This link will give you a good overview and include metric marked bolts also.
https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Bolt-Grade-Chart.aspx

Here's some more homework for you!!
http://freeasestudyguides.com/a1_4.html

 

[sheepfarmer]

sheepfarmer, to keep it simple you will only need to know grade 2 (the smooth headed one), grade 5 has three marks (yep, I know seems wrong!), grade 8 has 6 marks.

Reason, when you go the the farm store/hardware store that's all the will have. These are for ASE bolts.

This link will give you a good overview and include metric marked bolts also.
https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/Materials-and-Grades/Bolt-Grade-Chart.aspx

Here's some more homework for you!!
http://freeasestudyguides.com/a1_4.html

I think I might need the text book before I do the quizzes! Thank you very much.

 

[ShaunRH]

I just checked the blades. One swivels freely & the other one takes some muscle to swivel at all.

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Well, either the one that swivels free is the one that broke loose (they might have both been frozen up) when it hit the obstacle or the other one did and didn't bother to break loose.

They should both be fairly free moving, not taking much muscle to move. This lets them bounce back if they hit an object. I'd take them both off, sharpen them (remember a sharp blade has about 1/16th of an inch that's actually 'flat' on the front of it, not sharp to a perfect cutting edge) and lube them up. You might avoid putting on a few extra sheer bolts if they are both working right.