Rotary cutter restore

[ck21084]

I recently purchased a used rotary cutter from an old friend of mine. After owning my tractor for a few months now I have several people asking for brush cutting so I made the move yesterday. This cutter does not have a name brand listed any anywhere including the manual so I have no idea of the brand. My friend told me he bought it new from tractor supply 4 years ago. It has a front seal leak that needs fixing but the rest is only cosmetic. I am currently striping and painting the surfaces with a paint called Por-15. From what I understand it is tough as nails when the surface is prepped correctly. So far I have used aircraft stripper to remove 4 areas of old yellow paint that had surface rust in some areas. Once the stripper was removed and washed I used my 1/2 hp wire brush to clean and remove any final paint. Then dried with a torch and then painted the areas. Once all areas are complete the final coat of paint will be that famous kubota orange.

First picture below.

 

[Big Kahuna]

Its a King Kutter, same as mine.


Big Kahuna

 

[ck21084]

Do you by chance know the part number of the input shaft seal?

 

[ck21084]

Second update: day two.

After work tonight I started stripping the remaining paint from the panels. I was able to get all but one area completed. This area is where the input seal is leaking so it has gear oil all over. I was able to work 1.5 hours until the rain started. Luckily I had just got to a stoping point.

 

[ctmike]

Here's a link to the parts manuals but it seems the gearbox is listed as one part only. You could take out the seal and take it with you to match it up.
http://www.kingkutter.com/storep.aspx?id=323

 

[Stubbyie]

I suspect it's King Kutter if it came from Tractor Supply, as mentioned by other posters here. Send your foto to KK for confirmation and get them to send you (or download) the Operator's Manual and Parts Schematic.

We don't run KK and for that reason not certain but on SOME brands you can't get the gearbox apart except from the bottom. If this is the case you'll likely find the blade carrier is going to be a problem being removed.

If that's the case, you might consider---since the leak is on the input shaft, up 'high' on the gearbox---simply stuffing the gearbox with standard tube (as in grease gun) grease, maybe cutting it with syrupy-thick Motor Honey or STP. Then you just use the heck out of it and don't worry about the gearbox lube level. Check it weekly at first, then monthly, then when you start the season. With thicker grease you probably won't lose enough to worry about.

In my experience most blade carriers (bars or tub-like 'stump jumpers') won't come off without extensive heating in which case you've truly shot the gearbox seals. Shops in my area commonly just cut the carriers off and reinstall new: they say trying to salvage and reuse the OEMs just isn't worth the effort. I've tried hydraulic pullers and managed to bend carriers and never moved them off the shaft.

Please post back your experiences so we may all learn.

 

[Burt]

I recently purchased a used rotary cutter from an old friend of mine. After owning my tractor for a few months now I have several people asking for brush cutting so I made the move yesterday. This cutter does not have a name brand listed any anywhere including the manual so I have no idea of the brand. My friend told me he bought it new from tractor supply 4 years ago. It has a front seal leak that needs fixing but the rest is only cosmetic. I am currently striping and painting the surfaces with a paint called Por-15. From what I understand it is tough as nails when the surface is prepped correctly. So far I have used aircraft stripper to remove 4 areas of old yellow paint that had surface rust in some areas. Once the stripper was removed and washed I used my 1/2 hp wire brush to clean and remove any final paint. Then dried with a torch and then painted the areas. Once all areas are complete the final coat of paint will be that famous kubota orange.

First picture below.

ck21084:

Just as an extra added bit of info here, I recently purchased a Kodiak rotary cutter. To my surprise, they do not use oil anymore in the gearboxes...neither does Land Pride. They use an HP0 grease.

HP0 grease is formulated to be almost solid like grease when not activated by heat coming from gears. After it becomes warmed, it forms into a semi-solid state. Then when the gears are not employed, the HP0 becomes a semi-solid again. Thus they can offer longer warranties on their gear boxes and don't leak or at least not as much as you are experiencing.

Sourcing the HP0 grease is somewhat of a sticky wicket as it is primarily something that originated in the European markets. However, it is out there and worth the effort.

I'm still in my learning curve on this one. Right now, I'm trying to figure out the correlation between NLGI and HP standards. So far, I haven't found anything that compares the two.

Mobilux EP0
Another mentioned is John Deere corn head grease rated at NLGI-0 but I can't verify if NLGI correlates to HP.
Chevron RYKON grease #0 EP
EXXON USA Lidok EP0
Shell Canada Ltd Alvania Grease EPW
Shell Gadus S2 V220 0
Texaco Multifak EP0
Unocal 76 (east and west) Unoba EP0

Good luck,

Oh, probably not a good idea to get much of this on your shirt, trousers or overalls.

Burt

 

[ck21084]

Burt.

I'm curious of the start date on the grease conversion. I just bought a Landpride finish mower 2 months ago and when it came from the dealer it had 85-90wt gear oil. Is this only covering the rotary cutters?

I am going to get the seal replaced first and if this fails again then the grease fitting will be installed.

 

[ck21084]

Day 3: only 45 minutes tonight but I managed to wire brush prep and paint all previously stripped areas.

 

[Russell King]

EP usually stands for Extreme Pressure (used for gears normally)
NLGI = National Lubricating Grease Institute

NLGI numbers range from 000 to 6. See the link below for a table of what the NGLI numbers mean by relating that to food (cooking oil to cheddar cheese)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLGI_consistency_number

You can have a EP0 or an EP6. The EP is additives in the oil inside the grease base.

HP probably stands for High Pressure - another way to say Extreme Pressure. You can have HP0 or HP6 grease.

 

[Burt]

EP usually stands for Extreme Pressure (used for gears normally)
NLGI = National Lubricating Grease Institute

NLGI numbers range from 000 to 6. See the link below for a table of what the NGLI numbers mean by relating that to food (cooking oil to cheddar cheese)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLGI_consistency_number

You can have a EP0 or an EP6. The EP is additives in the oil inside the grease base.

HP probably stands for High Pressure - another way to say Extreme Pressure. You can have HP0 or HP6 grease.

I stand corrected...it is EP0, not HP0.

As far as the date goes, I don't know that because many manufacturers have done it. However, I don't think it matters a whit. The only result is that if it gels up when not warm from use, it doesn't sit there and leak like oil does.

I called Kodiak and they said the John Deere "Corn Head Grease," is OK to use. It's about $4.00 for a tube of it. Kodiak purchases their grease from a Chevron dealer in Tennessee.

You're right that is has to do with the additives also.

There still is not a direct comparison or conversion that I can find to NLGI numbers and EP0, or any EP numbers. Most of the stuff sold in car parts stores is NLGI2. Once I get my hands on a tube of corn head oil, I'll look at the specs unless somebody else beats me to it. I'll post it when I get it.

Like Sherlock Holmes said: "The game is afoot."

Burt

 

[Russell King]

I think you will find that and EP0 is a grease that is NLGI 0 grade and that and EP3 is a grease with a NLGI 3.

I agree that you will find greases labeled EP623 and probably have to look at the web site to figure out what that it.

The confusion usually come about from synthetic oils and new types of base thickeners.

I always try to go to the vendor's website and get to a technical data sheet to see what they say it is.

 

[bulldog_shotgun]

I called Kodiak and they said the John Deere "Corn Head Grease," is OK to use. It's about $4.00 for a tube of it. Kodiak purchases their grease from a Chevron dealer in Tennessee.

JD Corn Head Grease is good stuff i use it in all kinds of gear boxes.

most noticeably was my Dewalt angle grinder the head would get hot enough to burn you, took it apart washed there grease out filled it with corn head grease, and it runs no kidding 50-100 degrees cooler.

 

[Burt]

Burt.

I'm curious of the start date on the grease conversion. I just bought a Landpride finish mower 2 months ago and when it came from the dealer it had 85-90wt gear oil. Is this only covering the rotary cutters?

I am going to get the seal replaced first and if this fails again then the grease fitting will be installed.

I'm sorry that I don't know that date but it would help you, I'm sure. Regardless of the date, converting to the EP0 grease will be a benefit to anyone that does it. From my tiny research on this, I did learn how and why the properties change from a semi solid to a liquid and then back to a semi solid in the gearbox. Thereby, it doesn't leak or at least as much as oil does. Oil stays in its liquid state all the time.

Still, I cannot find a direct reference to the NLGI and EP standard. I know what each stands for but one is a subset of the other. HP and EP are not the same. EP is apparently one step above HP. Most stuff on the shelves are rated at HP2 or EP2, not the HP0 or EP0 specified by these manufacturers now.

In a way, it transfers the warranty to the owner. If you don't use the right stuff which is hard to find, the the warranty is void. Yet, I like the concept of better grease and better results.

In other cutter news, I heard that Kubota is toying with the idea of purchasing the Land Pride. Presently, they have a comfortable agreement with them and their dealers anyway.

Best bet for finding the grease mentioned is to use John Deer Corn Head Grease if you can't find any of the other stuff mentioned.

Burt

 

[ck21084]

After several nights of working late at the office I was finally able to get the first and second coat of orange on the top. I need to pick up one extra can of implement paint from Kubota. I will be visiting the JD dealer tomorrow to pick up the aforementioned corn head grease.

 

[gssixgun]

That is really looking good

 

[RoperAndy]

Looks Good!

 

[ck21084]

Final restore update: After 20 hours of blood and sweat and $200 in paint and supplies the cutter is finished and operational. The oil leak on the gear box was caused by the gear box being "topped off" aka over filled causing the already bad seal to leak. After draining the excess oil it has not leaked since.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[skeets]

Ya done good

 

[Burt]

You really did good!

What kind of wax will you use on it?

Burthttp://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif