What did you do to or on your Kubota today?

[MOOTS]

This morning I mowed our trails at place up North….then I mowed NEW (to us) pasture. (We closed on the house and extra acres across the road from our place up North in December). That was interesting…first pasture I’ve mowed with MX. the throttle lock was appreciated. I met a doe in the pasture. Then I mulched the winter rye and tillled garden plot. We planted some potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Guessing that toolbox relocation is due to the backhoe?

 

[rc51stierhoff]

That's a really nice property and that's the sort of pasture I'd love to have. Looks like it's a real pleasure to cut the grass.

I spent some time this afternoon (between thunderstorms and torrential rain) getting the Del Morino flail mower ready for a job this Sunday. It's not going to be like your recent experience. It's an overgrown mess for sure.

I cleaned up the edges of all 24 hammers, greased 12 zerk fittings, and am going to change out the belts later today since I'm thinking that the chirp that I heard at the end of last summer is belt related rather than bearing related. I should know more this weekend.

Thank you.

Well I’d like to have come up a few weeks ago but there has been so much rain that we would not have been able to get work done outside…it’s finally dry up here. And because of that if you look the machine is covered in dirt/dust/chaff. I blew the radiator off twice with the Milwaukee blower.

If only there were some sort of frame / box with windows that could go around the seating area . I am not there yet, but maybe after a few more dry mows . I’d sort of like try a finish mower some time too. The grass was pretty high and it certainly left some Mohawks here and there.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Guessing that toolbox relocation is due to the backhoe?

Yep.

 

[NCL4701]

Like many others, did a bit of mowing. Fawns have just gotten big enough there’s not much concern about running over them.

When I got to the area around the pond, noticed what initially looked like an out of place rock. Upon closer inspection, a rock with beady little eyes and claws. One of my friends told me it’s egg laying time for snapping turtles and she’s seen a couple out by the lakeshore at their house so maybe that’s why this one was out; don’t really know. Took a wide berth around it and hit that spot a couple hours later after it moved on. BTW, I was well outside striking distance when this photo was taken. It’s cropped for clarity.

 

[g_man]

View attachment 129156 Like many others, did a bit of mowing. Fawns have just gotten big enough there’s not much concern about running over them. View attachment 129157 When I got to the area around the pond, noticed what initially looked like an out of place rock. Upon closer inspection, a rock with beady little eyes and claws. One of my friends told me it’s egg laying time for snapping turtles and she’s seen a couple out by the lakeshore at their house so maybe that’s why this one was out; don’t really know. Took a wide berth around it and hit that spot a couple hours later after it moved on. BTW, I was well outside striking distance when this photo was taken. It’s cropped for clarity. View attachment 129158

If I was a male snapper it would be love at first sight - great pic.

gg

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Thank you.

Well I’d like to have come up a few weeks ago but there has been so much rain that we would not have been able to get work done outside…it’s finally dry up here. And because of that if you look the machine is covered in dirt/dust/chaff. I blew the radiator off twice with the Milwaukee blower.

If only there were some sort of frame / box with windows that could go around the seating area . I am not there yet, but maybe after a few more dry mows . I’d sort of like try a finish mower some time too. The grass was pretty high and it certainly left some Mohawks here and there.

Well, it sure was dry and dusty, but we just barely beat the rain. So today the big girl gets a bath. . (We have a hell of a storm going down the coast of the lake and it’s doing some power washing)

The potatos are getting watered in.

 

[Moose7060]

Well, it sure was dry and dusty, but we just barely beat the rain. So today the big girl gets a bath. . (We have a hell of a storm going down the coast of the lake and it’s doing some power washing)

The potatos are getting watered in.

Not only is the big girl getting a bath, looks like you're doing laundry as well!

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Not only is the big girl getting a bath, looks like you're doing laundry as well!

LOL…yep, will save a trip to the cleaners.

 

[S-G-R]

Mowing

 

[S-G-R]

Moved some brush and a stump for my neighbor.

 

[mcmxi]

I think I was finally able to resolve the squeaking flail mower but not before heading down another rabbit hole. I run the Del Morino on the back of the MX which has a PTO rating of 51.8hp. When reading the owner's manual this morning I noticed that it states (in Italian English) ...

"Maximum power applicable to the gear box: 22 Kw +/- 5% with 540 r.p.m. Superior power to which is indicated can damage irreparably the transmission gear box; especially during heavy works."

22Kw is about 30hp so I was starting to think that maybe the MX is too much tractor for the Centurion Super 158. So I look at Del Morino's website, and on the same page they state a range of 30 - 70hp and 15 - 60hp for the model I have. I looked at GWTC's website and they have a Del Morino specifications table that shows a range of 30 - 70hp. We've all encountered errors in owner's manuals so I have to think that whoever worked on the manual used the spec for the smaller two-belt drive models which have input ranges of 15 - 35hp.

So back to figuring out the noise. I ran the mower with the belts off and was able to determine that the noise was either coming from the gear box or the main pulley bearing, which is a sealed bearing. That bearing is kind of odd since it's not pressed onto the pulley spacer that goes inside it. To be honest, it kind of acts like a spacer as far as I can tell, or on second thoughts it supports the output shaft and reduces the bending moment. Anyway, I pressed out the old bearing and installed a new one that GWTC shipped to me at no charge. I still think that the gear box makes more noise than it should, and I don't know if the gears are straight cut or helical (which could affect noise), but the oil level is fine and according to the manual is good for 500 hours. I might still change the gear box oil this weekend, spec is 140W, but the flail is definitley quieter than it was and that's standing next to it when it's running at 540rpm. From inside the cab it's back to making a normal humming sound at full speed.

Well done to Del Morino for making the pulley in such a way that the bolts that clamp it to the output shaft can be used to press if off the shaft. The pulley is secured to the shaft using a conical collar that tightens around the output shaft as the bolts are tightened.

Pulley spacer and conical clamp.

This is the bearing that I replaced.

Gear box output shaft.

Pressing out the old bearing.

New bearing installed.

 

[mcmxi]

Well, it sure was dry and dusty, but we just barely beat the rain. So today the big girl gets a bath. . (We have a hell of a storm going down the coast of the lake and it’s doing some power washing)

The potatos are getting watered in.

If you had a cab you could still be working in that weather!

 

[rc51stierhoff]

If you had a cab you could still be working in that weather!

LOL…well I definitely thought about each time I went into the wind, that’s for sure. I still like an open station.

I do believe at a minimum there is a canopy in my future.

In the short term I’ll keep mowing that pasture so it does t get out of the control.

I believe I will have another pollinator project there in the next few years, and that should cut down on the mowing.

 

[MOOTS]

I think I was finally able to resolve the squeaking flail mower but not before heading down another rabbit hole. I run the Del Morino on the back of the MX which has a PTO rating of 51.8hp. When reading the owner's manual this morning I noticed that it states (in Italian English) ...

"Maximum power applicable to the gear box: 22 Kw +/- 5% with 540 r.p.m. Superior power to which is indicated can damage irreparably the transmission gear box; especially during heavy works."

22Kw is about 30hp so I was starting to think that maybe the MX is too much tractor for the Centurion Super 158. So I look at Del Morino's website, and on the same page they state a range of 30 - 70hp and 15 - 60hp for the model I have. I looked at GWTC's website and they have a Del Morino specifications table that shows a range of 30 - 70hp. We've all encountered errors in owner's manuals so I have to think that whoever worked on the manual used the spec for the smaller two-belt drive models which have input ranges of 15 - 35hp.

So back to figuring out the noise. I ran the mower with the belts off and was able to determine that the noise was either coming from the gear box or the main pulley bearing, which is a sealed bearing. That bearing is kind of odd since it's not pressed onto the pulley spacer that goes inside it. To be honest, it kind of acts like a spacer as far as I can tell, or on second thoughts it supports the output shaft and reduces the bending moment. Anyway, I pressed out the old bearing and installed a new one that GWTC shipped to me at no charge. I still think that the gear box makes more noise than it should, and I don't know if the gears are straight cut or helical (which could affect noise), but the oil level is fine and according to the manual is good for 500 hours. I might still change the gear box oil this weekend, spec is 140W, but the flail is definitley quieter than it was and that's standing next to it when it's running at 540rpm. From inside the cab it's back to making a normal humming sound at full speed.

Well done to Del Morino for making the pulley in such a way that the bolts that clamp it to the output shaft can be used to press if off the shaft. The pulley is secured to the shaft using a conical collar that tightens around the output shaft as the bolts are tightened.

View attachment 129232

Pulley spacer and conical clamp.
View attachment 129237

This is the bearing that I replaced.

View attachment 129233

Gear box output shaft.

View attachment 129234

Pressing out the old bearing.

View attachment 129235

New bearing installed.
View attachment 129236

I don’t know what that pulley retention system is called, but it is excellent. All of my scags at work, every pulley is secured with those. Gives some adjustment on the shaft as well.

 

[Kennyd4110]

I don’t know what that pulley retention system is called, but it is excellent. All of my scags at work, every pulley is secured with those. Gives some adjustment on the shaft as well.

They are usually called Taper-Lock Bushings

 

[mcmxi]

I don’t know what that pulley retention system is called, but it is excellent. All of my scags at work, every pulley is secured with those. Gives some adjustment on the shaft as well.

There's a spacer for the pulley to set the position of the pulley on the output shaft, but I agree that it appears to be a good design. I'm still not sure of the function of the bearing that I replaced. As I mentioned, maybe it's like a steady rest when turning a long part in a lathe.

I found some MasterPro GL-4 SAE 140W gear oil at the local O'Reilly Autoparts store. I only need 0.85 quarts but it comes in a gallon container. I was hoping that the new Land Pride folding cutter used the same oil but no such luck. I guess I'll have enough gear oil for the Del Morino to last the rest of my life.

 

[Russell King]

I don’t know what that pulley retention system is called, but it is excellent. All of my scags at work, every pulley is secured with those. Gives some adjustment on the shaft as well.

Those are generally called taper lock bore pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys, Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys SPA Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPB Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPC Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley

www.hawkvine.com

 

[mcmxi]

They are usually called Taper-Lock Bushings

Thanks @Kennyd4110 . I don't remember encountering them before so thanks for putting a name with a face.

 

[MOOTS]

They are usually called Taper-Lock Bushings

Those are generally called taper lock bore pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys, Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys SPA Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPB Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPC Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley

www.hawkvine.com

Well, they are awesome.

 

[mcmxi]

Those are generally called taper lock bore pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys, Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys

Taper Lock Bore V-Pulleys Taper-Lock Bushing Pulleys SPA Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPB Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley, SPC Taper Lock Bore V-Pulley

www.hawkvine.com

I didn't show it earlier but this is the other half of the "taper lock bore bushing/pulley". You can see the witness marks where the three screws made contact as I was "pressing" the outer part of the bushing off the output shaft.