ZD326 Frozen Scalp Wheel Shaft Troubles

[Mr Haney]

Interesting fact, or so it seems: this mower's manual says 1) it will not start with the hood up, and 2) if you raise the hood during operation, it will stall.

I looked this machine over very carefully, and I was not able to find any connection between the hood and the fuel system or electrical system. I have not been able to get it to stall the motor or prevent the mower from starting. It sure looks like Kubota's manual has another error. Perhaps someone else has found a connection and will let us know.

 

[whitetiger]

it will not start with the hood up, and 2) if you raise the hood during operation, it will stall.

Where in the manual is this stated?

 

[Mr Haney]

Page 11.

 

[Mr Haney]

I should also add that I turned the pins down 0.030", so in the future, the rust will have to be very severe to cause problems. A future owner may not store the mower correctly.

I covered the pins with truck bed coating, and I plan to do the same thing with the bores, since, as Kubota's poor planning shows, coating only one surface is inadequate.

 

[Mr Haney]

I don't think much of Kubota's stubborn black nylon push rivets, so in the process of replacing the rubber mats, I found much better ones. I'll post a link.

Amazon.com: MOTOALL Nylon Fender Liner Door Trim Panel Bumper Shield Retainer Fastener Rivet Push Type Clips for 8mm Hole Ford Mazda Hyundai Kia MB-455-56143 86590-28000 Car Auto Body - 100pcs : Automotive

Buy MOTOALL Nylon Fender Liner Door Trim Panel Bumper Shield Retainer Fastener Rivet Push Type Clips for 8mm Hole Ford Mazda Hyundai Kia MB-455-56143 86590-28000 Car Auto Body - 100pcs: Clips - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

The ones I found can be removed easily in case you want to clean under the mats. I put one in tonight, and then I backed it out with a Phillips head screwdriver and pulled it out with my fingers.

I made a mistake the first time and bought 6mm rivets, but you actually need rivets for 8mm holes.

Kubota dealers don't sell rivets by the bag, so you really pay through the nose for the inferior OEM jobs. I have shelled out $14 so far, including the mistake, and I have about 4 times as many 8mm rivets as I need. I would have paid 27 times Kubota's single rivet price for OEM, and the rivets would have been very difficult to remove.

Another useful tip: there are two carriage bolts that hold the deck down. They aren't that great. They rust. They go into plain old flange nuts under the deck. The OEM nuts are in a high-vibration location, so they are going to back off unless you install them carefully. One of mine backed off, so I applied Loctite. You can get stainless carriage bolts and stainless nylon locking flange nuts to replace these parts.

If I had been thinking, I would have considered replacing the rubber mats with mats from Home Depot. They can be cut to match OEM with scissors, and I could have looked for materials I liked better than OEM.

Truck bed coating might be a good idea for the areas under the mats, because they fill up with abrasive grit.