toe in and steering wheel alignment (update )

Made this jig up from shop scraps today.

I get a fair amount of bumped off center steering wheels and bent A arms on the front end

I check them by running a string from tripods and clip on bars around rear tires and back . The string has to be center to the rim and barely touch both sides of tire on rears . That will let you see what adjustments you need .

Today I fabbed up these brackets to bolt to lift

One for each side . They will be adjustable and easier to use .

Take the measurements of the front rim .Making it quick adjust will speed things up for sure .

No more tangles . I'll be wrapping it around this pulley . It will be easy to pull out and use now .

I'm sure I'll be trying it out soon . 

Toro Pro Force Dual tanks

The power of twitter and sharing /seeing ideas . I recently came across a few post from Brian Bressler that I thought are great and practical problem solving fixes we face on the course . 

Yes the dual tank on a pro force idea . Toro pro force works great but is hard on fuel .guys might get 1.5 to 2 hours out of them and have to carry a jerry can = more chance of fuel spillage plus they seem to run out at the furthest distance from the shop . When I seen Brians post and how we moved the shut mechanism I had to try the build . 

Made a template from Pics on the twitter.

The diamond plate I had left over worked great . 

Tip he had for good action on belt movement was to also move the little bearings . 

Picked up a gravity fed tank at Princess Auto for 35$

Laying out ideas to weld to frame .

Trying to keep fuel caps at the same level . The tanks are both vented . 

Getting ready to weld framing in .

A few picks .

Had some Canadian hardwood to level things up with and it will pad the tank .

Nuts for anchors front and back .

We found out that it will draw from the gravity fed tank first instead of the ideal both at the same time . Brian installed a shut off valve to go in line from the new tank and keeping it half closed was enough to create enough drag so it will pull from both tanks . 

 

valves installed . take it for a rip later and see if tanks draw down the same .

Perfect drawing from both tanks now .

3 point hitch Rental cart tow truck .

Have been seeing lots of tow type retrieving gear on twitter lately . Tried a few designs , some sort of copies to what I've seen but to my surprise they all failed . Either it was to long and folded up or it was strong enough but tow vehicles suspension couldn't handle it well . Also having the issue of wheels rolling off the tray on sharp turns . Big learning curve and a hard build for sure . I had thought originally after seeing one on Hectors shop to do it for a 3 point hitch on the tractor . Should have stuck with my original thought . '

First attempt has no issues with picking up rental cart for towing but still didn't turn enough to keep unit on tray . Plus a hydraulic top link will be a big bonus . 

Couple of shots on 3 point hitch first try build . 

Had a couple of rental carts in the shop to try it out on . 

Found it didn't swing far enough before hitting tray section. 

So, It was lowered and hopefully will try on Monday. I'm thinking the wheels will still have to be strapped on. Will see. Picked up a hydraulic top link to. 

Finally, success! Hard Build to figure it out. 

 

A bunch of pics at different angles. paint time.

Basic list of materials. Double check cuts before cutting. It's just an outline. I built mine mostly out 1/8" but feel 1/4" would be better. The only thing I would have changed is in pick above maybe take section on top link and put it in front of uprights and weld tabs with holes facing up for top link. 

A little update. Strapping both wheels works the best. also, the small tractor ids out working most of the time. So, I decided to add framing from scrap pieces that slide over tailgate of out HDXDs.

turn out OK. 

It was built keeping in mind that I could still use it as a 3-point tow truck too.

a little paint .

works very well. By tipping box up, it puts tray flat on the ground to put a club car on. 

Easy to put on and use. Tried it a half dozen times without any problems. 

Pic of straps around tires. 

No issues towing the 4 seat ones in.  

Toro 1600 poor traction /hard to pull backwards

  

I've been battling this occasional problem of machines being hard to pull backwards or no traction since new .I have 2015 vintage mower ( pretty sure they are ). All 4 have the same model numbers .But 2 of them have slight differences 

Notice the shine mark on the belt guide . This ones to high and when engaged will hit cover preventing it from engaging all the way plus will also make them hard to pull back .  

Did adjusts them originally as per the operator hand book we have here . Down a little further made the troubled ones work as they should . 

Notice the step jack 

Must have been changed mid season .

Same for the belt drives 

A bit different . 

One of the Guys on Twitter mention that this is one good reason to give your serial # too when ordering parts .