JD 7400 rear roller wear

We use one of 7400 mowers for doing tree side cart path edges . Saves a lot of hand mowing labor . The slope of the cut makes the roller ride on the cart path edge accelerating wear on roller tube . The tube was not available for purchase from the dealer so I gave the rough dimensions to Metals R Us and they were able to match it fairly close . 

Spec of tube stock I used . 

 Worn out roller tube . 

Pulling shaft out 

Cutting the new tubing at 22"

Make sure ends a squared off 

Had to bevel the inside a bit and grind a little out inside before assembling 

Piece of rod makes quick work to punch ends off old tube . watch you don't punch in center ruining the inner seal . rotate 180 degrees back and forth and side to side to force it out . 

End cap I buffed off any debris 

I just pile drive it by hand on a solid surface rotating a quarter turn every hit . 

 Reinstall shaft etc . and done . All 3 took a few hours but well worth the trouble 

HDXD easy cheap RAD Guard

Yes didn't like these guards anyway . 

Kept falling of or getting snagged and torn off . 

This is they way I found it . 

Easy repair . I took 2- 2500 spent bedknives and used bolts to attach them in mounting holes using washers to take up the bushing whole size . Then simply remove battery cables and weld a 1/2 " mesh that I had laying around the shop .

And paint . Easy to blow out or wash now . 

TCA 25900 line JD 8800/7500 fix

We have a John Deere 8800 that was here first during grow in . It has an issue that started last season with the TCA25900 line sheering off . Replaced it twice and decided to post it on Twitter to see if it has happened to some one else before . Only took a short time and Daniel L Barns  (@DannoDoes) had the answer I was looking for . Funny how you can trouble shoot and redesign things to prevent recurring problems and the fix was so easy . The problem is this machine has developed a slight flex in frame or something . ( we have 5 units with this line and this is the only one with an issue ) and is twisting the steel line back and forth ever so slightly till it snaps . It may take 6 months or 6 weeks . 

The Beast logging lots of hours for us (2149 hours )

I like them very comparable to the Toro 4300 I had at the last course . Smaller decks are great if you have lots of hilly areas.

Best way I found to get this nut off is to go in where line is and pull onto nut . 

Ratchet straps are great to pull decks away on work areas .t 

Some time you have to go to the past to fix the future . Lol anyone remember the LF 100 all hoses some 15 feet long I'm guessing. 

They are snapping directly after this nut 

New line going in 

Maybe get a long 90 here . There is enough room .It was close .

One of the old broken lines .

Easy fix . check for leaks . Also no fluid will come out of this section when changing over . 

Toro 5800 pump Heads wearing out

2015 demo sprayer I do believe . Having pump issues .

 Getting quite the collection pf pumps and heads . Originally the heads wore through ,slightly  after warranty and Pump was replaced with a refurbished one from the dealer .There was mention of a possible casting issues with heads . Great back in business . 

 second pump going in I do believe .

Second pump failed( 850 +- hrs) to and we received some heavy duty heads for repair at 850 hrs. No Idea why this keeps happening . Is it just bad luck or more faulty heads ?Below are pics of the heavy duty heads that blew on pressure side (1056 hrs ), Last 2 sets of heads were blowing on the suction side .  

 Frustrating .... Yes!!!!Before this issue all sucking side O rings were replaced even installed a filter before nozzle manifolds on pressure side . Same as the new sprayers have now . 

 Replacing the suction side hose before installing back into machine all valve holes clean out very well and new O rings installed on them . 2 odd ball valves installed in the proper location as per manual even asked a few Toro gurus to be doubly sure this time . 

Going back in for the fourth or fifth time . My crossed finger pic is all I got till Toro can figure this out if not I'll see you in 250 hours + - . Sales mans wants the old heads to send back apparently. Most frustrating part is that its all speculation of what's going on . Obviously there is an issue some where that needs investigation on either end . These pumps are suppose to be bullet proof from what I hear ( as you can understand that I'm a non believer at this point .) I've heard of only a very few pumps having the same issues as we are .

Marked and recorded in service records .

We use a pre mixing tank before its loaded into the sprayer . Sprayer cleaned and  flushed out after use . 

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 .