Troy Built tiller guru

[buzzinduzzin]

I am working on a tiller that is at least 70 years old , I have some questions abut it !! any takers ?

 

[T.R.K.]

Just ask your questions on here. We have information, misinformation, and outright lies. Kinda like our guys in D.C.

 

[buzzinduzzin]

ok here goes : the brass bull gear engages with a sliding steel clutch dog ,I suppose to be able to push / transport tiller at a faster speed than it self propels . there is a cast iron shifter fork with brass inserts that that fit into groove on sliding dog. there is a steel shaft that when inserted into its hole in housing & when said shaft is rotated it moves the fork . I don't have the piece that actually connects the shaft & fork together !! I am trying to get a local kid to come over & help me post pictures THANKS in advance

 

[Mule Meat]

I suppose to be able to push / transport tiller at a faster speed than it self propels .

The only way you are going to do that is.
Remove the pins or bolts that go through the wheel hub and axle. That is the only way you will be able to push or pull the tiller faster than the axles rotate.

Hopefully the rims have not been on the machine so long that they have seized to the axle.

 

[Deere Mark]

I had two Troy built tillers. One dating to about 1975. On each of them I could leave the (high / low} gear shift lever between high and low and push the tiller as fast as I wanted.

 

[TomIn]

I am working on a tiller that is at least 70 years old , I have some questions abut it !! any takers ?

Rototiller History

The modern walk-behind rototiller is such a common power implement in gardens and on small farms that many people assume it always has been in its modern form, with the curved steel tines either in front of or behind the small gas engine. The earliest rotary tillers, however, were massive...

www.gardenguides.com

Tillers have been made for about a century. The article I found suggests that that Troy Bilt brand didn't emerge until 1968. It would help to know what model tiller you are working on. I have a couple of 1970's Horse model tillers. As Deere Mark says, they can be moved in the "neutral" position without the engine running. I'm a hefty geezer with bad knees and feet. I doubt that I could push one faster than it would self propel. I suppose that a much younger and stronger person might be able to push one on a smooth downhill slope quite a bit faster.

 

[T.R.K.]

It sounds to me like your tiller is a "Horse" model. They are the only Troybilt models I know of that use a lever to shift into freewheel mode. I don't think they changed those Horse models much, except there were two gearboxes. One, I presume to be the older version, had one housing with both the wheel drive and tine drive enclosed in it. The other, I presume to be later, had a seperate gearbox for the wheels and another for the tine gearbox. they joined with a bolt on either side of the flange between them. The two piece gearbox also has a shifter that engages and dissengages the tines. The tine gearbox could be removed and other attachements installed in its place.

MTD now owns Troybilt and makes cheap (er) tillers with the 'Troybilt' name on them like kind Mule Meat describes. Some parts are still available for the Horse models, but not everything. (And be sitting down when you hear the price. I wouldn't want you to faint or anything. )

Now for your particular problem: I have had only one of those wheel drive gearboxes apart. (Then again maybe I just put axle seals in it and that was it.) If you still have oil in the gearbox, drain it and see if the lever you need is laying in the bottom. If not, go to your MTD dealer and see if he can still order that part for you. If you can't come up with that lever perhaps something could be fabricated that would do the job.

 

[buzzinduzzin]

thank you for all the replies ! For now I am just going to shim the sliding dog over to engaged position & later look into being able to shift to disengage . Hopefully I can eventually send pictures . Just for the sharing of info : there were no tags on it , There is a long metal tube with a long 3/4" shaft inside , the shaft protrudes out the font of the tube & a large aluminum 4 step pulley goes there , then moving rearward there is a worm gear that lines up with a rectangular slot in the tube & this slot is where the brass bullgear meshes with the worm . Then at the rear of the tube is another slot/ worm gear for the tine gear box . The main gearbox has a U shaped saddle that the tube sits in & is clamped to the main box with two clamps & a gasket . The 1" axle shaft has grooves where the seal lips ran , I don't want expense of spray on metallizing but there has been much talk about JB Weld & locktite products , can you make a recommendation ?? I have a lathe TIA

 

[Copperhead don't play]

Send me a picture of what you need. I have a parts machine that I will give you the Part out of it.

 

[buzzinduzzin]

follow up : all of your replies inspired me to dig deeper !! what I actually have is a Rototiller model 2 , built in Troy New York . the Rototiller company eventually became Troybilt . Zooks Tillers . com is the guru for these & according to his site the only way to reach him is to join the Graham Paige/Frazer rototillers enthusiasts/ collectors facebook Group . I applied almost two weeks ago & it is still pending , Do any of you belong to this FB group that would be willing to help me open a line of communication with Zook ? TIA

 

[TomIn]

follow up : all of your replies inspired me to dig deeper !! what I actually have is a Rototiller model 2 , built in Troy New York . the Rototiller company eventually became Troybilt . Zooks Tillers . com is the guru for these & according to his site the only way to reach him is to join the Graham Paige/Frazer rototillers enthusiasts/ collectors facebook Group . I applied almost two weeks ago & it is still pending , Do any of you belong to this FB group that would be willing to help me open a line of communication with Zook ? TIA

I know just about nothing about these early rototillers, but they look like they would be a fun toy!!!

I tried to look at the Zooks Tillers.com website you mentioned and found nothing. A little more searching suggested that you meant to mention http://www.zucksrototillers.com. Still more searching showed that they have a lot of information online. Have you looked at the Parts Manual and General Instructions at

http://www.zucksrototillers.com/RT_Mod2Manual.pdf

Pages 20 and 21 seem to show how to disengage the clutch that allows "free wheeling"

 

[buzzinduzzin]

thank you for the help ! I have downloaded / printed all that & now needing to look for parts & Mr. Zucks seems to be my starting point & I have to join that FB group to communicate with him ?!?!?

 

[TomIn]

thank you for the help ! I have downloaded / printed all that & now needing to look for parts & Mr. Zucks seems to be my starting point & I have to join that FB group to communicate with him ?!?!?

A few more internet seaches shows that you are trying to contact Charles H Zuck who is now 75 years old and has owned this property with his wife (Gloria N Zuck) at 478 Prospect Rd, Elizabethtown, PA 17022 since 1974.

That address is also associated with

Home

Home

www.soundfocusllc.com

The website says that: "The beginning of SoundFocus can be traced back to 1998 when engineer Chuck Zuck began doing local & regional audio production for concerts & events, as well as freelancing for larger production companies, & touring with bands such as The Waiting, The Normals, Smalltown Poets, & Thousand Foot Krutch. Along the way, Zuck also began working as a stagehand with I.A.T.S.E Locals 98 in Hershey, PA and Local 97 in Reading, PA, helping crews for large concert & Broadway tours set up in various venues in those areas."

You might try contacting Mr. Zuck by mail at his address or possibly try to email Soundfocus LLC (through their website) to see if someone could provide you with a current phone number or email address for Mr Zuck