Unknown Rotary Cutter Gearbox Help?

[BucketSlayer]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for accepting me into this forum space. I bought my first tractor recently, MF 240, which came with a red 5’ rotary cutter. No identification on it: no make, no numbers, no idea.

My questions are:
1. Can you help me understand this gearbox? I only see a zerk, nothing for oil input. Everyone everywhere says fill er with oil! … until they see the pics of this thing.

2. The seals are leaking clearly. Someone before me seems to have cut a square hole so I can access four bolts below the gearbox. Is this the cheap-o easy cheat to replace lower seal or bs? I hear you normally have to remove the blades and everything underneath. If the latter, can I just put heavier grease inside like the old timers?

3. Can I give a guy behind a counter the diameter of the open gearbox needing a seal, and this be sufficient to seal the unidentified rotary cutter?

This is what I could afford! Thank you!

 

[joeysmith]

Put the cover back on
Put about 20 pumps of grease in it occasional
It'll run for years

 

[marloweg]

looks a Howse implement they are still in biss,

 

[marloweg]

Hello everyone,
Thank you for accepting me into this forum space. I bought my first tractor recently, MF 240, which came with a red 5’ rotary cutter. No identification on it: no make, no numbers, no idea.

My questions are:
1. Can you help me understand this gearbox? I only see a zerk, nothing for oil input. Everyone everywhere says fill er with oil! … until they see the pics of this thing.

2. The seals are leaking clearly. Someone before me seems to have cut a square hole so I can access four bolts below the gearbox. Is this the cheap-o easy cheat to replace lower seal or bs? I hear you normally have to remove the blades and everything underneath. If the latter, can I just put heavier grease inside like the old timers?

3. Can I give a guy behind a counter the diameter of the open gearbox needing a seal, and this be sufficient to seal the unidentified rotary cutter?

This is what I could afford! Thank you!

real sure it is a Howse and you can still get parts from them mine has a oil plug on the back side of the gear box but all i use in mine is John Deere corn head gear box grease my seal is also shot i put a half a tube in every spring and then half in the summer

 

[Ray,IN]

All that yellow gunk is corrosion mixed with chassis grease. Clean it out best you can, put it back together with new seals. Then fill with chain saw bar oil or 80W90 gear oil. I "fixed" my bottom shaft seal by filling it with diesel oil and running it lightly for a while before draining out the diesel oil and refilling with chain saw bar oil. I guess the diesel oil softened the seal?_anyway it worked. I haven't had to add more bar oil in 2 years so far.

 

[BucketSlayer]

Well I took note of the suggestions it might be a Howse. Called around and found a place that works with this brand and it was a most unhelpful journey. Ended up buying a gasket making kit from Napa that has rubber, cork, rubber mix sheets to cut your own. Is it crazy to make my own / use a permatex?
also ended up buying the John Deere corn head grease. Just need to try and clean it out. Haven’t been able to find the “drain” yet if I was gonna run diesel to clean as suggested.

 

[Case/Chev]

Put it back together and fill with John Deere cornhead grease.......worked perfectly for me

 

[MM-TX]

Well I took note of the suggestions it might be a Howse. Called around and found a place that works with this brand and it was a most unhelpful journey. Ended up buying a gasket making kit from Napa that has rubber, cork, rubber mix sheets to cut your own. Is it crazy to make my own / use a permatex?
also ended up buying the John Deere corn head grease. Just need to try and clean it out. Haven’t been able to find the “drain” yet if I was gonna run diesel to clean as suggested.

With old equipment making your own gaskets is often a lot easier than finding them to buy. Scoop out the sludge, slosh and brush the diesel. It will find its own drain.

 

[BucketSlayer]

Well hopefully a final update and final ask for clarification on this matter…

Cutting out the inner circle of a gasket was down there in Civil War surgery style but I believe I did okay for this level of project.
All together with extra gasket sealer it looks great from the outside.

One thing which may be a silly question:
I bolted the side gear housing (??) sideways. You can see in the pics the before (zerk on top of gearbox) and after (zerk at 90).
Can anyone confirm that this is fine, right?
Can I dump my Corn head grease through the zerk or have to do another way.
Thanks yall.

 

[Case/Chev]

As long as you can get it full of the John Deere cornhead grease.....I would not see a problem