Mower gearbox

[Jeremy in DE]

Twisted off the shaft to my gearbox while mowing this morning.

I'm looking for some pointers or leads about a repair.

I see gearboxes for sale at reasonable prices, but none match this gearbox. This one seems to have different input and output shafts than the replacements I have found. (Input: 1 1/8 in. six spline; Output: 1.5 in. 24 spline.) The replacements also all mount with 4 bolts instead of six.

Can someone point me to a different source of gearboxes that might replace mine directly?

Or maybe a source of gearbox parts? Could I replace the input shaft?

How hard would it be to install a replacement gearbox with a different bolt pattern? And if I could, I have shaft differences to deal with. More parts would (I think) address that problem: PTO shaft change, new stump jumper for new output shaft. Anything else I'm forgetting?

The serial number is worn off, but the plate says "Ford" on it.

I am good at replacing parts/components. I am not a machinist nor a fabricator.

I only use this thing a small amount each year, but it's really hard to maintain the property without a mower like this.

I mow with a TO30 so I doubt the tractor twisted the shaft off by shear power. I got the mower well used and the input shaft was quite twisted when I got it, but it served me for 15 years in my limited use. I can't complain, but now I'm pondering economical repair options to get mowing again.

Pictures are here if they work...

 

[Janicholson]

Giving us model numbers and manufacturer would help ! Jim

 

[Jeremy in DE]

As mentioned in my original post it is a Ford mower.

Here is my best picture of the serial number plate.

Does that read 22-II2 for the model number?

 

[steve in ok]

Input shaft is available at Messicks online. $429 3-5 days shipping. Bearings should be easy to find locally.
https://www.messicks.com/commoncatalog?vendor=nh&modelId=137572

 

[steve in ok]

Messicks also shows a gearbox assembly part number 7500023 call for price.

 

[Eric in IL]

Wow, I have a 22-60 Ford mower. In my opinion they are a tough machine.

I wonder if your mower has a slip-clutch or a shear pin? Mine has a clutch. You may want to see if your clutch has rusted tight.

Manuals for the 901 series mowers can be viewed at *tractorclub.com. (Replace the * with the letter n ) One manual tells you how to adjust the clutch.

 

[Jeremy in DE]

I have found it to be a good machine. Mine has shear pins. I have definitely sheared a few from time to time.

The funny thing about twisting off this input shaft is that I wasn't really working the mower very hard--at least the tractor didn't seem to be working. Over the years I've mowed a lot of stuff that was at the limits of the tractor (30hp) and this was not one of those times. But this is when the shaft gave out.

As I mentioned above there is some indication that the previous owner used it pretty hard. Perhaps that use contributed to my failure today? Or maybe today was just a bad luck day.

 

[Jeremy in DE]

Thank you. Impressive someone still has parts for this gearbox.

I may have to buy one.

But I must admit that I wonder whether, or how hard, it would be to mount a modern after-market gear box on my mower deck. I could get a new gearbox for half the price of that shaft. I'd need some other parts but still cheaper, and I'd replace some other worn items in the process.

I could drill the four holes, probably, and my measurements indicate the existing holes are not in the way. I wonder if anyone has tried this.

Could I pull it off? Is there something I'm not considering?

 

[MF#1]

Try this place, lots of knowledge and toll free number.
link

 

[INCase]

this isn't much help. I've been looking for a brush hog myself. I've noticed that several Ford's (I do not know the model #s) I've seen have had the input shaft twisted off. Those were all (3x) blue painted Fords if that makes any difference.

in light of that i would maybe consider replacing more parts with another brand gear box but then you get to the point that you could buy another used unit as here in Indiana they are running between $350-600ish depending on the seller and color of course. I noticed someone posted nearly $500 just for the shaft.

Where are you in Delaware? I grew up in Laurel a long time ago. Don't know who might be around still for mowers or parts. Is WC littletons still around?

good luck.

 

[wore out]

(quoted from post at 11:26:08 11/30/21) Messicks also shows a gearbox assembly part number 7500023 call for price.

In my experience "call for price" on the Messick's site 99% of the time means the same as "no longer available".

Did anyone actually call them and check?

 

[cdmn]

I would browse a few industrial surplus stores. This one is probably a small ratio, 2 to 1, maybe.
Might be lucky. It looks like the shaft had a ductile failure. Heat treat may have been on the
low side. You generally design parts to have the same strength. But you also design for the
cheapest part to break first, such as shear pins.
Gear manufacturing has become very expensive. But there are several companies that make repair
parts. One piece at a time, is the most expensive. You won't know what you need until you open
it up and take a look. It is possible that the drive shaft is separate from the gear. Splined
shafts would be the easiest and cheapest part to make.

 

[Jeremy in DE]

I want to close out this thread by describing what I finally decided to do just in case anyone ever finds this in the archives.

After pricing the various used rotary mowers available locally I decided to repair the one I have.

I ordered an off-the-shelf gearbox, stump jumper to fit it, and a new PTO shaft. I had to enlarge the central hole in the mower deck. That definitely worried me, but I pulled it off with an angle grinder and cutoff discs. I drilled the new mounting holes for the gearbox.

For me, this was all dabbling in work beyond what I usually attempt. But it all works smoothly now.

The mower still looks like it's 50+ years old, but all the moving parts (except the tail wheel) are new. For my kind of use it might have a chance of another 50 years.

Total cost was slightly less than going rate of well used ones in my area, plus about 3 hours of time to assemble.

I tested it out for about 20 minutes and it seems to work like a charm.