Woods 1260 rotary mower (10 foot) blades getting out of time and hitting each other

[andy r]

I have a Woods 1260 10 foot rotary mower. The 1260 is built heavy. The 1260 has two blades. Recently I had to re - time the blades as they would hit each other. Took a while to figure out. I did call Woods and they said the PTO shafts powering the left and right gear boxes have a bonded rubber insert. The service tech said the rubber had probably lost its bond with the metal and would slip under heavy load. I really don't know why these bonded rubber things are there unless it is to reduce vibration and take up some driveline shock. Just wondered if anyone ever had the same problem with the bonded rubber slipping? Is there a cheap fix like drilling a hole through the assembly and and bolting it together so it can't slip. Or, possibly welding the thing together. Woods now has an undated shaft (pictured) from the center gear box to the left and right. Cost is short of $500 each plus shipping from Woods. I see there are some aftermarket shafts priced around $200 each which wouldn't be too bad. Old shafts had two universal joints with the bonded rubber thing. Updated shafts just use bolted together rubber disks as pictured. Appreciate any ideas.

 

[sotxbill]

We have problems with ours when we break a shear bolt and replace it... The shafts can be in phase or a half a turn out of phase when replacing the shear bolt.. so I painted a line across the connections to help put the shafts back correctly. With the 4 holes in the rubber couplings you have even more choices to get timing of the shafts wrong. These allow the shafts to more correctly align and not destroy the bearings in the boxes. Every time you hit something big, the rubber couplers will stretch, or tear a bit, allowing the timing of the two blades to change somewhat. So over a period of years, or in case of a catastrophic event, the bushings or couplers will eventually need to be replaced as they are the designed wear point. Remember that one side should have its blades pointed forwards and the other side should have them pointed sideways... will be the correct timing, so that the blades can not hit each other as they pass...but the overlap is necessary to keep from leaving a strip of grass down the center.

 

[Janicholson]

I have a Woods 1260 10 foot rotary mower. The 1260 is built heavy. The 1260 has two blades. Recently I had to re - time the blades as they would hit each other. Took a while to figure out. I did call Woods and they said the PTO shafts powering the left and right gear boxes have a bonded rubber insert. The service tech said the rubber had probably lost its bond with the metal and would slip under heavy load. I really don't know why these bonded rubber things are there unless it is to reduce vibration and take up some driveline shock. Just wondered if anyone ever had the same problem with the bonded rubber slipping? Is there a cheap fix like drilling a hole through the assembly and and bolting it together so it can't slip. Or, possibly welding the thing together. Woods now has an undated shaft (pictured) from the center gear box to the left and right. Cost is short of $500 each plus shipping from Woods. I see there are some aftermarket shafts priced around $200 each which wouldn't be too bad. Old shafts had two universal joints with the bonded rubber thing. Updated shafts just use bolted together rubber disks as pictured. Appreciate any ideas.

I would mark the shafts on both sides of all the rubber couplings and determine which was slipping. Then take that one out and pull the rubber out of the joint (making sure to have it clocked correctly) I would use JBweld to put it back together. No guarantees, but an attempt! Jim

 

[M-MAN]

Flex plate drive with rubber/fiber disks instead of steel. I like the concept. The jacquard drives I used to work on used stacks of steel disks. 17 or 21 depending on head size.

 

[504]

Consignment auctions far from home

 

[MARK ROBKE]

I would do what Janicholson says: mark the 2 halves and see which one slips. Mark.

 

[kencombs]

I would mark the shafts on both sides of all the rubber couplings and determine which was slipping. Then take that one out and pull the rubber out of the joint (making sure to have it clocked correctly) I would use JBweld to put it back together. No guarantees, but an attempt! Jim

I would so similar, except the filler/bonder would be a soft or medium urethane casting compound. I'd bet that is what is in there now, not actual rubber. One would have to be sure to center the shaft so it didn't wobble. That stuff is available from McMaster-Carr among others. 25 cubic inches is around 40 bucks. Worth trying on one side at least.

 

[sotxbill]

We have problems with ours when we break a shear bolt and replace it... The shafts can be in phase or a half a turn out of phase when replacing the shear bolt.. so I painted a line across the connections to help put the shafts back correctly. With the 4 holes in the rubber couplings you have even more choices to get timing of the shafts wrong. These allow the shafts to more correctly align and not destroy the bearings in the boxes. Every time you hit something big, the rubber couplers will stretch, or tear a bit, allowing the timing of the two blades to change somewhat. So over a period of years, or in case of a catastrophic event, the bushings or couplers will eventually need to be replaced as they are the designed wear point. Remember that one side should have its blades pointed forwards and the other side should have them pointed sideways... will be the correct timing, so that the blades can not hit each other as they pass...but the overlap is necessary to keep from leaving a strip of grass down the center.

https://www.agrisupply.com/flex-couplers-and-parts/c/3500007/ for replacement rubber couplings.... do not use jb weld as this is designed to fail if you hit sometime... otherwise you will twist a shaft or destroy a gearbox...

 

[andy r]

When I talked with a service tech at Woods he said right away what the problem was. He told me to mark the bonded rubber devices with a felt pen or chalk to see which one was moving. I feel alot better about the opportunity to buy the shafts aftermarket for less than half price.