Sickle Bar Mower Repair.

[Teddy da Bear 11]

I need to know if the wheel horse sickle bar mower uses a common diameter & length clevis (yoke) pin????

Seems like the company would have been smart enough to design as little as possible and buy as much as they could "ready-made".

The isometric drawing is not entirely clear on some things. Part numbers oo not tell you diameter and length.

The bronze bushings (item 12, part #26B6) seem to logically go inside the yoke correct? The pin slides through the bushings. But the broken part I got out of the sbm gearbox was more like a bronze washer. The bushings seem to still be in place.....they just do not look like bronze. They look like part of the yoke.

My concern is that the bushings are gone and the P.O. just put in a yoke pin of a larger diameter to fill the hole in the yoke. I just do not see anything "bronze" in there.....and yet the current pin diameter fits the hole.

I refer you to the pic. below.

Attached Image

[Duff 206]

Mike, I don't know squat about these mowers, but that pin sure looks like it's neatly machined on the end you have marked as something "missing". I also believe you've laid out everything you found inside, and the slit appears to have been too small for anything of any real size to have slipped out. TT's earlier post about the yoke maybe having spread seems to be the most logical......

Just MHO from an admitted novice.......

Good luck!

Duff B)

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Thank you Deereman.... But I do not believe that the yoke has spread as I can clearly see a continous surface from one side of the yoke to the other.

If the yoke had spread there would be gaps in between the inside of the yoke (item 10/11) and the mating part (welded shaft assy: item 9).

I might know what this "bronze washer" is now that I have examined it and the drawing further. There is a bronze sleeve bushing (item 15) that goes behind the shaft/bearing assembly (item 13/14). There is a gap and slop between yoke assembly (item 10/11) and shaft/bearing assembly (item 13/14) even with what's left of the pin inserted.

This washer might be what is left of item 15.......sigh.....

This is getting really involved...

picture below of gap.....shaft visable...no bushing on it.

Attached Image

[Teddy da Bear 11]

I got the sbm apart. I found that someone had replaced the bronze bushings (item 12) with steel bushings. Not sure if that was a smart idea.

But I have enough information about the bronze bushing needed behind the shaft. It is 1" O.D. x 3/4" I.D. and I am not sure how long it should be.

I have seen them at Menard's and Lowe's and TSC...just need to find the right size.

[sorekiwi 761]

I have seen them at Menard's and Lowe's and TSC...just need to find the right size.

If you cant find the bushes you need locally, McMaster-Carr and MSC have a good selection . They also have the flanged ones and thrust washers.

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Thanks Mike.. I am aware that McMaster Carr has about everything.

But I would likely try grainger tool first as I have 2 close by.

[Duff 206]

I got the sbm apart. I found that someone had replaced the bronze bushings (item 12) with steel bushings. Not sure if that was a smart idea.

But I have enough information about the bronze bushing needed behind the shaft. It is 1" O.D. x 3/4" I.D. and I am not sure how long it should be.

Mike, you've probably already thought of this so please forgive me if I'm blowing smoke....

I ran into a similar problem working on another brand of tractor. I had to replace some worn out and NLA bushings. Fortunately, I was able to locate some with the correct I.D. and O.D. but they were too long. I found oiled bronze is very easy to work with a file and hacksaw. It took a few test fits but the result was satisfactory and really not that time consuming. Is this a possibility in your situation?

Cheers!

Duff :whistle:

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Yes Duff,

I plan to buy long and go short.....lol

Not sure length is really critical as long as it is not too long.

The flange of the bushing will determine how things are spaced.

THanks!

[Teddy da Bear 11]

I found the oiled bronze bushing I needed at Lowe's. I needed to saw off about 1/8" of the overall length. I ground the end square and put a lead-in chamfer on the end. I press fit the bushing into place. You can see the mating parts in the picture. I did some of the work on my GT-14 "table"...

My friend down the street made the clevis pin for me and included new snap rings with it.

All I have to do is weld together the hole that the old broken clevis pin shaved in the access plate and then I can re-assemble.

You can see the bushing, clevis pin and mating parts on the GT-14 table in the following pic.

Attached Image

[Duff 206]

Mike, that's looking really good! Can't wait to see the finished product - in action! :horseplay:

Best!

Duff :banghead:

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Thanks Duff!

When I look at these snap rings on the clevis pin... I don't like the idea.

If I were designing this I would put washers behind the snap rings.

I think if enough forces are at work on these snap rings again....They will

just come off again and give me trouble.

[Duff 206]

When I look at these snap rings on the clevis pin... I don't like the idea.

If I were designing this I would put washers behind the snap rings.

I think if enough forces are at work on these snap rings again....They will just come off again and give me trouble.

Yeah, I see what you're saying and I agree. Wonder why the engineers didn't think about that? Hmmmm......

Duff :banghead:

[Sarge 3,462]

Is there any way to bore the area behind the snap rings a bit and add a thrust washer or machine bushing ? You can get them pretty thin and it would help spread out the load better ...

Just a thought...

Sarge

[Teddy da Bear 11]

If I had really been thinking I would have had my friend make a true clevis pin which actually has a "head" on one end and a snap ring on the other.

That would have cut my chances of failure by 50%.....lol

[Sarge 3,462]

I'd take the pin to a local engine machinist and see if he has any spiralock piston pin retainers , those would take a much higher side load than a standard snap ring . I had one of those lightweight ones come off the rear deck scalp wheels on the 48" last week , no idea where that wheel went . Hope I don't find it the hard way ...!

Sarge

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Well.....been having some trouble with assembly.

Could barely get the new clevis pin installed.

I took it back out and measured it again. Guess my friend

let me down some. It measured 0.625" diameter which is

a nominal dimension for a pin or shaft. I made him a drawing

for it and specified 0.624 for the diameter.

The size it is now does not allow for "enough" free movement

of the clevis.

I am going to have another friend grind it down another thousandth

of an inch....

I am also concerned with something else I found. On the vertical shaft

weldment (that comes up from the bottom to mesh with the clevis),

there appears to be no seal to keep fluid in the gearbox. Only a

large bronze sleeve bushing.

I am going to examine the assembly drawing and see if something

is missing.

It would be somewhat sufficient to keep grease in, but not fluid...

[sorekiwi 761]

Just came across this thread again by accident.

What happened Mike? Didja fix it?

[Teddy da Bear 11]

Wow....life and the SBM got sidetracked....lol

It is all together....

I welded closed the slit in the access plate. Primed

and painted it.

I got some gasket sealer, but have not yet applied it.

Then I will add the oil and see what happens.

I believe I will run it and then examine the parts again

to see if everything is holding up well.

Thanks for bringing this post back to life!

[sorekiwi 761]

When you get it going....... :hide: