Wheels and Bolts RM-367 deck

[loudtractor 50]

Hi all, I just scored this really nice RM 367 deck. Grandpa had it stored for years, really good shape. Except.....

The wheels and shoulder bolts are worn out.

I see a nut welded on to accept the shoulder bolt. Is this stock? It might have been added, I don't know. 

I can't seem to figure it out from parts lookup.

If anyone has one, does this look right?

If so, what parts, (Wheels and bolts are correct?

I could rig something to work, but this is getting a full resto, to match my restored 856, and I'm really interested in keeping everything original.

Thanks!

Matt

Edited July 23, 2024 by loudtractor
Added pics

[ebinmaine 72,426]

I'll be following this ... I want to see what the answer is.

 

Shoulder bolts are easy enough to get ahold of just going by the size. That's a "Standard Parts" thing.

Not sure about the wheels though.

 

 

 

[ri702bill 9,348]

That is a repair - the original was a pierced hole in its place with the material rolled inward and threaded. They do tend to strip out as there was only about 3 threads engaged....

Several vendors on the "Bay site sell the correct gauge wheels that have the grease fittings and bolts - not exactly cheap though.

Decent looking deck - be sure the blades are "timed" correctly and not installed upside down or backwards.... Perhaps @Handy Don can add more....

Edited July 23, 2024 by ri702bill

[Handy Don 13,981]

Good score. I personally like mowing with these decks but they do require careful attention/maintenance -- and LOTS of grease in those gearboxes.

Definitely what you have is a repair, but a clever one! Its weakness is that now your gage wheels will stick out past the side of the deck shell preventing a close-up edge cut.

 

Your RM-367 had the “newer” style of gage wheel support.

 The earlier decks used a welded-in stud for the axle and, on the outside, a threaded end, a keeper nyloc nut, and narrow gage wheels (shown here). This let the wheel support fit snugly near the shell and the wheel fit within the mowed width of the deck. However the narrower wheels with the weight of the deck tend to dig into the lawn and wear out pretty quickly.

 

Later decks, as @ri702bill noted, had threaded holes in the wheel carrier plate and used a special shoulder bolt with a low-profile head whose threaded end protrudes very slightly toward the shell. At the same time, they switched to wider wheels so the wheels ran a bit out of the mowed track. 

This bolt is similar to the new style but is for a different deck so the threaded part is ¼” longer. Note no taper on the shoulder!

1.75” of shoulder, .75” of thread

 

Up to you to decide how to proceed.

You can leave the wheels sticking out a bit.

Or, if you have welding skills & equipment and want to go all out, you might consider removing the existing nuts, grinding the back of the carrier flat (that the threads in there are stripped is the likely reason for the repair), and then welding on two low-profile nuts “sandwiching” the carrier plate. Use a bolt to align the nuts and hold them in place during the welding.

(EDIT) Or, see my later post about welding up, redialing, and tapping the the existing hole

 

Either way, you need new wheels and bolts with shoulder length to match the new wheels’ bore length.

 

Ask away if you have more questions!

Edited July 24, 2024 by Handy Don

[ri702bill 9,348]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

That is a repair - the original was a pierced hole in its place with the material rolled inward and threaded. They do tend to strip out as there was only about 3 threads engaged....

Several vendors on the "Bay site sell the correct gauge wheels that have the grease fittings and bolts - not exactly cheap though.

Decent looking deck - be sure the blades are "timed" correctly and not installed upside down or backwards.... Perhaps @Handy Don can add more....

Looking at the RM-366 manual, you most likely had the welded axle stud style Don mentioned. Stud welded to the pivoting movable height adjuster. Early ones were crude - required you to unbolt the wheels and move them to other holes to change the height...

[Handy Don 13,981]

5 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Looking at the RM-366 manual, you most likely had the welded axle stud style Don mentioned. Stud welded to the pivoting movable height adjuster. Early ones were crude - required you to unbolt the wheels and move them to other holes to change the height...

He’s got an RM-367 . I suspect his badly worn shoulder bolts are the originals!

 

He could also weld up the existing stripped holes leaving a bit of extra material on the back where the original stamping flared out and then drill/tap for the shoulder bolts. 

Edited July 23, 2024 by Handy Don

[squonk 43,735]

Brian at K & B has the correct wheels. They are not the std. fat deck wheels you see all over the internet. I bought a pair of them from him at the show.