thekevin 50 #1 Posted Thursday at 12:10 AM I got it far enough last night about 2am to finally take it for a drive. I have replaced every piece of the fueling system. I have replaced all of the wiring and all of the electronics except the stator and regulator including converting it from triggerless to battery points. I put new front tires on it which are holding air without tubes which is surprising due to the amount of rust I took off of the inside of the wheels before I painted them. There is still a lot left to do but I am happy to get to this point with it for something that had been sitting a really long time with a transaxle full of water and half of the wiring burnt out of it. There are still a couple of issues left to deal with. The transaxle needs rebuilt because the one of the cap bearings has corroded through and most of the seals leak. The steering is super heavy and whatever the fan looking steer gear assembly is looks to be pretty worn out with a lot of play in the shaft. It won't run with the points cover on so I need to adjust that setup a little bit. This was the first time I kicked the blades on and it made some racket, I haven't even looked under the deck yet so who knows that is. I had to grind off the phillips head screws off of the screen covering the fan and was only able to get two of them out. I managed to break off a drill bit in one and a tap in the other one so that probably won't be going back on. 1 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 62,035 #2 Posted Thursday at 01:20 PM 12 hours ago, thekevin said: last night about 2am to finally take it for a drive. I bet your neighbors all knew about your success when you drove it at 2:00 AM. 13 hours ago, thekevin said: The steering is super heavy and whatever the fan looking steer gear assembly is looks to be pretty worn out with a lot of play in the shaft. on occasion the steering block that the fan gear rides in may be broken and need replacement. If the block is good the fan gear can be shimmed to remove the play. You will need an assortment of 3/4" shim washers which can be found at most hardware stores. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekevin 50 #3 Posted Thursday at 03:23 PM The play looks to actually be the steering rod. When I turn the steering wheel with the front end off the ground it looks like the gear on the end of the steering shaft is moving around like the hole below it is wallered out. I jacked it up last night and all 3 of the blades were not aligned correctly with the dowel pins in the holes on the blades and the middle blade was loose. I turned that 15 minute job into a multi day ordeal with one little snap. I think I am going to pull the deck off tonight because the other bolts will probably snap too and I don't want to laying on the concrete for hours fixing that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 62,035 #4 Posted Friday at 11:29 PM On 10/30/2025 at 11:23 AM, thekevin said: When I turn the steering wheel with the front end off the ground it looks like the gear on the end of the steering shaft is moving around like the hole below it is wallered out. There could be some ware in there but shimming the lower shaft will bring the fan gear closer to the pinion gear reducing the play and binding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thekevin 50 #5 Posted yesterday at 05:59 AM I am going to start with cleaning this up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 15,548 #6 Posted yesterday at 06:53 AM 53 minutes ago, thekevin said: am going to start with cleaning Definitely a good start. That old grease turns to gunk like dried epoxy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
