A broken JD185 gets some help

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

My son ("wh_702", Nick, or Hobie ) was trying to finish mowing the neighbor's yard this morning when the John Deere 185 decided to quit moving. He asked for some help to push it back to the garage, but being the lazy fellow that I am, I decided to pull rather than push!

A search for the original location of a small piece of aluminum found on the ground under the rear of the tractor soon took place, and I found a broken CAST ALUMINUM hydro control arm. This part fastens to the direction control shaft on the Sundstrand pump with a pinch bolt, and the linkage from the fender-mounted shifter hooks to the other end.

It shouldn't be an expensive part, BUT the entire unit has to be removed from the tractor so the pump can be separated from the transaxle to install the arm! (it's too close to the axle housing to just slide the new arm on. )

Thanks to "Mrs. R", here' s a few pictures and a LINK to a short video.

[kj4kicks 151]

TT, VERY picture-worthy for sure.

The link only goes to the home page tho....

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

I've had a few of those links do that, Eldon.

I reposted it - can you check it again, please?

[Sparky-(Admin) 19,652]

It worked for me.

Good pics and video Terry. Nice to see a Horse rescue a Deere !

Mike..........

[kj4kicks 151]

Yep, Works ok now.

Thanks Mrs. R !!

[illinilefttackle 399]

:whistle: PRICELESS! -AL

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,122]

Link didn't work for me, wonder if this will work better?

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

I replaced the link for the third time. (it actually didn't work that time for me either -- it has to be Photobucket! )

Anyhow....

I just found out that the arm (P/N M73226) is NLA. This one can't be welded, so it looks like I'll have to make one. :D

[linen beige 14]

Yep, NOTHING RUNS FROM WORK LIKE A DEERE!

[C101Mike 0]

Very nice, I work with a big JD fan, surely I wouldn't stoop so low as to rub this in.....yeah right!!

Mike R

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

Just in case anyone happens to get around a late 80's JD 175/185 in a scrap yard -- or even your neighbors yard , this is the arm I'm trying to find:

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345]

FYI, the 185 is the only lawn tractor of that vintage from JD that used the Sundstrand units and those were only on the later serial numbers. The early 185s as well as the 165 and 175 used Eaton units.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

I was just going by what a GTS moderator with a green and yellow tractor in his avatar posted a few days ago.

The only thing I am certain about is that it's becoming a real big pain in my ___, and now his son's 317 is broke again and he wants me to fix it too. :whistle:

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345]

The earlier 185's had Eatons in them, and apparently it wasn't strong enough for the 17 hp Kawasaki engines in the 185. So starting with serial number 475001 JD used the Sundstrand unit. Here's the serial number breakdown for the Sundstrand units per JDParts (185) (SN 475001-750000 & 010001-100000)

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

I dunno but ....

I know the clearances are tight but....

I would look to see if you could re-suse this with the aid of a U bolt. It would straddle the shaft and this piece.

Imagine one part of the U comes down right next to and parallel to the exisiting bolt. (right in front of the bolt as shown in your picture.

The other half of the bolt would come down behind the bracket and the left side of the shaft.

The flat of the U bolt would go diagonally across the bottom of this arm, thereby bracing the broken part up against the keyway.

Or, you could just use some bailing wire ...

If you are lucky you might even be able to do all this without diassembling the whole mess!

Good luck :D

[linen beige 14]

TT, have you thought about fabin' one up out of flat steel stock, using lap joints to make the offsets? Just a thought.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

TT, have you thought about fabin' one up out of flat steel stock, using lap joints to make the offsets? Just a thought.

I have thought about making one, but I will only spend that much time and effort on a RED tractor part. (or a Black one. )

As previously mentioned... The part that irritates me the most is that the pump has to be pulled to install the arm - which means that the entire transaxle has to come out. (and of course the new gasket that has to be bought for the pump.) If anyone has seen the design of these things, you'll know why I'm not thrilled about the job. (yeah -- I'll get some pictures. )

Whenever I decide to burn up a few hours of my valuable time to visit a machine shop, I'll see if someone else can't make something to replace the arm. :whistle:

[linen beige 14]

I have thought about making one, but I will only spend that much time and effort on a RED tractor part. (or a Black one. )

:whistle:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

Just in case anyone wants to see the miracle of japanese tecnology, (extended middle finger smilie) I took a few pictures.

The green arrow in the first picture is pointing to the DC shaft on the hydro pump and the rest are just other views of the same location of stupidity.

[rustbucket 4]

wow what a bunch of idiots makeing it that hard of a pain to fix thats why i like the older machines so simple and so much stronger then todays stuff.

[Stigian 1,234]

Yep, NOTHING RUNS FROM WORK LIKE A DEERE!

Very good Jim :D

[Jim_M 178]

TT,

Is that part made of steel? If so, I could T.I.G. weld it back together for you. I'm pretty sure it would hold, it would be worth a try anyway.

Jim

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

TT,

Is that part made of steel? If so, I could T.I.G. weld it back together for you. I'm pretty sure it would hold, it would be worth a try anyway.

Jim

It's cast aluminum, Jim.... almost bordering on "potmetal". I have it stuck together for the picture too -- it's actually in three pieces! (the entire side of the mounting hole is broken out.)

The neighbor was heading for a local machine shop this morning to see how much it would cost to get one made. I REALLY hope he is sucessful in his quest.

I also found out that some Hydro Gear units used in various "tin can" tractors had the same identical control shaft on the pump. If I could find a junk tractor with a steel control arm, I could modify the rest of the arm to work on the JD.

[Jim_M 178]

I kind of figured it might be pot metal, a steel one wouldn't have broken in the first place. There's no hope of welding low quality cast aluminum, it just blows apart.

Oh well, I thought it was worth a try anyway.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,128]

I certainy do appreciate the offer, Jim!

I'll have to see how he made out at the machine shop.

Now's when I really wish I would have been able to buy that Smithy lathe/mill/drill machine. :whistle: