Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 14, 2023 13:25:38 GMT 1
On top of my recent repair issues with both vehicles, I now have an issue with my 13 year old walk-behind mower. I was wanted to remove the blade to sharpen it and check the condition of the belt behind it but found the bolt holding the blade and its mounting boss has corroded stuck. I have a powerful impact tool (the sort that garages use to remove wheel nuts) and all that did was knock the corners of the bolt. My only remaining option is to either weld another bolt onto the rounded one to try again to unscrew it or to grind off the head of the bolt to get the blade off and then deal with the remains of the bolt with stilsons. Either way I will then have to face the prospect of finding a replacement bolt. The motor is a Briggs & Stratton so it will be a weird thread that will not be a normal metric one. I have many kilos of fasteners in the shed but none with American threads. From experience with ride on mowers the B&S parts diagrams never show the bolt that holds the blade or blade pullleys onto the crankshaft, and the mower manufacturers never list them either. After wasting another few hours of my life searching online I happened across this source. They have an incredible listing of parts for pretty much every brand of mower and garden tool. Pick from their long list of brand names/then model numbers, then they present a parts diagram complete with part numbers and availability. Sensible prices. Easy well laid out site with language options, payment options, and delivery options. The best source I have ever discovered for this stuff. If anyone else gets their hands dirty fixing stuff then I suggest you bookmark their site for future reference. |
|
|
|
Post by Polarengineer on Oct 14, 2023 15:58:00 GMT 1
You may still get the bolt out if you wet it with a mix 50-50 of veggie oil and acetone. Although I think you may already know that trick.
|
|
Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 14, 2023 16:13:49 GMT 1
When I reassemble with the new bolt I will be applying Copaslip to the threads to try to avoid this headache happening again.
|
|
|
|
Post by elsie on Oct 14, 2023 18:40:59 GMT 1
When, some time ago, a friend serviced my old mower, I vaguely remember him mentioning, when he was struggling to turn it, the bolt holding the blade had a reverse thread? Is that usual?
|
|
Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 14, 2023 21:00:38 GMT 1
A very good point. I discovered that possibility years ago while reading a mower service manual. Apparently some models do use a reverse thread but thankfully not that many. One or the other has a better resistance to coming undone when the blade hits a solid object. My problem is corrosion this time.
|
|
|
|
Post by annabellespapa on Oct 15, 2023 9:54:39 GMT 1
Sharpen the blade in place ?
|
|
Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 15, 2023 10:23:25 GMT 1
Very tricky to do in my case. The metal to be removed is on the "inside" surface of the blade. I tried it once with my 4" mini grinder and it was difficult to achieve correct angle and produced a crap result. I decided to buy a new blade and install that, using it first as a reference to sharpen the old one. Then the next time I had one ready to swap already to go.
|
|
Nifty
Member
Posts: 5,026
|
Post by Nifty on Oct 16, 2023 9:14:51 GMT 1
@ Arrdvark
Have you tried heating the bolt ?
|
|
Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 16, 2023 10:21:22 GMT 1
No. I sold my oxyacetylene welding kit before coming to France. I removed the head of the bolt yesterday with a grinder. A new one is coming from the Czech Republic.
|
|
Nifty
Member
Posts: 5,026
|
Post by Nifty on Oct 16, 2023 10:29:13 GMT 1
Is the threaded portion of bolt still in situ ?
|
|
|
|
Post by annabellespapa on Oct 16, 2023 11:14:49 GMT 1
No. I sold my oxyacetylene welding kit before coming to France. I removed the head of the bolt yesterday with a grinder. A new one is coming from the Czech Republic. You have my admiration in your commitment to keep going on your mechanical problems, searching the net and waiting for deliveries, all power to your elbow ! |
|
Aardvark
Non-gamer
Living in soggy 22 and still wondering what's going on.
Posts: 2,172
|
Post by Aardvark on Oct 16, 2023 15:44:18 GMT 1
I'm finding it less enjoyable these days but it is necessary. Finding people to repair pretty much anything is expensive. I (very briefly) considered the idea of buying a new one, mainly because this one has holes in the deck you could push your hands through. I discovered one with the same cutting width with adjustable speed that is electric start and has a common garden hose fitting on the deck for quickly rinsing off the cuttings from below the deck without having to get on hands and knees with a scraper. I spent some time finding the best price and bookmarked it. Then over the next two days I searched for a source of simple maintenance spares to fit it (air filter, blade, etc. By the time I cracked that nut the price had gone up by €50 so that notion is on the back burner and I will be digging out the fibreglass resin and matt to patch the holes. I'm still getting over the €500 shock for new exhausts on the cars that I could have done myself for less than half that but had no means of lifting them safely to do it.
Nifty: Is the threaded portion of bolt still in situ ?
No, I was expecting trouble with that but as soon as I cut deep enough the washer and blade popped off and the rest of the bold unscrewed with fingers.
|
|
