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 | Rich Luhr
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2001-07-20 30255
This is a frustrating day. I just got a brand new Land Pride 60" mower, hooked it up, took it out for a spin, and clipped a rock in the grass. Did it eject? Did it shear some safety pin? Nope, it apparently was the right size to get caught between blade end and mower deck. So, in addition to leaving some nice scrape marks on the underside of the deck, it stripped out the bolt which holds the blade on. Not only that, but the spindle (shaft) which the bolt screws into was also completely stripped out. So, 0.5 hours on the equipment and I'm doing R&R on the right hand spindle (remove belt, remove spindle, disassemble, order parts, re-assemble). My question is, is this normal behavior when hitting a 2" rock? I'm not too happy with this performance so far ... -- Rich
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| steve arnold
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-07-20 30261
Rich, stay away from heavy equipment for the rest of the day. But seriously, I think it just one of those "s___ happens" times. It also is a finish mower and not made for the occasional rock like a Brushhog. A see a lot of people mowing with these mowers with engine @2000rpm or so, I am not saying you were or thats why it broke, just an observation. I think after its fixed you will have many happy years of use. ....
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| John Mc
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 98 Vermont
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2001-07-20 30262
I believe you are suffering from what is known as DPS (Dog-Poop Syndrome). Do you remember back when you were a little kid and got a brand new pair of sneakers? No matter how careful you were you always stepped in some the first day you wore them. After that initial christening, you could probably wear them until you out grew them or wore them out and never have it happen again. ....
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| Rich Luhr
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-07-21 30276
Thanks for the supportive responses. It was a rough day, especially since I bought this mower to replace an unreliable garden tractor .... the first half-hour didn't exactly encourage me on the reliability issue! The bad news is that the parts and labor on the spindle assembly will be close to $100. I was able to remove the assembly to take to the dealer, but I don't have the tools to press out the bearings and replace the parts. Interestingly, the bolt survived with minimal damage -- it was much stronger metal than the shaft it screwed into, and so it pulled out taking the threads of the spindle with it! If it had been the other way around, I would be replacing only a bolt ($5). The blade is toast too: a major chunk came out of the mid-section of the cutting area. But I will trust that you are right and that this is a freak accident and that I can count on more reliable service in the future. You can bet I'll be combing the lawn for more hidden rocks! One nice thing about Land Pride is that all their parts and operator's manuals are available at their website to download. I now have a complete parts manual, which I suspect will be useful in the future. Thanks -- Rich ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada 
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2001-07-25 30367
Stupid question of the day: How did you cut the grass before that you missed a 2" rock in grass that you are now cutting with an expensive, new finishing mower? ....
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| BillBass
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 190 North Texas
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2001-07-26 30392
Murf I don't know about your place, but on mine, Rock Fairies come during the night and leave rocks where there were no rocks before.
Seriously, rocks just below the surface (turned under by previous cultivation?) work their way up over time. Especially during times that range from extreme wet to extreme hot,dry, as it does here in Texas. I often pick up rocks that weren't there last season. ....
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| Rich Luhr
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-07-26 30394
... with a 48" mower which didn't hang over quite as far in a tight spot as the new 60" mower.
But I think you're missing the point. Obviously it's not a good idea to hit rocks. I knew that already. What I'm wondering about is whether this is normal and reasonable design for a mower to fail so expensively and catastrophically in such a foreseeable circumstance. Rocks happen. Why, for example, doesn't the design include a simple shear pin or breakaway point somewhere other than deep inside the very expensive spindle ($140)? ....
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2001-07-26 30401
Ahh, now I got it, I was confused about the rocks. As far as the 'weak link' theory goes Rich I think you are right, however, dumb designs seem to be rather more wide-spread than us engineer-types would like, let alone the rest of the world. I think the problem is that mowers have never (that I can remember) really been designed with INTEGRAL impact protection, it is usually in the drive train. The most common method is to put either a shear-pin type yoke on the drive shaft, or to put a slip-clutch between the drive shaft and the gearbox. Personally, from too much experience at hitting things (bush-hogs find rocks like nothing else can), the slip-clutch is the way to go, if it releases a quick step on the clutch will allow it to reset without any effort or time wasted. Best of luck. ....
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| Rich Luhr
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-08-01 30559
Murf, I think you're right: nothing's perfect. I am tempted to try to work up a solution of my own someday. In the meantime, I got the replacement hub assembly and it was the wrong part! Fortunately I had also ordered parts to rebuild the broken one, so within a day I was back up and running. This may have been a freak accident anyway. The dealership was astonished that one rock could have done such damage. The blade I showed them appeared to be 2-3 years old, but it had been used just 0.5 hours ... It was The Perfect Rock .... soon to be a movie starring George Clooney. Thanks for the help. ....
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