pulling #9 mower wheels

[Donn Hewes]

I have been working on a custom puller for the #9 wheel for a while and finally got to try it out last week. It worked great but still needs one little fix. The #9 wheel is actually free spinning on the axle, but is held on by a hub that is tight to the axle and held on with a heavy drift pin and a key. Over a long period of time these hubs can get very well set on the end of the axle. Often folks will soak them with Blaster (hard to do as it is on the mower) or heat them which can be tricky with the heavy cast pieces. Sometimes folks use a regular gear puller, but it can be hard to find one that fits or stays on. Then you sometimes might tighten it and leave it for a while.

I drove down to a friends house about 30 minutes from home, so I didn’t want to be there for ever. We took off two well stuck wheels and put on new ones in two hours. Of course I did hit my thumb badly while driving a stuck pin out. I should learn to use vice grips for holding punches, but that is the kind of thing I would never think of!

My puller still has a tendency to spread and come off the wheel, but I see where I can drill and add a couple bolts that go on after it is in place and they would prevent it from spreading. We used a light ratchet strap that could barely hold the pressure but it worked. With a piece of 1″ threaded rod in the center I was able to pound on it until the hubs started to move.

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[Donn Hewes]

In the attached photo above you can see the hole that normally holds a steel pin. That goes through the hub and the axle, and must be driven out before the hub can come off. There is also a tapered key driven into the end of the axle (hidden in the photo by the puller) that holds the hub from spinning on the axle and adds strength to the pin which might eventually shear with out the key. Folks often try to get these keys out before removing the wheel, but I don’t know of any easy way to do that. I just pulled the key with the wheel and the hub. Then knocked it out after the hub was off.

Between the hub and the wheel there are pawls and springs, so be careful not to loose them when they fall out! Both parts can be purchased new but the pawls seldom need replacing. The springs could be broken or just rusted / worn out. Also new hubs can be purchased as these are often broken on old hedge row models or sometimes worn out. they can be broken taking them off if enough force is used and I have broken one over tightening a key after replacing it. When buying new hubs remember the left and right are opposite and the part numbers are not the same.

Putting the hub on with all the pawls and springs fitting in can be a little tricky. I bet there would be a way to do it with a little thread to hold them. I have always just poked them in place while turning and pushing the hub on. When the springs slip out of place you pull it off and start again!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by Donn Hewes.

[Mark Cowdrey]

OK, I’m guessing that Crescent wrench is an FD tool!
Seriously Donn, nice job. A few more pics of the tool would be helpful.
Thanks,
Mark

[Donn Hewes]

No, I bought that plus some other nice wrenches when a local hardware was going out of business. I will take a couple photos when I get a chance to add those extra bolts. Here are few pphotos from another repair I got over the weekend. I will probably need to accept payment in the form of two Amish boys clearing fences for me. The pitman shaft was broken in mid length. In looking at the wear on it and how the outer bushing is almost gone, this shaft broke after it had been rattling around for a while. These are hard working machines.

In pulling a spare shaft and pinnion out of a parts mower I found something interesting. The pinnion on the left came from the parts mower and has all the shoulders busted off of it. I believe I can still use it as a replacement part. The pinnion on the right has the shaft cut with a sawzall; that was the easy way to get the rest of the shaft out as you can’t unscrew it.

Here is how I think It was broken in the first place. the inner gear is sloppy on it’s shaft; much more so than the other mower I have open. This slop was enough to allow the gears to hit and bust of this shoulder.

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[Donn Hewes]

The last photo is a little hard to see, but if you know what this bushing should look like; it is a lot gone! also possibly pushed back? I had to weld a handle on the broken shaft to get the pitman nut off. Now I can cut that off and press out the flywheel. I hope to drill and tap the remaining shaft in the pinion to remove the end of the shaft from there. I will save that for a rainy or snowy day! I hope to put the new bushings in tomorrow and put the mower back together. D

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