Woods 42 Mower Lube - Overrunning Clutch

[jgalt]

How do I lube the overrunning clutch? Just remove the single bolt on top, pull the Weather Cap, and put a squirt of 30W oil?

>> "Overrunning clutch permits quick gear shifting without waiting for blade to stop coasting."

I have to wait until the blades stop to shift - and I don't hear a 'clicking' when the clutch is depressed. I assume that this part is dry (like the rest of the lube points on my cub were!).

>> Grease the Blade Spindle every 24 hours of operation until some grease is forced out around the top of the shaft.

I've pumped a good bit of grease into the fitting, but don't see any grease on the outside - where should I look?

Thanks!!!

[Mike in Louisiana]

jgalt,
I mow/cut stuff that the mower was not designed to cut and have stripped
out the over run clutch twice. The second time I welded the two piecse
together. That might be why yours does not click.

All I have ever done is grease the fitting below the pulley.

I think you did look at the manual but if not

this is the 42-c4 http://www.cleancomputes.com/Cub/OEM%20 ... index.html

[jgalt]

I downloaded all of the Woods series 42 manauls and the spindle I have is common to most of the 42 series mowers.

I took the spindle apart, and the overrunning clutch parts looked OK execpt for a bit of minor rust. There IS a lube hole on the top of the pulley body to oil the clutch. About the right size for the 3-N-1 oiler to fit. I cleaned and lubed the assy but can't say for sure if it's working correctly. And I'm not sure that mine has all the parts installed per the assy dwg. I'll have to do a bit more studying.

I'm glad I took the spindle apart, the DRIVE HEX part is cracked and gives some slop to the key. So I need to find a good price for the Drive Hex and replace the key as well. $54 is the only price I found on first search for a new Drive Hex (Woods P/N 3177).

I did go ahead and finish mowing my pastures with the cracked Drive Hex and it worked OK. I dropped the mower deck (for the first time!) and am moving on working on my blade assembly.

If anyone has a recommendation for good priced Woods Mower parts, let me know!

[jgalt]

Here is a photo of the cracked Drive Hex...



Would it be possible to weld this part? MIG and grind?

Does anyone know what size and type of key I would need? I need a shearable - soft metal key, right?

[Buzzard Wing]

I have two older ones that I have not used yet, but both are fast hitch and neither have an over running clutch. I did look into buying one.... yikes $280

Sorry I can't be of more help.

The manuals are sorta hard to find, but they are all on the Woods Equipment web site in PDF (undermount mower).

http://www.woodsequipment.com/manuals.a ... 0_11629_2#

[SONNY]

One of mine had a bad key way and I ground it down to take a wider key. (takes a lot of time and small grinder, steady hand, etc. but will work) All 3 of mine have the clutches, and I oil them once in a while! ----oil and grease are lots cheaper than new parts!--lol!! thanks; sonny

[jim turner]

I learned something from this thread, I have had 4 of the woods mowers and none of them seamed to have an over running clutch the one big thing I had against Woods mowers, so I got rid of all of them

[jim turner]

OK the woods mowers that I had was the 59 inch and they don't have the over- running clutch, never owned a 42 I see this thread is only talking about the 42 Sorry about that

[SundaySailor]

Jgalt: do a good visual inspection of the spokes on your overrunning clutch - especially where they join the round part of the sheeve (sp?) They are known to have hair line cracks that are hard to see, and will come apart at the worst possible time. I was lucky that the parts sales person saw mine when I was ordering parts for my rebuild.

[jgalt]

Jgalt: do a good visual inspection of the spokes on your overrunning clutch - especially where they join the round part of the sheeve (sp?) They are known to have hair line cracks that are hard to see, and will come apart at the worst possible time. I was lucky that the parts sales person saw mine when I was ordering parts for my rebuild.

Do you mean the spokes on the pulley?

I'll check carefully, I didn't think about that and now would be the time to examine it.

[Rudi]

Rick is a smart guy!

I just looked at the pic of your pulley:



See the spoke that has the figures 817.... on it? Look counter clockwise 2 spokes. Look at that spoke closely near the outer rim. Isn't that a hair line?????? Right where Rick said it would be. Maybe it is just me eyes, or maybe a trick of the camera, but it looks like a fine hair line fracture there... could be paint too.. but worth checking.

Jgalt: do a good visual inspection of the spokes on your overrunning clutch - especially where they join the round part of the sheeve (sp?) They are known to have hair line cracks that are hard to see, and will come apart at the worst possible time. I was lucky that the parts sales person saw mine when I was ordering parts for my rebuild.

[SundaySailor]

Jgalt: Right where Rudi is referring to is the weak spot(s) for the pulley/sheeve. You may have to check it with a magnifying glass to see any cracks, but mine were on all of the spokes right at the edge. The parts person saw it on mine before I did. He told me that if I continued to use it as is, it would literally come apart and could cause considerable damage to anyone in the area. Better off being cautious and know you have your safety covered.

Cheers!

[SundaySailor]

One other thing I forgot to mention. Many of these Woods 42" mowers have been used for purposes other than what they were built/intended to be used for. Trace your long mounting brackets from the front of the mower towards the rear of the tractor mounting. Starting from the front: Check the welds at the front in every location. Mowers used for bush hogging will develop cracks along those welds and they are hard to see. This will affect the mower immensely causing similar problems to your key way problem and other things related to the sheeve.

This also makes the mower unbalanced, and can actually transmit that vibration to the rear of your Cub causing rear end problems there. Loose bolts, leaks, possibly even helping to crack the final drive housings. Again, I learned from experience the hard way. The PO of my Cub literally drove it into the ground. I wasn't knowledgeable enough at the time of purchase to know the tell tale signs of Cub abuse. But, that's water under the bridge now.

Once burned, twice learned.

[clintmo]

If anyone sees this, could someone direct me to where to apply oil/grease? Is it the small hole off center on the top?

[CharlieK]

6 yo thread
sm hole is a vent
grease zerk is in front or to the side