I've spent the last couple months repairing and upgrading my Allett Liberty 43. I had some clicking noise that was driving me crazy after working it hard this past spring scarifying into the dirt for a long period of time. One of the issues was the motor drive rod became a little loose and Allett replaced it under warranty. Before I changed out the original motor, I came across KeyWay's motor upgrade on this forum and purchased it. This all led to me taking apart most of the mower to replace the motor and repair the noise that was ultimately two gears that were too far apart. I also had to fix a sticky auto-drive engage mechanism. I essentially removed every pulley and even the roller. Here are the major items I repaired or adjusted:
1 - When you put in the cartridge, the white gear on the reel touches a green gear. After doing this all season (and likely dropping it in too hard), the green gear got pushed away. The green gear is on a metal part that swivels back and forth on another post so that you can adjust the space between the gears. The space became too wide and then the gear "clanked" a lot. There is a nut underneath the mower (you have to remove the cartridge) that the metal part swivels on. Then there is a nut on the pulley side under the green cover that you loosen to slide the green gear toward the white one. Then tighten both bolts. It's a little tough to turn the nut underneath because it's close to a metal side panel.
2 - The auto drive engage was sticking quite a bit (it wouldn't fully disengage). There is the screw mechanism on the underside that adjusts when it engages and by how much, but that was not the problem. The piece the pulley swivels on was too tight. There is a screw adjustment underneath with a spring on it that tightens/loosens this mechanism. But you have to remove the roller to get to it. You also have to remove the pulleys to get to the swiveling mechanism on the outside under the green cover. So that led to me learning from Allett about how to remove the roller. It's not too hard to do. Once I removed the roller, I could easily access the nut with the spring adjustment and loosen up the swivel that engages the pulley against the belt. I also removed the drive gear that goes into the roller and cleaned it up and added some fresh grease.
3 - I then greased all the metal poles that the gears are on.
4 - Added the new motor with chain drive and new large battery (this included taking apart the control box at the top of the handle). You have to also remove one of the pulleys and drive shafts (KeeWay's kit and instructions were fantastic).
5 - Readjusted the tension on all belts.
One open item remains. I had removed the front roller and put on the two black wheels on the front bar to mow higher. I noticed that one side is higher than the other and the mower tilts and 1/8th of an inch when pushed forward (in other words the left wheel sits an 1/8th of an inch off the floor when the roller is flat). I'm getting a new front bar to see if it's bent. I can't believe the frame is bent because I didn't drop it or hit anything heavy. It seems flat and level on the roller but when I push it forward the left wheel drops down (it's a little high). I didn't notice this with the front roller on it. I want to get the mower perfectly level.
As a result, I now have have a ton of experience tearing down and repairing the mower. I'm posting to offer help to anyone who is having trouble with their Allett Liberty. It's actually not too hard to do the repairs yourself. No need to pay a service shop to do this if you're willing to spend a few hours over a few days. It's was actually a fun project.
1 - When you put in the cartridge, the white gear on the reel touches a green gear. After doing this all season (and likely dropping it in too hard), the green gear got pushed away. The green gear is on a metal part that swivels back and forth on another post so that you can adjust the space between the gears. The space became too wide and then the gear "clanked" a lot. There is a nut underneath the mower (you have to remove the cartridge) that the metal part swivels on. Then there is a nut on the pulley side under the green cover that you loosen to slide the green gear toward the white one. Then tighten both bolts. It's a little tough to turn the nut underneath because it's close to a metal side panel.
2 - The auto drive engage was sticking quite a bit (it wouldn't fully disengage). There is the screw mechanism on the underside that adjusts when it engages and by how much, but that was not the problem. The piece the pulley swivels on was too tight. There is a screw adjustment underneath with a spring on it that tightens/loosens this mechanism. But you have to remove the roller to get to it. You also have to remove the pulleys to get to the swiveling mechanism on the outside under the green cover. So that led to me learning from Allett about how to remove the roller. It's not too hard to do. Once I removed the roller, I could easily access the nut with the spring adjustment and loosen up the swivel that engages the pulley against the belt. I also removed the drive gear that goes into the roller and cleaned it up and added some fresh grease.
3 - I then greased all the metal poles that the gears are on.
4 - Added the new motor with chain drive and new large battery (this included taking apart the control box at the top of the handle). You have to also remove one of the pulleys and drive shafts (KeeWay's kit and instructions were fantastic).
5 - Readjusted the tension on all belts.
One open item remains. I had removed the front roller and put on the two black wheels on the front bar to mow higher. I noticed that one side is higher than the other and the mower tilts and 1/8th of an inch when pushed forward (in other words the left wheel sits an 1/8th of an inch off the floor when the roller is flat). I'm getting a new front bar to see if it's bent. I can't believe the frame is bent because I didn't drop it or hit anything heavy. It seems flat and level on the roller but when I push it forward the left wheel drops down (it's a little high). I didn't notice this with the front roller on it. I want to get the mower perfectly level.
As a result, I now have have a ton of experience tearing down and repairing the mower. I'm posting to offer help to anyone who is having trouble with their Allett Liberty. It's actually not too hard to do the repairs yourself. No need to pay a service shop to do this if you're willing to spend a few hours over a few days. It's was actually a fun project.
