Has anyone opened the gearbox on both sides for the mower? I'm wanting to do a big tune up on my LM56 to see if that'll help mow better. I removed the 10mm bolts but the case did not budge unless it's just stuck from caked on grime. I'm wondering if there's too much grease and gunk that's making my mower difficult to move. The drum moves okay on Travel mode, but engaging the reel gets it really stiff to need a push and pick up momentum. My mower won't even move when I engage the groomer. It's definitely tightened up after the years of owning it.
I also want to inspect for parts that I'm needing to replace so I can submit an order soon.
I agree with everything
@Mightyquinn mentioned. It's pretty straight forward.
I would purchase a gasket just to have it whether you need it or not. Also, there's a chance you might need to replace the bearings while you have the covers off.
A unit purchased from NY was used extensively on a golf course. I don't know if the course mechanics replaced the gaskets or not, but one of the bolts seized at the bottom of the smaller cover. It resulted in the bolt head snapping off and I had to drill out the bolt and retap the hole. (It's shown below in the photo.)
The other problem I had with the unit was that the bearings blew up on the unit. On of the balls of the bearing got stuck in a gear and wouldn't allow the rear roller to move either direction. Here's a photo of part of the bearing still attached to the shaft and the remaining parts on the cardboard.
I believe there's another bearing on the other side of that filthy gear (two bearings per side)?
Here's the notes from my repair:
The quickest way to tell which side of the mower is having gear problems is to remove the pin that connects both sides of the rear rollers of the mower. Once the pin is removed, the right side of the mower will spin freely if it doesn’t have gear problems and you will know that the gear problems are on the left side of the mower. Obviously, if the right side doesn’t spin freely, you know the problems are there.
Pin Removal Process: The pin can be located from the rear of the mower. It is located on the left side of the mower near the brake cable. You have to remove a Pin, “C” clip, slide over the cover with a screw driver, and then remove the pin. Once the remove the pin, it allows the right side to spin independently from the left side.
For me the right side would still only turn a quarter turn. So, I removed the WHEEL DRIVING FITTING from the drum shaft after I remove the hexagon socket head bolt. Inserting a screwdriver into the gap on the wheel drive fitting, will you to open it up and remove it with ease. Then, remove the KEY.
Next, remove the (5) M6-1.0 x 40mm bolts holding the cover in position. These should have had anti-seize applied before being installed. I had one break off and I had to extract it with a tap and die and several drill bits. Definitely, use anti-seize when reinstalling these bolts!
My bearing had disintegrated and was the cause of the quarter turn range of motion. I removed the metal fragments and what was left of the bearing. I had to use a 6” gear puller from Harbor Freight to remove what was left of the bearing still mounted on the transport axle.
I removed two gears and cleaned them.
Also, I decided to replace the seal for the Right Cover. When installing the seal, be sure to keep the edges of the rubber dry. You do not want any lubricant on the edges. Lubricant won’t allow the middle part of the seals rubber edge to set properly.
Do not fully fill the Right Cover with grease. You need to grease the gears as well as the space between the bearings and the seal. (The Left Cover requires that you fill the cover completely to force the grease into all the necessary spaces.)
The Right Cover gasket does not need a sealant if it is brand new. Otherwise, any Permatex gasket sealant is okay.
After you replace the seal and bearing, make sure you fill the gap between the bearing and the seal fully before installing it. This will help to ensure that water doesn’t get to the bearing again.
This way when you install the housing, it forces grease into the bearing and keeps the cavity between the bearing and seal fully filled with grease.
The replacement bearings are: Koyo 6204
Hopefully, this helps!!! Goodluck!
