[J_nick]

Red in the event you do have to take apart the rear roller a pipe wrench would be a lot faster than grinding flats for a wrench. It may not be the prettiest after but it's hard to beat quick results

 

[J_nick]

Not that big of deal when it only holds .4 quarts. I'm about to walk in JD to get new belts and oil for mine

 

[J_nick]

+1 Red, I use a 32mm socket. It was around $8 at O'reillys. Only took 3 trips to get the correct size

 

[J_nick]

With the reel engaged it's impossible to "roll" backwards, you can drag it but the rear roller will not roll. When I need to pull it backwards I lift the rear roller off the ground where only the front roller is on the ground.

For going around objects lower the RPMs as low as you can, it greatly reduces ground speed.

 

[J_nick]

Yeah cleaning the carb could help. You could try lowering the RPMs while the reel is moving to get you by.

 

[J_nick]

Parking brake doesn't work on my 180b... I've checked the cable for adjustment and it's all the way tight but still have about 1/4" of slack in the brake band.. did the brake band have a pad like material when new? If so maybe I just need a new brake band.

I'll check next time I go to the shop. TBH I don't use my parking brake at all. I think it's more for transporting it from green to green on a trailer but for us it doesn't have much use.

 

[J_nick]

Pull the carb off and clean the main jet

 

[J_nick]

Pull the carb off and clean the main jet

Thanks J_nick, I will give that a shot. Any chance I would have to tune the carb (high/low)?

If I remember correctly I don't think so. I just went out and looked at mine and you could do it without removing the carb. There is enough room to take the bowl off and access the main jet.

 

[J_nick]

I had a bad nick in mine (like reel wouldn't spin) and had no idea how it got there. I filed it down with my dremel tool until it matched the rest of the blade as best as I could. Works fine now and I have not noticed any difference in cut.

It scared the crap out of me though, I thought for sure I was going to have to buy a new reel. In which case I have no idea where to buy one haha

Many here, including myself, have used R&R Products. They carry parts for most of the popular brands, sorry @Mightyquinn. For John Deere parts you can also look up your part numbers on
JD parts catalog then go to Green Farm Parts and enter them in to price/ buy them. 3rd option would to call your local JD dealer and see if they are a golf dealer (some aren't and won't be able to order anything Golf related) even if they aren't they will know the nearest dealer that is. It still helps to have the part numbers you need and they will take your order over the phone and have it shipped to your house.

 

[J_nick]

I think I'm needing to replace my belts on my 220c. When I engage the reel mechanism I hear a chirp and then sometimes I feel/see/hear a vibration/shudder while the reel in starting up (at least thats what I'm hoping the issue is). The chirp has been there awhile, the vibration/shudder is new. Reel seems fine after its been engaged for a few seconds.

I looked up the parts AMT2800 for the belt. 28$ for a set of belts seems pretty high (why am I not surprised its a JD reel mower everything is expensive). Does anyone know the exact size of the belts or after-market belts that I could find potentially cheaper?

You could try adjusting the belt tension. Mine were slipping bad on my mower so I bought a new set. When I went to take them off they didn't look too bad so I just went through John Deere 20 step procedure for setting the belt tension and it has worked like a charm for 2 years now. Still have the new belts sitting on the shelf for backup.

220C Manual down under Service - Belts

 

[J_nick]

Anyone here use a grooved front roller vs smooth? I have both but using smooth right now. Just looking for pros/cons

After mowing for 2 years with a smooth roller I finally upgraded the 220B to a grooved roller. Much better cut and the grass is more upright than horizontal. It's only been around 4 cuts since I changed but I can easily notice the difference. The actual HOC is now way closer to the bench HOC. The first cut after the change I could tell the mower was taking a much bigger bite into the turf. Normally it's about 3-4 catchers full during a mow but the first mow after the switch was around 7-8. Luckily it was early enough in the season where scalping wasn't an issue.

 

[J_nick]

@Thor865 the 220B isn't that complicated. No Eccentric's to worry about just a straight replacement of the solid roller

 

[J_nick]

Thor865 the 220B isn't that complicated. No Eccentric's to worry about just a straight replacement of the solid roller

Oh I guess I fancy then lol. I also noticed reviewing the manual and hoc range I am on setting 6 on front roller bracket and with that hoc range of .6-1.18 with GTC I am below that with my current bench hoc of .5

With that would it cause too much Bedknife angle and therefore create issues with quality of cut ?

Without seeing the bed knife attitude in person it's hard to say but if your at 6 up front and your bench is at .5" then I would assume your attitude is flat or negative. It would probably be better to go to setting 5 up front then adjust the back to get you to .5" again.

 

[J_nick]

@FRD135i hey man sorry I never got the notification from this, it looks like these guys got you taken care of. Next bedknife I order will be the ET11066 with Hardened Insert. I have the High cut fairway on there now and the minimum HOC JD says is .299". I scalped this year at .250" so idk if the front roller was floating for that to be possible. At .250" I did get high centered on the bedknife a few times in parts of the lawn that have some undulations.

 

[J_nick]

@wartee how have the 6823 belts been working?

Last year I bought a set of belts from JD to have for back up. A couple weeks ago I broke one of the originals so I decided to change them out. I don't know if they sold me the wrong ones or what but it was terrible, mower was jerky and I could tell the belts were slipping. They looked like they were 1/8" too wide and wouldn't fit in the pulley all the way. I ended up taking them off and I have been running on the single belt. Would you still go with the 6823 or go with the 6822?

 

[J_nick]

Hi @J_nick
Yes, they are still performing fine, no apparent wear. Next time I'd probably get a pair of both 6823 and 6822. I know the 6823 was a bit bigger than OE, but I'm just not sure if the 6822 would be too small. Bottom line is I know the 6823 will work, but I'd rather use the smaller size if it will still work so it leaves more room to adjust if they stretch over time. Don't know if that helps, but at least these things are much less expensive than JD.

Do spend some time getting the pulleys lined up with a straightedge, and note that the "main" adjustment for the belts is to loosen the engine bolts and slide it. It's not rocket surgery but it is kind of fussy.

10-4 thanks. I'll get both sizes from rockauto and report back if the 22" ones fit my 220B

 

[J_nick]

I was cleaning my 220A the other day and noticed I only have 1 belt. Is this correct? Or do I need 2? If i do need 2, where should I get new belts? I don't know how I didn't notice this in the past.

I mowed with 1 belt for half the season last year before I got around to replacing it with 2 new ones.

 

[J_nick]

The drill was the ticket. Even with the drill, I couldn't see it moving but could only tell by putting my finger on the roller height bar. Thanks!

Glad nothing is broken and everything worked out! :thumbsup:

Is the SL adjustment like the QA5 heads without the speedlink? I know my 220B I turn it by hand and can easily see it moving but those QA5's you could eat a sandwich while waiting for the drill to move it