Lawn Care Forum banner

Reel too tight on Greensmaster 1000

10K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  Mathwiz  
#1 ·
I just replaced the reel and bed knife on my greensmaster 1000. I changed out the 11 blade for an 8 blade from R&R with a fairway bed knife. Now I have the hoc as far out as it will go and when I tighten up the bed knife screws the reel is so tight I can't move it by hand. Any suggestions for how to make it work right?
 
#3 ·
Correct. Although mine was on a GM1600, I'm sure it's the same issue. R&R told me their reel (8 blade in my case) and their version of the Toro fairway knife (107-8181) or as R&R calls it "super thick cut" was not compatible and that I needed to use their "thick cut" knife (R150467). Even it was tight but not as tight as the fairway knife. I should have taken the new reel to be ground but at the time I didn't have a source for grinding. I ended up backlapping the contact out of it. Wasn't ideal but it worked.
 
#4 ·
Well, I wish they would have put a warning in there saying they're not compatible. I guess I'll just keep it for when the reel wears down and order a different one. I'm looking to mow between 1/2" to 1". That leaves me with 3 other options for bed knifes. Low cut, high cut, and super thick. I'll probably order the high cut blade and see how that goes. Thanks for the help
 
#7 ·
I'm guessing it'll cost $10 at least to send it back and it was $32. I'll just keep it and order another one. I don't mind having spare parts on hand but I won't be able to use it for at least a year. Lol, by then it'll be lost in my garage. I did bearings and seals too which went in not too bad. One of my old seals had fallen completely off which I thought was weird because of how tight they fit in the housing. It's been a fun project so far and I look forward to using the machine.
 
#8 ·
I emailed rrproducts and the guy recommended the high cut bed knife R94-6392. I ordered that and installed it. That one was tight too. Tight to the point that I think stuff might get broken if I left it on. So I installed the old blade and will look into putting one of them on after it wears down a bit. Below is a picture of the bed knifes.
On top is my original one. then the fairway cut R63-8610 and then on the botton is the high cut R94-6392.


 
#12 ·
DJLCN said:
Correct. Although mine was on a GM1600, I'm sure it's the same issue. R&R told me their reel (8 blade in my case) and their version of the Toro fairway knife (107-8181) or as R&R calls it "super thick cut" was not compatible and that I needed to use their "thick cut" knife (R150467). Even it was tight but not as tight as the fairway knife. I should have taken the new reel to be ground but at the time I didn't have a source for grinding. I ended up backlapping the contact out of it. Wasn't ideal but it worked.
Now you guys have me concerned.
I'm doing a reel & bedknife replacement on my gm 1600.
My toro dealer gave me list of parts I need which has the
bedknife # as 93-9015. I purchased the thick R&R bedknife#r150467. As I'm cutting at 5/8". It is my understanding that "following procedure" you should have the new bedknife ground as to straighten it. As the bedknife once mounted to the bedbar can have some curve or not be "tru".
Now that being said my plan "was" to lightly backlap to mate the two surfaces together. But before I begin this job, I'm wondering what the true problem is you guys have been having. A) bedknife way too thick B) Bedbar not being tru so needs backlapping that you weren't counting on C) bedbar adjustment doesn't allow to back off the reel enough for bedknife thickness (I guess that ties in with A)
Or should I save myself the hassle and buy bedknife 93-9015
I'm looking for a little more explanation of the issues you guys have experienced so It goes smoothly for me.
Thank you for your help
 
#13 ·
Prospect said:
DJLCN said:
Correct. Although mine was on a GM1600, I'm sure it's the same issue. R&R told me their reel (8 blade in my case) and their version of the Toro fairway knife (107-8181) or as R&R calls it "super thick cut" was not compatible and that I needed to use their "thick cut" knife (R150467). Even it was tight but not as tight as the fairway knife. I should have taken the new reel to be ground but at the time I didn't have a source for grinding. I ended up backlapping the contact out of it. Wasn't ideal but it worked.
Now you guys have me concerned.
I'm doing a reel & bedknife replacement on my gm 1600.
My toro dealer gave me list of parts I need which has the
bedknife # as 93-9015. I purchased the thick R&R bedknife#r150467. As I'm cutting at 5/8". It is my understanding that "following procedure" you should have the new bedknife ground as to straighten it. As the bedknife once mounted to the bedbar can have some curve or not be "tru".
Now that being said my plan "was" to lightly backlap to mate the two surfaces together. But before I begin this job, I'm wondering what the true problem is you guys have been having. A) bedknife way too thick B) Bedbar not being tru so needs backlapping that you weren't counting on C) bedbar adjustment doesn't allow to back off the reel enough for bedknife thickness (I guess that ties in with A)
Or should I save myself the hassle and buy bedknife 93-9015
I'm looking for a little more explanation of the issues you guys have experienced so It goes smoothly for me.
Thank you for your help
I'm no expert but I would say it's a combination of A and C along with the new reels from R&R being a bit oversized as compared to the OEM Toro reels.
 
#14 ·
I just bought the mower at the end of last year and haven't even used it yet so I don't have much input. The old bed knife fits fine with the new reel so I'm guessing after a year and a reel grind I can put one of the new ones on. Maybe a new more aggressive bed knife would fit fine off the shelf.
 
#15 ·
Well finally got time to install the new reel and rebuild the bearings etc..
Went to install the "thick bedknife" and couldn't get both bedbar bolts in.
The reel was getting hung up as well. So I ordered the 93-9015 bedknife.
Hoping this works out without grinding the reel or bedknife.
Just hoping for a backlap.
 
#17 ·
Well the 93-9015 bedknife did the trick.
I can slide a piece of paper all the way across the bedknife easily as a gauge.
In the photo I hope you can see the "height" difference between the two bedknives. I'm guessing it's a solid 1/8".
Now the reel spins freely and it's all ready for some adjustments. I think I will see how it cuts paper before I jump right into a backlap.
Glad that is behind me, I hate getting all excited and then have parts not work.
Looking forward to the Mow.
 
#18 ·
I installed a new 8 blade reel and bedknife, both from R&R. I went with the low cut knife, (3/16"-1" hoc specs) part# 93-4264. Had the same issue, bedbar adjument backed all the off and bedknife was very tight up against the reel, so tight it would not spin. I began to examine the adjuster and realized it was not backed off as far as it could go because the bedbar adjuster was not screwed all the way into the adjuster shaft. Had to oil it really good with some liquid wrench and work it in and out to get it to screw in properly due to corrosion. The picture is what it looks like now that it's screwed all the way in, before there were maybe three rows of threads exposed but it made a huge difference. I reinstalled bedbar and everything was good to go. It was actually backed way off the reel, had to give the adjuster plenty of turns until it came in contact with the reel. Not sure if this could be an issue that has caused others problems but it was an easy fix for my new reel and bedknife being too tight.

Image
 
#19 ·
Reviving this thread because I'm looking at purchasing an 8 blade reel from R&R... and now I don't know what to do for buying a bedknife. Has anyone else gone through this experience lately and found a good match with the R&R 8 blade reel? I was looking at buying the high-cut bedknife straight from Toro instead (94-6392) to go along with the 8 blade reel from R&R. I just don't want to go through the hassle of not having them fit together.
 
#20 ·
I have been running my 8 blade reel now with the original bed knife and after a back lap it cuts great. No issues getting it to cut paper. Once it needs a grinding I'll swap over to one of my other bed knifes. I have an email from R&R saying the R94-6392 should work but for me it didn't, still too tight. I don't have a good answer for you as to which knife will fit and work because I am not willing to pay another $50 to see if something might fit and then have three knifes sit on my shelf that don't fit. If you find something out let us know.