OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Ride On Mowers Frames White Ride-on - Too Good to Resist!

Today I was scavenging in the hard rubbish and come across an old White lt-11. It was sitting there with no wheels attached and deck behind it so I asked the owner whether I could take it (some stupid council bylaw states unauthorized removal is theft bla bla bla bla). So I ended up with the wheels, the battery and even the owner�s manual! I got her home re attached the wheels and she fired right up! So it needs work, there�s not doubt about that but it�s fixable. It goes slow so belts need attention, it leaks oil so I hope I get away with tightening crank case bolts, and various bits need welding (good thing I�m a good welder!)
But I�m very happy with my latest find and am even debating buying a tatslotto ticket! I will post some pics tomorrow.
But I just can not believe the things people just throw away. I have got 2 perfectly fine bikes that only needed the tyres inflated! Various mowers and brushcutters that were basically fine, and lots of other �junk�. Anyway what would happen to all this stuff without people like us? well one guess is it would be made into another cheap car or mower and sold back to us next month!
Regards Jay

Nice find

Jay and I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures of you latest find. I hope you can post before and after pic's because all the members like myself enjoy see members work in progress pictures.

The problem these days is the way people think is if it is broken throw it away and buy a new one. Like I say to the young guy I am training when he has problems fixing something and it requires you the think, he says it is not worth repairing and to throw it out.

I then say to him if you were driving down the road and your car runs out of fuel do you go out and buy a new car because it stops. He then realises that just because you have a problem it just doesn't mean you throw stuff out.

Hey Jay, on another good score!! Looking forward to seeing the pics!!
and to Bruce, well said mate, and Amen to that!!

hi all,
i have found 3 mowers this year that started with no effort! it just hurts to think all the good stuff thrown away for no reason.
Anyway back to business. i disassembled the variable drive pulley thing and have found its bearing and shaft to be heavily worn (look hard at the shaft and you will see the huge chunk missing!). I am wondering whether or not new press in bearings are available for this unit. I can always machine up a new shaft to suit but are a bit scared about the bearings. If worst comes to worst I can always make a bush out of seamless pipe and do it that way, but really don�t want to!
I have the parts manual and it the part number for the complete assembly is: 738-0141.
I also require a sump gasket as it leaks even when i tighten up the bolts.
The engine numbers are:253707 0419-01 88082631
Mower numbers: 138-346-670/j178l
Anyway here are some pics

Hi all,
So the latest is I have sat down and worked out the marvels of the variable speed pulley system and have decided to resurrect the old girl. So I will go to the bearing shop and get some bearings. I have a feeling there is a small, very small chance I may have to machine up a new shaft, but that�s easy as I have access to a lathe. I think I will adapt the pulley carrier so it fasteners the shaft from the bottom and the top, making it more sturdy and hopefully preventing future wear.
I also split the block and found the oil leak to be as simple as the gasket, so $12 will fix the engine.
The only trouble will lie in welding up the deck, but that should be easy as I am a reasonable welder.
So anyway I will take some picks as I go and I hope I will end up with a decent unit after some work! But hey you have to remember it was free, so there is more drive to get her running for the minimum amount of money.
Thanks for your help,
Regards Jay

Hi all,
This morning I ripped the gear box apart and fastidiously cleaned every sceric of grease from every single part with kero and a tooth brush! I have found the gear box to be in very good condition, so I am now very confident in continuing to resurrect the beast.
I have done 2 mtd gear boxes of the exact same type before, (one I still have on a mower, so I will keep it for spares). In the past I just put any clean grease in there, but this one I want to do properly. So I am wondering what grease is best to use. I would imagine a hi temp, hi quality grease would do it but would like to here your opinions. I would also assume that it should be fairly thin, so it moves around when cold?
I know that there use to be grease available from mtd for just this purpose, but no longer think it is available? If anyone knows what brand and type it was it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help,
Regards Jay

Hi again,
I neglected to mention the gear box numbers are 717-761 (I am 99% sure from memory, will check again tomorrow).
I will take some pics tomorrow of the whole thing ripped down. There is literally nothing in them. 5 gears in the transmission side of things and a further 4 in the trans-axel. I suppose this is what makes them so indestructible and easy to service!
Regards Jay

Hi everyone,
Ok so I�ve proceeded to re assemble the gear box tonight adding some thick grease with a dash or 2 of motor oil. After full assembly I found that it stuck in gear, even in the neutral position. When I loosened the cases I found that it spun fine. So I then dismantled it and made sure all the shims and spacers ect were all in place - they were. I then put the cases together loosely and again it was free wheeling in neutral fine but when I tightened the bolts it stuck in gear. By this time I was over it for one night so I went inside.
Does anyone have any ideas why it may be sticking only when the cases are tightened?
I have stripped and serviced the exact same type of diff before and did not have any problems so I�m just a little puzzled.
Thanks for you help!
Regards Jay

mowernut,

The drive gear that has the pulley on it might be your issue.

Hi all,
Firstly thanks Bruce! I had a look the top bevel gear and it seemed fine so I stood around and scratched the old noggin a bit looking at the parts diagram and then my assembled gear box and could not find a thing wrong. I then started pulling apart and swapping the bevel gears and turning around the selector to no avail. I then proceeded to dig up some decent shims out of the deep depths of the washer bucket and sticking them in between the shaft and the brass bushes to push the whole gear assembly to the other side and bingo that did the trick. It seems the type of grease I have put in was making the bevel gears stick to the selector and slid around in the free space there for bypassing neutral. Anyway that may be helpful for someone in the future. During the week I dropped into the local bearing suppliers (Frankston bearings) and bought the roller cages needed in the variable speed pulley arrangement. These cost about $11 so that�s allot better than mtd�s $70. I will now fill the big gap in the shaft with weld, then spin it down in the lathe and I will be good to go in the drive side of things.
As to the rest of the mower all I need to do is weld up the deck and a few other things then buy and install a new engine sump gasket.
Thanks for your help!
Regards Jay

Jay on working out the problem with the gearbox. I am sure that a lot of other members will learn a lot from your experience.

It looks like a mild-steel shaft that's had a really hard life - why not just turn up a new one? Seems more likely to end up straight and true that way. However, we all have our own ways of doing things, and anything that works and is fun, is a good solution.

hi all,
well its been a hell of a long time waiting but finally shes back together and driving. the transaxel is flawless and shifts and runs better than new after all the work i did packing it out so everything was tight and true. in the end i machined a new shaft because the new bearings were metric and not imperial. i also had to bore the pulley out in the lathe but it was a piece of cake in the end. only thing was that i didn't have anything to make a proper gap for the circlip so i modified it to work my way.
i now need to sort out the pulley tensioner system so its drives at a faster speed becuase currently its tensioned so its as slow as hell.
updates to follow
regards jay

Is there any chance you made a youtube vid about this? one of my subscriptions just uploaded a vid about a mower that looks very similar.


Good to see you got it running anyway.

Cheers Joe.

yes its very possible my friend!
i actually made the connection between you mowers, your sub to outdoor king and the presence of vintage corollas when i subed you!