OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Walk Behind Lawn Mower Frames Victa Lawn Mower Frames How to fix loose handle clamps on Victa 18?

Hi All

I am new to these forums and a novice at restoring old victa mowers so please forgive me if this subject has been done to death in the past.

I have an old victa 18 that I am starting to restore - have replaced necessary parts and finally got it up and running.

Before I start stripping paint etc I am trying to fix the handle clamp so that the handle bar does not move up and down when pushing the mower. I don't want to over tighten the clamp bolts as I am afraid this will simply strip the soft threads.

So far I have cleaned and sanded both the handle bar and inside of the clamp and, filed some of the alloy away from the contacting edges to create a straight edge and a bit more gap. Both had some effect but still did not solve the problem. Do these clamps actually stretch with continual tightening?

Possibly there is a simple solution to my problem and any tips you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I have noticed on some old mowers that people have drilled holes through the clamp and handle but, this would seem to be a last resort.

Many thanks

Pete

Hi pete and welcome,i have seen new clamps ect on e-bay but have you tried wrapping insulation tape around the bar for the clamps to grab onto.if im correct the clamps have a raised part of the casting which i think you filed off and this is the part that actually grabs the lower part of the bar...ken

Thanks for the quick reply Ken.

Yes, I did try the insulation tape but handle still turns. Might try a thin double sided tape and see if this works.

The filing I did only straightened out the clamp edges on the outside of the handle bar where the threaded bolts lock the two halves together. If there was a raised section on the inside of the clamp it seems to have been worn away over time so I may have to have a look at a new set of clamps.

Many thanks

Pete

Just a quick update on the handlebar problem.

On closer inspection of the clamp and handle bar I noticed that the metal is very smooth and looks similar to metal that gets work hardened with continual use. This was evident even after I had give both surfaces a light sanding.

I decided to try a very course emery paper and rough up the handle bar plus the inside of the clamp until I noticed a good coverage of sanding marks and got back to new metal. This had an immediate positive result so I will spend a bit more time on "roughing up" both surfaces.

I am fairly sure now that once the handle bar is painted and, if I give the inside of the clamp a coat of etch primer, this will probably help add more "grip" and stop the slipping completely.

cheers

Pete