OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield Evolution Slipping Clutch - Options

Hi Grumpy,
I decided to start a new thread as I took a different option to my other post.

I have a Greenfield Evolution E2000 M11 34" - 20hp Vanguard OHV VTwin.

I recently started to have problems with clutch slippage - I had problems getting the mower to take off and had to stamp on the pedal ect,ect.

Initially I took the mower to a GF dealer to get a quote, after inspection I was told that the mower needed a new clutch pulley and that both drive plates needed new linings and the quote was $600.

I know there is a lot of fiddly work involved with this job and the quote was on par with other quotes I had, plus I also had a similar work done on it 2yrs ago and it was around the $600 mark.

Any way I decided to have a go at it myself to save money as I am fairly mechanically minded,I priced the parts required 1x clutch pully complete $120 - 2x clutch linings $30 total $150.

Note: Out of interest, I also priced the reverse & forward drive plates complete, they were $78 each).


A view of the Drive Clutch and Rear Axle Layout


Step1 - Removed seat and rear


Remove Drive Belt


Remove wheel so that chain can be loosened and removed


Loosen and remove chain


Remove 2 bolts (red dots) either side of the small sprocket, also 2 on opposite side, you should now be able to manoeuvre the whole drive assembly out.


It took me about 2hrs to remove the whole drive clutch assembly from the mower and it wasn't a traumatic experience, fairly straight forward and logical.

Once I had it out and on the bench, I came accross my first problem

I couldn't get the sprocket off or more to the point I didn't have the tools to do it and I didn't want to damage it.

So at this point a reappraisal was required, so I took the whole assembley down to GF mowers and got another quote to do the job, now that I had it stripped down.

This time the quote came in at $250 - 1x clutch pully complete $120 - 2x clutch linings $30 - labour $100 - Total $250, so considering I would have had to purchase the parts anyway, I considered an extra $100 for the experts to finish the job with 3mths warranty was well worth it, so I left it with them and all I have to do is put it back in the mower and away we go.

So by having enough knowledge to get so far and enough sense to know my limitations, I still saved myself $350 on the initial quote of $600.

Sorry grumpy that it doesn't help with information on setting up the shim stack in the center of the shaft to get a clutch clearance but it may help others like myself with limited knowledge/resources to still save money by doing x amount ourselves and getting the experts to do what we can't.

ps; Let me know if you need any more pics before I put it back together

Regards
Rich

Thanks for that Rich, it makes sense and is well illustrated. There is one area I think you may have left out, and pictures of that would be useful. After unbolting the bearings on both sides, before you can maneouvre it out I think you have to unbolt the two way clutch thrust bearing in the center of the shaft: the shaft won't move sideways until you do. If you did have to do that, a picture or two would be useful. The thrust bearing and the clutch linkage seem to differ from one Greenfield model to another, and we haven't much in the way of pictures of that part of the process.

In my opinion you made a good decision having the dealer overhaul your shaft after you removed it. You would have needed some fairly expensive tools, and it seems to be a trial and error process if you don't have information on how much clearance there should be. You might have had to assemble it half a dozen times. You would also have had to buy packages of shims from the dealer: not very expensive I think, but having to go back and forth when you didn't have the right ones, or accidentally spoiled some, would be time-wasting. It makes sense to get into this kind of job gradually, and build experience as you go.

Hi Grumpy, I'm a bit confused as to where/what you mean re the two way clutch thrust bearing, can you see it from any of the above pictures

Rich

In the middle of the red oval, Rich. The clutch linkage moves the bearing in the center, either right or left depending which direction you push the clutch.

Because your model simply unbolts easily at the two ends of that bar, it looks to be very easy to disconnect. On some early models it was rather awkward to disconnect: it had to be unbolted from a vertical surface at the top of the picture. The first thread we ever had on removing the clutch shaft, the member found it so difficult to unbolt the thrust bearing that he chose to dismantle the shaft in place and remove the pieces individually.

I didn't have to, after removing the 2x circlips (red arrows) from the linkages and popped them out, the whole yoke unit assembly just floats freely and lifts out with the whole unit after undoing the bolts as in picture 6
or am I still missing something

No, you aren't missing anything, Greenfield just got its act together and made it considerably easier to remove the clutch shaft, by changing the design of the thrust bearing mechanism. It is now pivoted at the idler pulley end, and connected to the clutch linkage at the top of the picture. As you said, the two pins are very easily removed, leaving the whole thrust bearing mechanism free to move sideways as you juggle the shaft and pulleys from side to side to get the side bearings out of the chassis rails. Now, why didn't they make it like that in the first place?

Actually it's easier than that
It just lifts straight out - with a slight wriggle motion

Finally got every thing back together and gave her a test.
Only one hiccup, I thought I tightened the drive belt properly but she started slipping going up the hills,

so I took the back off and held onto the rear bar and stuck the size 10 boot against the front pully and pushed, heard the CLICK put the seat back on, tested again and all good.

Boy she now climbs the hills like a mountain goat.

Question.

I upgraded the engine in Jan 2006 to a new 20hp V Twin Vanguard but the thing I didn't do was put a new Hour meter in (didn't give it a thought at the time).

The meter now shows 750 hrs but this engine has only done 327hrs.

So is it possible to buy a new meter and set it to 327hrs, it is a Hobbs like this one



Rich

First, getting the Greenfield wheel-drive tensioning pulley to click into the next adjustment point: this is often an issue, and owners need to get used to applying a small crowbar to the pulley linkage when necessary to get it to click. This is more comfortable and dignified than using your foot.

Second, most hour meters are 12 Volt, and they run whenever 12 Volts is applied to them. Since you are trying to increase the hours not decrease them, I guess I'm not compounding a misdemeanor when I suggest all you need to do is connect the new hour meter to a 12 Volt battery for the appropriate number of hours. However I think most people expect the meter to reflect the number of hours the mower has run, not the engine.

Good point, never thought about it that way