OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield 12/32 Anniversary

Hello Please I have a greenfield 12/32 Anniversary ride on. I would like to know what year model this is. It has a 12 hp Briggs And Stratton model 281707 type 0148-01 code 89081511. I have some questions about a full nut and bolt rebuild. Does any body have a greenfield workshop manual for this model. I would like to put everything back in the right place correctly. it has been back yarded a lot and a couple of dodgy mods. I am chasing a couple of cheap parts for it ( seat, stone guard for the deck, front and rear bumpers or plans and measurements to build some. Also I am looking to incorporate a front dozer blade attachment does anybody have plans or photos for this including mounting positions as I want to build it from scratch.

Regards
Leshby

leshby, that Briggs engine was made on 15 August 1989. If it is the original engine fitted to that machine, your Greenfield was probably made late in 1989 or early in 1990.

I have never seen or heard a report of, a Greenfield tractor workshop manual. For some models the owner manual contains a wealth of maintenance information, and for other models it does not. The illustrated parts lists (there is one for your model in the manuals section) only show parts and part numbers, with diagrams giving some idea of how they go together.

Your putting-it-back-to-original project would probably be aided considerably by the illustrated parts list, but if anyone has an actual workshop manual I'd be very interested to hear about it (or even better, see the manual).

I hope you have thought very carefully about the idea of fitting a dozer blade to a machine with a single-speed transmission, that can go at less than maximum road speed only by slipping its drive clutch. It sounds like a very bad idea.

Hello Grumpy, Why is the dozer blade a bad idea. I don't quite understand. I don't want it for heavy work just pushing road base over the drive way. Do you recommend i.e a 5 speed transmition. I have a toro wheel horse with a 13 hp and a 5 speed transmition.
Regards
Leshby

To doze materials you need to be able to apply a very large tractive force to the dozer blade at zero speed, ranging up to a very low speed. This is at the opposite extreme to what mowing requires, which is applying just enough tractive force to move the mower itself with almost no resistance, at "mowing speed". The Greenfield tractors/ride-on mowers have a transmission system which I rather admire for mowing purposes, but it effectively runs one side of a clutch at the maximum possible vehicle speed, and the other at the actual vehicle speed. Whenever the vehicle is travelling at less than maximum speed, the clutch has to be slipping enough to account for the difference in vehicle speed. Trying to doze with that transmission would be similar to trying to pull a caravan with a car that had a manual transmission permanently locked in fifth gear. You would apply very little force to the dozer blade, but would burn up the clutch in a very short time. Greenfields have a car-sized clutch in a tiny ride-on, but even a big clutch cannot compensate fully for a very high-slip ratio while transmitting maximum torque.

If you want to use a garden tractor as a micro-dozer, you need a tractor that is designed to use "ground engaging" attachments, such as a plough, ripper etc. This would mean having an extremely strong transmission with an ultra-low low gear, or one of the expensive industrial-strength hydrostatic transmissions. The hydrostatic transmissions on ride-on mowers are unsuitable, but some of the garden tractor ones may be suitable. Careful investigation is necessary to choose a suitable tractor - don't believe the sales brochures.

Is your Toro Wheel Horse a 12-32XL? If you tell me the model I can look up the type of 5 speed transmission it has. In principle a 5 speed transmission might have a low first gear. Less likely but possibly, it may have a substantial torque capacity and a decent clutch. If it has all of those, and if its manufacturer recommended it for ground-engaging applications, it could be suitable. As I understand it though, the Wheel Horse XLs were "lawn tractors", not "garden tractors". Usually only "garden tractors" are rated for ground-engaging applications (and not all garden tractors, in fact - generally the heavier, more expensive ones).

Hi i am trying to down load a Greenfields 12#32 manual, but to no avail could someone let me know if there is a trick to it

Gentlemen might I suggest you research older machines that were built for the job. Exactly as Grumpy said. Check the American websites they have huge followings. I really like the Simplicity units they are well built though as Jack has said they were a very expensive machine and most I have seen have been flogged to within an inch of their lives.

Just found this on Evil Bay
Simplicity