OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Greenfield Ride On Mower Frames Greenfield 12-32 Clutch Pedal Problem

Hi

long time lurker first time poster

Straight to the point , when using the mower the pedals works fine when goin forward however when i need to go in reverse pushing my heel down the mower will reverse slowly if on a flat surface when the is a bit of an incline i have to grab the top of the pedal and pull back to get a bit more speed

could this be an adjustment or am i looking at a bigger problem

also the steering is incredibly heavy the tires are inflated correctly the only thing i can think of is maybe some lube . the mower seems to have more lock to the left than to the right

this was my grandfathers and had been sitting in a shed for 10 years without being used its now mine and im slowly getting it back to its glory

any help would be great

Hi yes13q, welcome to Outdoorking. Hopefully we will be joined in this thread by some of our Greenfield owners, some of whom have the 12-32 model.

Starting with the easy bit, heavy steering is likely to be caused by one of three things:
1. Flat tyres. You have already checked this and it is not the problem.
2. Damaged components. If you have something like a bent tie rod or king pin, you may have substantial toe-in or toe-out of the front wheels (i.e., they do not point in the same direction).
3. Lack of lubrication of the mechanism, in particular the king pins or steering gear.
4. Worn out steering mechanism, in particular at the bottom of the steering column, but wear problems in the king pins can also be a problem.

Turning to the problem of not getting much tractive force in reverse, there are a couple of things you need to check. Because it is an assymetrical problem (only in reverse), I suggest you begin by checking that the automatic tensioner of the drive belt does not need a little manual assistance right now. The automatic tensioner works by sliding the pulley circled in green:



There is a ratchet mechanism which allows the pulley to slide in one direction only. Sometimes the pulley does not quite manage to move a full notch, and belt slip results. I suggest you use a lever to apply some incentive to it to move in the belt-tightening direction, listening for a small click from the ratchet.

If it isn't belt slip, there is likely to be a problem with the clutch linkage. If you had lost forward but not reverse, the obvious suspect would be a worn-out forward clutch, but it would be unusual for the reverse clutch to be worn out before the forward clutch, so begin by taking a look at the linkage. Your Greenfield appears to be an early model, like the one in the picture above, with the long shaft through the large pulleys/clutches. I think there were two different clutch linkages on those, one with an adjustable pull-rod from the pedal to the clutch fork (the fork is between the two pulleys/clutches). If yours is the adjustable-rod model, see if you can adjust that rod to get more symmetrical fork movement between forward and reverse.

One possibility to consider is that the forward clutch is worn out, and your ancestor adjusted the clutch linkage to compensate.

When you've checked out these points, please post some pictures of the machine, its steering, and its clutches, drive belt, and clutch linkage, together with your report on what you find. We should be able to work through your problems (there is quite a lot of history on Greenfields in our archives, and quite a few Outdoorking members have Greenfield experience) so please continue this thread.

Hi grumpy

Thanks for the welcome and reply ..

I will check this out when I get home . There are no grease nipples on the steering what type of lube should I look at using ..

The steering has had a repair on one of the brackets mabe this could be the issue I will post pics shortly I more focused on the steering at the moment as I feel its dangerous to use once the grass slows down I will look at the clutch problem ..

Thanks again
Aaron

How you lubricate the steering is mainly a question of what lubricants you have, and how you like to work. You can get good results with an oil can, but you'll have to repeat the job more often than you might wish. I think a ride-on that is used privately rather than commercially, and stored in a dry shed, could get by very well can-oiled with clean engine oil if you oil it at least each third time you use it. If you insist on storing it out in the rain however, you will need grease to protect it when it isn't being used - and lubricating a simple machine that has no grease points, with grease, is dirty and tedious. If you were using your Greenfield commercially, I'd suggest a straight gear oil (SAE50 to 90, not an EP version) applied daily. You need a decent oil can to apply gear oil, cheap oil cans aren't up to it.

With a bit of practice I'm guessing you'll be able to lift up and support the front of the machine, working the steering from side to side as you lubricate each part. The oil will penetrate the king pin pivots better with the weight off the suspension. Don't forget the steering shaft and mechanism: oil each pivot.

Having said all that, some of our experienced ride-on owners will have worked out their own, undoubtedly better, solutions.

Hi all

after some inspection this after noon i think i have a lot of worn out bushes if thats what there called

the only lubricant i had handy was some 2 stroke oil or some heat resistant grease i use on photocopiers ( photocopier technician )

thought about the 2 stroke oil but decided on the grease , this grease is heat resistant and also safe on plastic so i thought that would be the best

feels a bit different but that could just be the placibo effect im not sure .

but i did notice a lot of free play in the steering so that cant help i imagine so im on the look out for replacement "bushes" i forgot to take pics while out of shed but took some when i put it away dont know if they will help


this bracket looks to be repaired at some stage . Also that has a lot of play in upwards movement but i thought some washers might do the trick to space it upwards im not sure



i also get a tonne more lock to the left than right not sure if thats the way its designed or not , i might just have to mow in the opposite direction than i normally do


any help is greatly appreciated

It looks as if there have been failures in the steering linkage, repaired by welding. Unless this was done quite carefully and the repairer understood how the steering works, the result might be a thoroughly messed up steering system. You might begin by looking at the steering mechanism at the bottom of the steering column below the steering wheel. Turn the wheel each way and see where that mechanism is in its range of movement, when the wheel won't turn any further.

My current guess is that the welding was done without much attention to steering geometry. The toe-in might be way out as well. If this is the case, fixing the mess will require either new parts or someone with experience with steering mechanisms.



If you look at the two parts circled in green in the picture, they have both been welded. The issue that concerns me is whether the original geometry was preserved, so that when the steering wheel is exactly in the midpoint of its movement range, the front wheels point exactly straight ahead.

I've put a red circle around the welding on the pivot point of the steering's pivot plate.




On this (fairly awful reproduction of the) illustrated parts list, I've circled the pivot plate in green. That is what yours looked like in its youth, before the previous tenants improved it. It looks to me as if your Greenfield's steering geometry is no longer what it is supposed to be.

Thanks grumpy .

I thought it had been repaired . From that parts list I can see its ment to have a drag link but mine has tie rod ends on both ends could this be a problem to ?.

The million dollar question is can I get all the steering components new and is it goin to cost an arm and a leg .

I looked at yhe clutch fork last night and there is minimal travel im thinking this could be a problem with why I cant get speed in reverse clutch corks look to still have meat .. the clutch pulleys "wobble" dont know the correct term .. is this something thay can be fixed with adjusyment or will it need new bearings and shaft

Once again thanks for the help

To clarify the issue regarding the geometry changes, here is how the pivot plate and the attached parts are supposed to work. The pivot plate is actually a bell crank, which works like this:



The bell crank translates vertical movements into horizontal movements: when the input arm moves in the direction of the vertical arrows, the output arm moves in the direction of the horizontal arrows. On the mower, when the steering shaft 27 rotates, it moves the steering link 23. The link 23 moves the pivot plate 18. The pivot plate 18 moves the drag link 9. When the steering, and the front wheels, are in the straight ahead position the arm which is part of 27 must be exactly lateral to the mower, and the pivot plate must be in exactly the position the bell crank is in, in the diagram: input arm transverse to the mower, output arm longitudinal to the mower. The pivot plate must move equal amounts from this straight ahead position, when right and left steer are called for. In practice, the bell crank has been altered but from your photograph it looks as if the input and output arms are still at right angles to each other. We don't know whether the drag link has been extended or not. If the drag link is not exactly its original length, the bell crank will have to be moved from its correct position, to make the front wheels face straight ahead. That would give you both assymetrical steering geometry, and an inability to fully turn the front wheels in one direction.

The key question is whether the front wheels are in the straight ahead position when the steering wheel is centred, the steering shaft arm is precisely lateral to the mower, and the pivot plate is also precisely square to the mower. If it is not, you need to adjust the two tie rod ends on the drag link until the wheels are straight ahead when the rest of the steering mechanism is straight ahead.

The steering will not work properly until all of the loose pivots and incorrect geometry are fixed. Any deviation from this parts list is best avoided:

People with substantial experience in making and modifying mechanisms could perhaps do some minor adapting, but doing so would require quite a bit of measuring, drawing and calculating. Even then, the proof of the pudding would not be available until all of the work had been completed and the machine tested carefully. (Note: the top speed of this mower would be about 5 mph and it is for off-road use on private property only - if this were not the case I would reject any suggestion of modification of the steering mechanism.)

I suggest you identify each part from the parts list, note which ones are worn, slack, or not original on your machine, and see what can be done about getting some good parts. These might be new parts from the Greenfield service department, or used parts from a wrecked 12-32 machine. Please report back on the state of your individual steering parts, and we can discuss this further.

Before doing anything to the clutch or its linkage, perform the tensioner-pulley check I described previously. If you find you can move the tensioner up a notch on its ratchet, your drive problem will probably disappear. However in case the problem is still there when the tensioner is pulled up properly, here is what you would do.

Before you draw any conclusions about the condition of your clutches, take a close look at the clutch linkage:



Look particularly at the link (Item 22) and the fork (Item 48) and the mechanism surrounding them. Any wear or slack in these parts would cause the problem you have, without anything being wrong with the clutches themselves. Look also for further tenants' improvements in these parts, similar to what you found with the steering linkage. If, when you have a correctly tensioned drive belt and a sound, firm clutch linkage, correctly adjusted, you have insufficient pedal movement, it will be time to look at the clutch, as described below.

As you noted, the clutch fork has minimal travel. It is supposed to have minimal travel. Unfortunately because of this, on Greenfield clutches quite a small amount of wear on the facings results in losing drive either forward or backward. To fix this it is necessary to remove the cross-shaft on which the pulleys and clutches rotate, and dismantle it. The free movement of the clutches then has to be reduced, which can be done either by replacing the partly-worn clutch facings, or by reducing the stack of shims in the center of the shaft, which sets this clearance. Unfortunately again, your 12-32 has the early "long shaft" design, which means getting the shaft out is a bit more difficult than with the short shaft design that came later.



We have several past threads that show in detail how to overhaul the clutches, but before we resort to that, please report back on what you find with the belt tensioning and the clutch linkage.

Hi Grumpy

thanks so much for the detailed post

i have emailed greenfield about these parts a bout a week ago .. i have not had a response

Im keen to get as many new parts for the steering as possible instead of modified problem is goin to be finding them or even a doner mower

what there be a another type of mower with the same components i could use to widen the search for parts , might make finding new parts easier


i will report back this after noon i will take pictures of every steering component i think needs to be replaced

but so far i know that everything from steering column forward should be replaced

The Greenfield mowers are locally designed and made. I don't think there are many standard parts in them aside from engine, belts, tyres etc. However the tie rod ends may be standard. (Most ride-on mowers sold here under local brand names are actually standard American mowers rebranded, but Greenfield doesn't do it that way.)

There are four requirements for an adequate steering system for a ride-on mower:
1. No slack.
2. Correct geometry.
3. Reliability.
4. Satisfactory feel.

Any way of getting those four things, can be considered a valid solution. On your semi-homemade system there may be enough adjustment at the various tie rod ends to achieve the correct geometry. Whether there is slack, though, is another question. Many ride-ons don't seem to be lubricated regularly, and get seriously loose over a period of years.

Theres not much adjustmemt in the tie rod ends as I think the rod between pivot point and front wheels is a home made job and doesnt have much thread in either tie rod end ill get pics and post to help with what im talking about .. looks like im going to struggle to get new parts and finding a wreck 12-32 isnt goin to be easy

If there is at least half an inch of good-quality thread inside each tie rod end, you can probably re-use them, provided all of that thread is engaged when the steering linkage is correctly adjusted. The ball joint must be tight, not worn, however. In any case, I'd be surprised if Greenfield did not have tie rod ends as spare parts. However we can talk about that when you post pictures of your machine and its individual components.

I don't think wrecks of 12-32 Greenfields are all that rare, but their condition might easily be worse than the one you have.

Once we understand which parts need to be replaced, that information can be summarised and you can discuss it with Greenfield's service department by telephone. Provided you have done your homework and know what you are talking about, most reports I have seen say they are quite helpful.