OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions On Cox Ride On Mower Frames Cox Stockman Economy 13HP Stubborn Clutch Pedal

Hi guys, I need a little help, my partner and I recently purchased an old Stockman Economy 4398H for our little business, but ever since we got it its been issue after issue. We have had it at the repair shop several times and now that a new chain has been put on it the clutch pedal will not go from neutral to forward or reverse without some extreme force and we don't want to force it in case we do more damage. Can somebody please help me out.

Hello, this link is for the owner / operators manual.
http://www.coxmowers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20-4398H-11.5-13-Economy.pdf

To start with you need to know a few things:
There are two drive disks under your seat.
The LHS is the reverse disk and the RHS is the forward disk.

With out the engine running, push your pedal to go forward and at the same time, watch to see the drive cone swing across to touch the RHS disk.

Then push the pedal as if you want to reverse, does the drive cone swing across to touch the LHS disk.

The movement should be minimal as the set clearance from cone to plate should be 0.8 to 1mm each side of the cone. Doesn't really matter if it is the gap is a bit larger.
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I am not a Cox mechanic, but I have owned 2 x steel bonnet Cox's for years and I think they are mighty machines. Sorry to hear of your bad experience with yours.
I know there are Cox mechanic's on this forum.
See how you go.
Mark

Thanks Mark. well I tried that and still no luck. My uncle has just left after having a look at it and we pulled the pin out that links the drive cone to the pedal, we found out that the drive cone moves freely but the pedal still doesn't. It's almost like the pedal is jammed somehow. I can get a pic of it if it will make it easier for someone to help me. lol. Thanks guys. I know I must seem like a bimbo but I really do love working on anything mechanical this one just has me stumped.

Hi Akasha, sounds like you are on the right track.
Yes it sounds like a seized or jammed linkage.
I went out and took some pictures of mine.


The pedal could be seized where the rod goes through the chassis?
Also check the pivot on the other side.



From the pivot the a rod runs to the linkage below at the rear of the mower, where you were looking with your uncle.

Just a series of elimination checking that they all move freely.
If it is working you can see them all moving when rock the pedal to and fro.

well its definitely the pedal rod in the tube that has seized as everything else moves freely. thanks for that

so does anyone have any ideas on how to get the rod unstuck from the sleeve at the pedal? We have tried just about everything we can think of and now are out of ideas.

Hello Akasha,
Sounds like you have to get a bit more serious with it, to get it moving.
Here are some things to try.

Spray some Penetrene in the rusted joint, it is a rust penetrating oil.
Spray the joint and leave it do its work for a while.

Disconnect the linkage at the back so you can get more movement on the pedal. (you don't want to damage the cone or clutch plates either)

The pedal rod does have some travel in and out of that tube, try knocking it in and then out from underneath, with a hammer and brass drift / iron rod, what ever you have.

You will have to drop the cutting deck all the way down to get at it with a long bar, like a jack handle maybe from underneath.

Then try twisting the pedal to try and get it moving. Get some more spray into the joint.
You have to do all this, with out breaking or damaging it of course. So feel your way.

If that doesn't work, you can heat and cool the joint with an oxy or gas torch, then repeat above.
Good luck. Let us all know how you go.
Mark

ok well we can go forward and back now after a couple days fighting with it. Still very stiff though. We're not too keen on fighting it any further in case we do some serious damage to it like snapping the rod in the sleeve

How did you go with the penetrating oil? It's essential here, to maintain what movement is still there.
Getting a good penetrating lubricant in there is an essential part of the process. Penetrene is excellent; Inox and CRC 5-56 are also good. WD-40 isn't, for this job.

What has happened is that the shaft has nearly become 'rust-bound' in the sleeve. Water has got in between the two at some point, and formed rust. The engineer's 'rule of thumb', is that iron rust occupies about seven times the volume of the metal it was formed from. So the rust has taken up the clearance between the shaft and sleeve.

So what has to be done, is to break up the rust by moving the shaft - Mark's suggestion of drifting the shaft back and forth is a good one, in addition to rotating it. The penetrant assists this process considerably.

Then the freed rust particles have to be flushed out of the shaft/sleeve space. It may be necessary to drill a small hole, ~2.5mm, in the top of the outer part of the sleeve, to aid this.

As it's not desirable to drill into the shaft very much, you'll have to use a 'pecking' technique once the drill bites, so you don't go in too far. Use a centre punch dimple to get the drill started.

The hole can be sealed off afterwards with a small piece of sheet rubber or gasket cork , secured with a hose clamp, so it doesn't channel more water in.

Thanks Gadge. I'll give that a go when I get back out to it. Hopefully that works. If its still playing up by the end of next week then I'm not sure what i'll do

It will require quite a bit of time and patience, over several sessions, to gradually work this free again. Just be prepared for that.
It's not a job that can be done 'all at once'- there's no quick fix. That's the major reason why commercial workshops won't tackle this kind of task.

It is absolutely essential not to let it get any worse - if it seizes solid, that creates a whole new set of issues.

I have had the same problem on one so I drilled a hole in the outer tube so I could get some lube into it, it worked but the hole will let stuff into it but at least you can keep spraying lube into it.