OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Collectors Corner Cylinder Scott Bonnar 590 Diplomat

Hi everyone im new to reel mowers and have just picked up a sb 590 diplomat, engine runs well and drives the blades, but no drive. I have pulled down the rear roller and found the ring gear is broken as discribed in many posts. Im wondering if anyone knows where i can source a metal or alluminium one from. TIA

Joel

Hello Joel,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there are none available at all and Rover no longer support the 590. A few aftermarket ones were made many years ago but finding one is like looking for the Easter Bunny.

Actually you might have more luck finding the bunny.

Cheers
BB.

haha cheers. I think

Hi does anybody else have any avenue to get the drive going again on my diplomat. Do I need to get a drive ring gear made etc.

cheers

G'day Joel,

I fear that BB has given you the straight dope. This is a quite complex component, which would cost way more than one mower is worth to reproduce. 3D printing? All very well in the execution, if a suitable feedstock material is available, but the 3D design/modelling is very far from a trivial exercise.

The last available spare part [and that was a rather crude aftermarket repro, made from stacked steel stampings] we at ODK know of went in 2014: THREAD

The last spares that SB/Rover supplied were an aluminium version, but not many Diplomats had those retrofitted, even failure-prone as the nylon gears were. You'd have to be outrageously lucky to find a mower with one of those.

My best advice would be, for you to be on the lookout for a cheapish, rebuildable Scott Bonnar Model 45, on FleaBay, Gumtree etc. Your chances are pretty good in Adelaide; certainly better than the Eastern States, where reel mowers have never been as popular.

You can get a good idea of the specific problems to look out for, by exploring some of the past ODK SB45 repair/restoration discussions - there's not much that hasn't been encountered here.
Awful example HERE.

No worries thanks for your help guys.

Never give up Joel

Hi Joel,

As Mod Gadge has suggested and I fully support what he's saying, make the move to a Model 45 and you'll never look back.

Spares are plentiful and thus it will keep a 45 going for years, also they are far easier to work on opposed to the Diplomats. The plastic catchers are also an issue as over time these become brittle and fail, thus most examples have been patched and plated up with pop rivets over the years.

If you want a fully going machine with a catcher I know someone that has one for sale as he's moving to Nuriootpa and doesn't have a couch lawn there, thus no reason to hang on to his diplomat any longer.

PM me if you have an interest.

Cheers,
BB