OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions On Ride On Mowers Questions on Rover Ride On Mower Rover Rancher

I picked up this Rover Rancher today at a garage sale (I really need to stay away from garage sales!).

Other than it being a Rancher, is there anything that tells us what version it is? Such as series 2, etc?

It runs well so far, but needs a little tlc here and there. The main issue it has is the steering rack jumps teeth very easily. Are steering parts readily available for this?

The steering parts are available through Outdoorking but before you spend money on it there is a bolt that can be loosened off to move the steering shaft to more completely mesh the column teeth into the wedge teeth. It can be knocked out of place by hitting things with the front wheels. I know from experience, I was in the process of buying parts myself when I noticed there was a slightly cleaner patch on the metal where the column had been moved. A few seconds with a spanner and good as gold. Hope it turns out to be that simple for you. If not, the parts are pretty cheap anyway.

I can see that the splines on the steering shaft are well worn. I'll try adjusting it anyway but I think it will need a new shaft.

Just looked on this site's parts pages.......




DOH!!!!!

The splines if they are too worn will only be worn in a small area. You may be able to pack things with some washers to move the wedge teeth to a clean part of the shaft. If not, I may be wrecking my Rancher shortly, it has heaps of things near the end of their useful life and I'm going to put the 17HP Vanguard motor onto another mower.

Hi aussietrev. I could be interested if you consider parting out your Rancher.

Here are some shots of the steering. No real adjustment that I can see, and I'm thinking the splines are too far gone even for packing with shims/washers.

What I was referring to with packing washers was to see if you could find a way to fit some under the orange wedge section to lift it higher in the splines to an area that isn't worn. Sorry, after seeing this mine is a later variant that has the shaft and the wedge mounted separately allowing the mounting bolts to be loosened off and moved into better mesh so my shaft would not be any good as it also has finer teeth and splines.

I realise I might be a bit late to this thread, but for future reference the big hex you can see under the segment is actually the adjustment; it has an offset hole in it. Loosen the grub screw in the side and just adjust the gears to mesh. Your steering shaft looks fine, seen much worse still work!

Hi nath
That makes sense, and it may benefit new guests and members.

Thank you.
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Jack