I made these shims up from old tin lying around. I based it off the one Victa shim I have from an axle repair kit. No more front axle play on the mower now.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
That is good MF, one thing I absolutely hate is those sloppy front axles, can't imagine how many of those Victa steel bases I have welded up in those worn out front axle areas. A solid front axle makes the whole mower feel nice and solid.
Makes a big impact on the feel of the machine. After seeing the result of my work, I discover a hairline crack running 3" up the RH side of the base from the skirt. I drilled out a 3mm hole to stop it spreading but it will need to be welded up as the strength is compromised. Decompression valve is playing up. What else??
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
Hi Jack, no idea who made them, they could have been a factory repair that the dealers had requested due to premature failures, but they are still readily available
So, did Victa make an axle repair kit or was it after-market?
Hi CyberJack, Glad you like them. I bought a kit once from a mower shop a few years ago and I vaguely recall the clear plastic pouch the kit came in had a small white label branded Victa on it. It included genuine looking plastic bushes as well. It worked in eliminating the play on the 1990s alloy Victa I used it on.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
With all the Victa bases I have had here over the time and I have never come across a base that has had these fitted to it, plenty of them certainly needed them, I can't understand how some people can continue to keep pushing a mower with the wheels/axle falling off. Does anybody know if any other manufacturer has ever come up with a repair kit for their mowers or was it just that the Victa bases were prone to early failure in this area. If the wheels didn't fall out then the rear corner of the base rusted out.
I'd say these kits were provided by Victa to service agents as feedback must have indicated a common issue with front axle movement. The metal shims provide an easy solution by reinforcement to the worn metal in the body. Regarding the decompression valve not seeming to work properly on this mower, going by the pullback with the zip starter and poor running of the engine when it did start, I discovered a shorter PT decompression valve with missing vacuum hose outlet had been (partially) screwed on. I'm amazed it ran at all. Lucky I have a couple of spare longer type decompression valves. I then discovered another problem. A slipping flywheel was making it hard to start without the momentum it provides. Suspecting it maybe a sheared off key, as the nut seemed plenty tight, I removed the disc and found the key intact. After tightening, it ran normally four the first time since I got it a month ago, and sounds very beastly and starts on first subsequent pulls. Got myself another working full crank 160 now, bringing my total to five!
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
