OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping For Free Victa PT Ute SP Free Gumtree Tweed Heads

Afternoon all

Here is a Self Propelled Alloy deck Victa commercial utility mower free in qld

Says it doesn't run but apparently has sat

Hopefully someone has luck on their side and gets it - I missed out on a 125 edger that was 50m down the road by 5 minutes

Hi Tyler,
good pick for somebody if they are quick. Interesting thing to note is see how bald the rear wheels are. Yes I know it is self propelled but the wheel clutches on these drag so much when you pull them backwards the wheels just skid/slide

Hi Tyler an Norm,
nice unit for a freebie. Shouldn't be rocket science to get going again.

G'day everyone,

Yes that's pretty good for a free mower. Is that snorkel standard for that mower?

Yes that would have come with it. I have seen them on other professional grade models. I don't see the point though as it tapers to a much narrower rubber section as it enters the carby. I think it was to make an impact on the buyer as I have seen others with a much narrower version, though still broader then domestic models.

Ok thanks for that Mowerfreak, I was thinking that it was something someone just put on there to make it work to replace a buggered original one.

Cheers!

I used to use one of these on the Gold Coast years back... Asked my brother to pick it up for me.......
hoping.
speedy

Hi All,

I was just given this self drive Victa, I know what Norm is talking about these mowers being hard to push
when the engine is not running but this mower pushes in both directions easily when not running and if
I activate the self drive lever the mower will still push forward easily but not backwards.(one way clutch in side gears working)

I was looking at the gearbox and noticed the return spring so was thinking if they don't freewheel
easily the gearbox is not disengaging completely.(too much drag )

This one looks like it all works because when the lever is engaged and the zip cord is pulled the mower drives
in the forward direction.

Cheers
Max

it was gone at 6am this morning......
speedy

Not your brother??

Hi Max,
The one I have drives fine and is very easy to push forward when the motor is not running, it is just that trying to pull it backwards with or without the motor running is very hard and you are pretty much drag it backwards with the wheels skidding.

Hi Norm.
Yes I have other Victa self drive mowers and the wheels skid backwards when dragging the mower back, but this
one is just as easy to move backwards as moving it forward.

I was just thinking if the gearbox return spring has broken a coil or lost tension it may not be disengaging properly ,
if the mechanism is a little seized you may be able to lever the gearbox engagement mechanism loose with a screw driver.

I will see if this works on one that has too much drag when moving the mower backwards.

Must be a reason why this one moves backwards easily while others lock up the wheels in reverse.

Cheers
Max.

^ sounds like a pain in the throat. No wonder some just choose to remove them.

Yep Victa cheapened the rear drive line in these and gained more dollars in spare parts sales.

Checked a few SP mowers not all Victa ,some moved backwards fine others skidded the wheels,don't
have a new SP to test though.

Hi Max,
There was a bloke on here a few months ago with a later one with a PT on it and this problem was what he was complaining about

Hi Norm,

I remember that mower ,I'm sure it is a fixable problem ,just need to dismantle and repair the problem.

I saw this fix on the Honda mower ,the Victa has a similar drive line.



Cheers
Max.

Thanks Max, could be can't remember if I checked the bushes on the shaft but I'm thinking I would have, but worth a look at it. If I can get it onto the bench I will have a look at that and get back to you.

Yep I had a look at one SP Victa mower Norm with the reverse problem and the drag problem was not the axle bushes the excessive
drag is in the gearbox.

Yes Max,
I thought it most likely was, even though I'm not 100% convinced cleaning up the Honda axles would solve it, but he claimed it did.

I have an early VC auto drive (1972) with the SP removed by a previous owner. They probably removed it due to cost of repair when it failed.

I have one Honda SP that has no problem in reverse Norm.

The gearbox durability went down on the VC auto drive and later Victa SP mowers compared with
the 1960s Victa Self Propelled mowers but inferior parts can make more profit in spare parts sales.

A mower mechanic told me the old Rover SP mowers lasted a lot longer than the Victa SP mower when
mower contractors used them day in day out.

MW, is there any way to make the standard catcher work on my gelded Auto Drive. One problem I encountered is an extra "axle" sticking out at the bottom of the rear flap and the other is an elaborate plastic cover that appears to plug a hole for the drive belt just inside the flap on the left. If I remove that, it will allow clippings to shoot out over the deck where the pulley used to be. The previous owner fitted slasher blades and used it without a catcher.

I will have a look tomorrow Mf .

Hi Mf,
It doesn't look like you can modify a standard catcher to fit the Auto Drive VC, I don't have a standard VC catcher
here at the moment but the red arrow shows how much the standard catcher would need to be modified to clear the axle
and gearbox.

I have seen a lot of the standard VC mowers for $10 or less,got one for $1 a few weeks back,you could strip the
axles out of the standard VC and fit them to the Auto Drive after removing the auto drive axles then fit the standard catcher.

Cheers
Max

Oh yeah, it looks like more trouble than it's worth MW.
I need an auto drive catcher. I think I'd have more luck just finding a standard VC -160/125 to fit my catcher!!
Thanks for that.

Yes better off if you can find a Auto drive catcher or buy a cheap Auto drive mower with the catcher Mf.

If your after a complete VC with the impulse starter don't buy one that is missing the green plastic cover that
fits over the starter otherwise you will be buying another mower just for the cover, the covers are rare these days .

Cheers
Max.

I don't like the mark one for it's 7" rear wheels, and the mark two for it's height adjuster that can jump and leave crop circles on the lawn.
Mark three with the first plastic height adjuster teeth is the one I'd only consider. They sold tonnes of that version, so I'm in with a chance and if it comes with it's own catcher, all the better to have a spare.