Capstan drive info

viperv10

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Oct 7, 2016
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Well I got the new wheels about a week ago and put them on and made sure I had a close gap between the tires and the drive rollers. I had high hopes that this would work like a new one. Boy was I disappointed. It worked better with the old rollers and tires. I was really put out. I put the mower up on my mower work stand and tried to figure out how to get more pressure on the tires and try to understand how everything pivoted underneath the rear axle. That was no help. I tried to just straight push mow with it for awhile but the handle collapses forward too easy. I was not liking this mower at all. I got the idea to just make it a straight pusher out of it. I have another steel deck mower [L21zpn] that is not self-propelled that has been a parts mower. I switched out the top half of the handle bars, drilled a new hole to mount the throttle cable, and switched out the brake cable. I'm cleaning off the engine and mounting plate because it is really grimy. I haven't fired it up yet to see if it will run or not or shut off when I let go of the safety bale. That might need some adjusting. I would like to take out the drive axle and drive shaft if I could but I think if I took the axle out there would be nothing to hold the little drive shaft that comes out of the back of the engine in. And I don't think you can leave that hole open. I believe that I read somewhere that there is a seal in that opening similar to the top and bottom crank seals. If that is the case I'll just leave that stuff there and just maybe take off the drive rollers. Even if I took the drive train out I would probably only save maybe a pound so it probably wouldn't make any difference. If any one has any suggestions or ideas give me a shout. Thank you.
Jerry
 

jp1961

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Jul 22, 2013
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Hi Jerry,

I used to think the handle provided a cam like clamping action on the drive rollers, but I think it's just the weight of the mower (not a whole lot considering the engine and deck are very light) on the roller that provides the drive action. Anyhow, Lawn-Boy stuck with this drive system for a LONG time. The later gear drives were way better IMO.

Regards

Jeff
 
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