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I thought I would share an interesting occurrence. I was mowing when suddenly the tractor engine died and would not restart, not even a peep. A search of the electrical system revealed a blown fuse. I replaced it, and the tractor started, but it made a screeching noise and the fuse blew again. I went through the mower deck to make sure there was not a binding pulley, I replaced the belt to the deck (and it was in need of replacement), but I had not solved the problem. I removed the mower deck, and then I discovered the problem. I had driven one front wheel into a hole in my yard (two dogs who thought they heard someone in China and were going to dig their way to him), and the tie rod was badly bent. It was making contact with the drive pulley on the crankshaft. This was the cause of the screech and the blown fuses. If you encounter an "electrical" problem, add this item to your checklist.

A hole so big and deep that it bent the tie rod you sure must of known when you hit it?

Hold on now you put a new belt on and did not see the steering arm touching the pulley.

You hit a big hole while you was turning and never thought that might have been the problem?

Greeves, I relate to the dog holes. There is a huge dog yard here dug up so bad I have to weedwhack because I fear running the rider into holes. My dogs never found China. :laughing::confused2:

I did know when I ran into the hole, but the tractor did not stop at that point; it took a while for it to blow the fuse. Because of a blown fuse, I was looking for something electrical, not something mechanical. I replaced the mower drive belt because after determining that the problem must be mechanical rather than electrical, I was inspecting the mower deck to make sure all pulleys were turning freely, that none had frozen a bearing, for example. During this procedure I noted that the belt for the mower deck was cracked and needed to be replaced. It was not that I thought changing a belt would solve this problem, but it would eliminate a potential problem later. By the way, it was not a bent steering arm, it was a bent tie rod. As long as we are being critical, what is the matter with you, can't you read plain English. I am sorry for this last bit, but I was attempting to relate my experience in the hope that it might help someone else who at some point could encounter a similar issue. I did not realize this was an attack forum. I think this post will be my last in that I do not need the negative criticism. I think there needs to be one more icon, one with a raised digit, but not the thumb.

Greeves, Both the gentlemen who responded are normally supportive like most in this forum. String along a while and I think you will see the cordial side. motoman

Yes, I poisoned them and made them that way!!!!

Nothing is gained by diss-ing. If you are feeling hostile or are having a bad day mow harder and kick some weeds. Every questionable response ( I make plenty) only drives newbies further back in the classroom. If this forum has value it is in measured response and information for all. I realize professonals sometimes have short fuses over mistakes and basic questions. Like brere rabbit said , " if ya ain't got nothing nice to say...." PEACE :thumbsup:

I sure didn't mean to offend you on my post. I was just saying it sure must have been a big hole. I am far from perfect my self because I have hit holes and rocks with my mower and yes my mower has battle scars. You should be able to remove the rod and straighten it. The main thing you should watch for is your toe-in or out which I measure my front wheels with a tape measure. Don't have a dog but a cat and the only holes she digs is in her litter pan.

I think it's best if I just don't say anything more about your story.
Did not mean to hurt you feelings
And thank for your post now we know if we blow a fuse to look at the tie rod.

I hope you stick around as I feel you could help others with your knowledge.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

:laughing:LOL...:laughing:
Ha ha... And with some Great humor this post ends.
I would have 'Thought' the cold weather up in South Dakota would have given you a little thicker skin...
If you can't see the reason for the question, I don't know what to say... Because I was thinking the same thing Plus a bit more.
BTW if you ride/rode a Greeves:thumbsup: you should have Very thick skin...
:smile:KennyV

Carscw said:

I think it's best if I just don't say anything more about your story.
Did not mean to hurt you feelings
And thank for your post now we know if we blow a fuse to look at the tie rod.

I hope you stick around as I feel you could help others with your knowledge.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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Way to man up and apologize!!! Personally, there are times when your to the point "raw humor" is, in my opinion, an attempt to get the OP to step back and take a look at what he said and how he said it. Then again, sometimes a thin-skinned poster with a chip on his shoulder will pen an agressive rebuttal response and further incite a thread riot amongst us:0)

Funny thing is I did not even read his whole reply until now. Guess he was upset.

I really am working at being nice.

I sell a lot of mowers on Facebook. Put a post up for selling a mower big long list of what has been done to it and the last thing I put was $500 obo and two guys asked how much.

Only thing I could think to say was. Put the beer down and put your shirt on then find someone to read all this to you. He gave me $450 for the mower.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

I bought a used Husqvarna YTH 18542 earlier this year. After a few mowings, I noticed that the front wheels were toed out a bit too much. That's when I saw the bent tie rod. I tried straightening it using a bench vice, but it bent pretty quickly the next time I mowed. I ordered a new one and installed it (photo attached). It has been good ever since.

Now for my question: The tie rod sits very close to the clutch housing. It actually touches it. I have not had any blown fuses or any other issues, but it seems odd to me that it would be so close. Is this the way it is supposed to be? Or is there something else that might be out of alignment? I have attached photos of the tie rod in very close proximity to the clutch wheel, and the end of the rod attached to the left wheel. Does this look OK?

Question #2: When I turn sharply to the right, most times the steering locks there, and I have to fight to get it to release and go straight again. Can anyone help me understand why this might be happening? It happened with the bent tie rod, so I thought that replacing that would alleviate this problem, but it hasn't.

Thanks in advance for your time.

-- Dave

P.S. First post - please be gentle. :laughing:

It looks like your tie rod got hit hard to bend it that bad. Seeing that it got hit so hard its a possibility that your steering arms got bent upward. I would try to bend the steering arm down just a little.

reynoldston said:

It looks like your tie rod got hit hard to bend it that bad. Seeing that it got hit so hard its a possibility that your steering arms got bent upward. I would try to bend the steering arm down just a little.

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Thanks, I'll look into that. If they can bend down slightly without compromising the steering, I'll be happy. Luckily, the new tie rod has held up for several mowings.

Are you sure the bar does not attach from underneath?

Problem comes from the fact the the mower was designed with a manual PTO when the electric clutch got shoved on things had to be worked around it.
The outside of the housing is grounded so tapping it with the tie rod will not cause any electrical problems.
A tie rod always goes through an arm square to the arm otherwise it will lift rather than push left right.
If you look at the angles at the end of your old rod compared to those of the replacement you will see the old ones are square on to the arms while the new ones are at an accute angle.
So that would indicate the original rod had a bend in it from new to clear the PTO clutch and the new rod requires the arm to be twisted which would lower the entire rod.
I would hazard a guess that newer models have a modified steering arm to take the strait tie rod as a bent tie rod is extreamly bad / lazy / cheap engineering and thus very commonly used on mowers.
You might like to consider moving the engine back 1/2" which is what the factory should have done in the first place but that requires making a new die to punch out the holes and that costs money.

BlazNT said:

Are you sure the bar does not attach from underneath?

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I had that thought, but every break-away diagram of this mower shows it above. However, since it has a metal washer and a cotter pin, I suppose it could be attached below. Thanks for the suggestion.

bertsmobile1 said:

Problem comes from the fact the the mower was designed with a manual PTO when the electric clutch got shoved on things had to be worked around it.
The outside of the housing is grounded so tapping it with the tie rod will not cause any electrical problems.
A tie rod always goes through an arm square to the arm otherwise it will lift rather than push left right.
If you look at the angles at the end of your old rod compared to those of the replacement you will see the old ones are square on to the arms while the new ones are at an accute angle.
So that would indicate the original rod had a bend in it from new to clear the PTO clutch and the new rod requires the arm to be twisted which would lower the entire rod.
I would hazard a guess that newer models have a modified steering arm to take the strait tie rod as a bent tie rod is extreamly bad / lazy / cheap engineering and thus very commonly used on mowers.

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Your answer makes perfect sense.

bertsmobile1 said:

You might like to consider moving the engine back 1/2" which is what the factory should have done in the first place but that requires making a new die to punch out the holes and that costs money.

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Not that I'm going to take this on, but wouldn't this change the length of the two belts that drive the rear wheels and the blades (by about an inch each)?