Hello everyone

[petitbeberose]

my name is Francois, i live in Acworth, ga and just acquired a used 616 . I m looking forward to navigating this site and learn more about my mower. It does have some small issues that i m sure you all have seen before, i ll check the archives before bothering you with them. Best regards.

 

[KennyV]

Hello Francois.... & WELCOME to LMF...
Don't worry about asking questions that have already been asked... ask away, someone here is bound to have an answer for you...
Questions are never a bother, for the most part this is a rather social group. :smile:KennyV

 

[jigbuilder]

howdy and welcome to the forum.
Its slow as everyones out mowing :biggrin: so ask away. I'm sure someone can give you a answer.

 

[Sammy the Red]

Welcome Aboard.

 

[petitbeberose]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I took a closer look at it today and this is what i have and my "issues":

First of all, I m a homeowner, not a lawn care professional. we re building a new house, it will be ready shortly and I will have about 3/4 acre to mow. yes, this mower is way overkill for my purpose but i like nice things and it was $1400 "cheap". i thought i d buy something like this now so i would have the whole winter to sort it out before mowing time starts again here in georgia.

Engine is brand new and is an 18hp Honda gx610, i m guessing that s good, no?

Looking at the tag under the seat, it is a 616 # 5034833. Since i dont have documentation for it, do you know from that number what year it would be?

Tires are worn-out 18x8.5-8 would it be possible to put larger tires and wheels without taxing the hydraulics or affecting the mower too much? it seems there would be plenty of clearance with the fender.

Hydraulics are kinda noisy, PO said he renewed the fluid with proper GH one. Is there anything i need to worry about now or do i just wait for them to die? I put some cardboard under them and they appear to not be leaking. They also function properly.

The biggest issue right now are those 2 lift-wheels up front, they dont caster freely the way they should, i guessed the bushings are worn out bad and need changed. I removed the wheels, banged on the bushing from the top but they re not moving. Are they pressed so tightly that i need to disassemble a little more and bring to a professional or is there a trick to it? (heat gun, special tool, hacksaw, lol)

The rest is pretty easy stuff: 1 banged up fender, grips are worn out, 1 headlight's out, deck serpentine belt is cracked in multiple locations, seat foam is worn out to where my butt goes all the way down to metal (lusting on a michigan seat 5300), and a few hardware bits are missing or rigged from other sources.

PTO works great and the cut is very nice despite the banged up deck.

What site are you all ordering your parts from, I visited most of them them and so far i like themowershopinc,com one. Any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance for all your help,
Francois

 

[KennyV]

....
The biggest issue right now are those 2 lift-wheels up front, they dont caster freely the way they should, i guessed the bushings are worn out bad and need changed. I removed the wheels, banged on the bushing from the top but they re not moving. Are they pressed so tightly that i need to disassemble a little more and bring to a professional or is there a trick to it? (heat gun, special tool, hacksaw, lol)

If it is the deck I'm remembering... those are 'flange bushing' and they push in from the bottom... so you will have to press them out of the bottom... should be relative easy, you should be able to find the replacement bushings, or spin some out on a lathe...

As to wheel size.. You can increase, But why bother... just replace with same size & use your wheels, I have always liked Round Shoulder Turf tires for ZTR's... great snow traction and perfect for mowing grass... :smile:KennyV

 

[173abn]

might be better if you have a local dealer that could supply you w/parts.On the fluid ,did you check the dip stick.Proabley would'nt hurt to change the hydro filters...russ

 

[petitbeberose]

I sourced all my needed parts locally except for a fender and tires which they didnt have but could order. prices were actually lower than most websites, which surprised me. Except for tires, Northern tools were unbeatable for those. I did ask about the noisy hydros and he said it was pretty normal.
Russ, I dont think my units have dipsticks, I have the kind with the reservoir on top. I looked on the diagrams but cant see dipsticks. where should i be looking? I ll check the filters.
As for the lift wheel bushing, he said to keep whacking until it comes off, i guess i need a bigger hammer. I ll also bring some penetrating oil and a heat gun to bribe its way out easier.
When all of that's done, even though the deck delivers a nice cut in its present banged up shape, i'll flip it and will start rejuvenating it as well.
Was any of you able to confirm that i have a 2000 model per the serial number in my previous post?
best regards

 

[173abn]

sorry I'm not an expert on a 616 but on my 928 when you flip the seat up the dip stick for the hydro fluid is readily noticable.you might try calling Grasshopper at this number 316-345-8621 to inquire about the yr. of your mower.good luck...russ

 

[petitbeberose]

Well, after a week of parts buying and replacing, i finally have a good mower
Lift wheel bushings came out pretty easily with a little heat and a bigger hammer but the real culprits were the yokes which turned out were both chewed out. $76 later, i now have 2 new yokes to compliment the new bushings. After comparing the schematics to the actual wheels, i found out that they were not grasshopper wheels and wouldnt fit my new yokes. Crap! $130 for 2 new lift wheels and bearings, i now have 2 completely new lift wheel assemblies.
Northern Tools had the correct tractor wheel@tire sizes for my 616 and for $130 i m also sporting 2 new tractor wheels and tires. I could have saved $40 with buying tires only but i didnt want to deal with mounting them. Old wheels were all beat up too so i thought What the heck, for 40 more i can get new wheels and save me some time.
Deck belt was $52 but i had no choice, it was completely chewed out and had cuts in multiple places.
I changed a few ball-fittings here and there, adjusted the rigging cause with in neutral with handles spread the mower would turn left, squeezed fresh grease everywhere, replaced the handles foamgrips and finally got to play and mow some grass
My serial number revealed that i have a 2000 616 with the 9548 deck.
Hydraulic quantity is checked via see-through reservoirs, no dipsticks.
Overall i m very satisfied with how simple the 616 is to work on with easy access to everything. I should have picked up on the bad lift wheels before buying and not waste $200 but i wasnt educated about the mowers to realize what was wrong. Oh well, i still think that i bought it low enough to still be worth it.
The big dissapointment was to see how cheap and sloppy people can be when working on things. I could not believe how some of the stuff was maintained, repaired or made to work when new and correct, better functionning parts were not that expensive.
Oh well. Thanks you all again for all your help and Merry Christmas.