Toro 20073 Personal Pace Rear Wheels

[Blaine B.]

I have a 2007 Toro 20073 Personal Pace mower with 6.5 hp Tecumseh.

Last night I replaced the transmission assembly and the drive belt. Two years ago the transmission started slipping to the point that it would not engage. I purchased a new "pinion" gear and new "ring" gear and installed them in the transmission. I essentially rebuilt the transmission, but the bearing that supports the "pinion" gear was worn and had play. The old "pinion" and "ring" gears were essentially smooth with all of the teeth ground off.

So, I extended the life of that worn out transmission by two years. Not bad. It was starting to slip again, especially when using the bag (but I rarely use the bag.) I went ahead and bought a new transmission and swapped it out. The bearings that support the "pinion" gear in the old transmission were absolutely terrible with a whole lot of slop. Surprisingly, the gears were not worn too bad. Plenty of life out of the teeth. I will keep them around as spares. In addition to replacing the transmission and the drive belt, I also replaced the two tiny little springs and the two "keys" for the ratcheting mechanism (parts 14 & 15.) I did not replace the ratcheting gears as they look to be in decent condition.

Anyway, I have no issues with the new transmission. That is not what this question is about.

The question is about the wheels, and in particular, the rear wheels. Although the wheel bolts are tight, the wheels all have a bit of side-to-side slop. The front wheels are a lot better than the rear wheels, but all of them have slop.

The bushings that support the rear axle on either end are not at fault. They are tight. The axle/transmission assembly is held in solid and doesn't move around.

The rear wheels have two pieces. There is the actual wheel (with the drive gear attached) and then there is a sort of "cone" that supports the wheel against the mower. I believe that this "cone" shaped piece is the part that is worn out.

Looking at Toro's online parts search, there are a couple different parts listed for the wheels.

(2) Wheel Gear Assembly
(2:3) Wheel Assembly
(2:3:1) Bushing

I am not seeing this "cone" shaped piece listed separately. Does anyone know about the part that I am talking about for the rear wheels?

 

[Rivets]

I work on Toro's everyday and I don't know what you mean by "cone". Can you post a pic of what you are talking about? Would help me help you.

 

[Blaine B.]

Actually, I think it is actually part of the wheels. It is cracked off.

It is the "cone" in the center of the drive gear. The bolt that secures the wheel travels through it. I believe that it is supposed to be one-part with the wheel. That would explain why my rear wheels have so much play in them.

You can see the "cone" that I speak of in this generic picture:

Maybe I will be able to glue it back together with a two-part epoxy? My wheels are fine, otherwise.

 

[Rivets]

Yes, that is part of the wheel. Being in the repair industry, I can't rely on gluing it in straight and just replace the wheels. If it is not aligned straight you will worn out the wheel bushing and gears very fast. Good luck.

 

[Blaine B.]

To be honest, I believe that this have been broken for quite a few years which is why I thought it was a separate part. But the center of the wheel has been wearing out more lately, causing a whole lot more slop.

 

[Blaine B.]

I didn't take this photo either, but here is a "cone" detached from the wheel itself. Same as my wheels.

 

[Blaine B.]

Here are the old rear wheels, you can see the cracked center section that made the wheels wobbly.

The front wheels were starting to crack but had not cracked all of the way through yet. I replaced them all, ready for next season. New wheels, new transmission, new belt, and new blade.

If you wanted to, you could cut off the rivets that hold the gears to your rear wheels and then use screws to re-attach the gears to front wheels. The front and rear wheels are the same, and of course, the front wheels are sold cheaper because they do not have the drive gear attached. But the mounting holes are present for self-threading screws or rivets.

 

[INVENTgineer]

For the record, the "cone" pieces are actually just part of the inner wheel hub that broke off. It contains the metal bushing that the axle goes through. I agree with others that gluing them back on may not work reliably for a number of reasons. Best to replace the wheels; also agree that the front wheels are the same, just remove the metal gears from the old drive wheels and reinstall them on the new "plain" wheels, either with suitable screw-thread hex head fasteners or by hammering in the original rivets.

 

[Blaine B.]

Thank you. I did replace all 4 wheels with some new OEM wheels that I acquired through Ebay. I kept the old front wheels should I ever have this issue again, as I can re-use the drive gear and re-install it on these undamaged front wheels.

Those wheel parts where the axle go through have been broken for years! But a lot worse as of when I posted to the point where the drive system was slipping.

This mower should be like new again, with brand new wheels, transmission assembly, and drive belt as well.

Thank you :wink: