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31 Tiller rehab

5K views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  jlw53 
#1 · (Edited)
Picked up this tiller over the winter. Going to tear it down, clean, paint, lube and inspect everything.
It came with the older style single bearing mule drive. I had to find the extra spring bar for it. Going to replace the bearing in it and it looks like it will work ok.
There is what looks like a repair weld done very poorly on the idler pulley bracket. Not sure if I should cut it off and re weld it or just leave it and see if it works the way it is.







 
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#4 · (Edited)
That is what I think too. Guy that I got it from said it came with a 200 series that had engine issues and had sat unused since the 80s. I was keeping my eye out for a tiller. Couldn't pass up this one with both extensions and like new tines.

So far the only issue is the chain alignment. The chain is hitting the main pulley.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I finally got some time to start putting the tiller back together. Got everything done except I still need to paint the tins this week.
That right set of tines I could not get off of the shaft. Finally gave up when I injured myself in the process. The others are cleaned up and going back in with LOTS of anti seize.

 
#9 ·
Looking great!! I see no problem using this stuff, scratches will happen. As long as we don't abuse them, they'll stay nice. I love the looks from neighbors when I'm tilling, mowing, or snowblowing with my RF.
 
#11 ·
Took some more pics last night. Tines are all back on. I've had to take a few things back apart because I either forgot something or put something on backwards. Last night I had to pull the large sprocket off and sand down the shaft. It wasn't going on far enough and was causing the chain to contact the large belt pulley. I think it is all set now. The upper shaft in the chain case seems to have a lot of in/out play. I bet it moves 1/8" or more. Is this normal?



 
#12 ·
Dang that looks good!!! I think my 31 has about that much slop in it. I would say it's ok as long as there's not excessive play the other way. ie. worn bushing/bearing.
 
#14 ·
Yeah it hasn't needed any new parts yet. I just took it apart, cleaned up the rust, primed, and painted everything. Going to put the tins back on with stainless bolts though. The original carriage bolts were rusted solid. Took quite a bit of work to get them apart and most of them snapped.
 
#16 ·
I didn't get into the chain case and bearings on mine because they seemed to be in great shape. I know that there is not grease or oil leaking out of the shafts. My chain case was holding about a half cup of oil inside that only came out when I tipped it upside down. So everything is sealed up pretty good.

I still haven't run mine at all yet so we will see what it does when actually tilling. I finally got the bearing for the mule drive on Friday so hopefully I can get it back together this week and put the belts on.
 
#17 ·
Down to just the extension covers and the chain cover. The 1/2" carriage bolts needed should be here today.
Got the bearing for the mule drive pressed in and all the parts painted. Was hoping to have it all back together before I go on vacation next week but I don't think I'm going to make it. Still need to clean and paint the chain cover and the rear flap.


 
#18 ·
Got the covers back on and mounted the leveling blade tonight. Only thing left is the chain cover and I ran out of primer before it was finished.
Replaced the bearing in the mule drive and got is back together with my 3D printed pulley guard. Hope to have it mounted and running in the next few days.





 
#19 ·
The tiller is alive!
Finally got the clevis pins I needed to get the tiller an mule drive hooked up. Still need to find spring for this old mule drive set up but I engaged the pto at low rpms and it seemed to work well. I was afraid to crank it up all the way as the mule drive was shaking some at the low speed. I think that is what the missing spring is for. Good new is I got the belts on correctly the first time. That was a chore to figure out even with the manual. the mounting studs for the tiller that I got for the tractor frame where about 3/4" too long and the belt was contacting them. So I had to remove the one on the belt side and cut the bushing down to 1/4". I don't think these are original JD parts but something a PO made up. they used 1" brass bushings on them. Way too long for the tiller set up.

 
#22 ·
I have the first generation mule drive. It uses a spring to keep it from rocking back and forth. The later ones had an extra bar welded to the top that rested on the frame for this.
I just need to know the length and wire diameter of the spring.

 
#23 · (Edited)
So I thought I'd update this thread as well as my 110 thread.
I ended up picking up a couple of springs from a local hardware that were close to the measurements that Ed gave me. One was a little larger and one was smaller diameter wire.
I put the larger one on first and it seemed to work well. I could smell a faint belt burning smell when the tiller is running at first. I wasn't sure if it was just the paint overspray on the pulleys or if maybe the spring was putting too much tension on the belt.
This past weekend I finally got a chance to test the tiller in some dirt. It worked great! I did hit a large rock at one point and it was hard enough to knock the drive chain off. No damage other than some paint luckily.
I noticed when putting the chain back on that the drive belt was flipped 90 degrees in the pulley. I double checked that I had the belt on correctly according to the manual and everything looks just like the picture. Got the belt back straight and decided to try the smaller spring on the mule drive. Didn't notice much difference in how it ran between the springs. The only real difference is that the belt is tighter with the larger spring installed. The belt twisted in the large pulley with both springs so I don't think it is a tension issue. I'm wondering if there is an alignment problem.
Can someone with one of these tillers tell me how far apart the belt is from itself where is crosses in the middle? Mine seems to be rubbing on itself at that point.

This is still the original belt that came with the tiller so it is quite worn. I figured I'd put it on first to work out any bugs before destroying a new belt.
 
#25 ·
So has anyone ever had the problem of the secondary belt turning 90 degrees in the pulleys? I'm hoping it is just a worn out belt.

This past weekend I did some more tilling after replacing the condenser on the 110. The tiller belt was looking pretty bad. It had turned about 180 in the pulleys and is cracked. Since I don't have a new belt yet I figured I'd just run it until it broke. I got it back seated correctly in the pulleys and went at it. Got quite a lot done before it quit. I thought the belt finally broke but when I looked close it had just come off the large pulley. The pulley had also come loose from the shaft is rides on. Turns out I also found another large rock in the garden so I'm not sure if that is what caused both the belt to come off and the pulley to become loose.

I got to say I love this thing over using the walk behind tiller. I can do one pass and till the same amount that would take three passes with the walk behind.
The only thing I would change is hydraulic lift. It is not easy to lift even with the helper spring. I can't imagine trying to lift it without the spring.
I think a 112h may be in my future. :D If I can sneak it past the wife.
 
#33 ·
So has anyone ever had the problem of the secondary belt turning 90 degrees in the pulleys? I'm hoping it is just a worn out belt.
I have. In the last month or so I picked up another 31 tiller that came with an old belt that is so worn that it is obvious it had been running twisted for quite awhile. When I swapped the old belt for my newerish belt it didn't twist.
 
#27 ·
Plus you might want to tighten up the helper spring. On my rf I can lift the tiller all day with both extensions.
 
#29 ·
Jake has that backwards. The bottom hole is "for hydraulic lift".
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