Ben's Elec-Trak

[Fr3AkAzOiD]

Never even knew these tractors existed.

Great rebuild story, can't wait to see the finished product.

[Daox]

Good to see progress Ben!

I just had my e-mower out for the first time this weekend. Besides needing to wake up the batteries after sitting all winter it was great! Then... I go to do my trimming with my gas trimmer... blah!!! Won't start, won't run good, smells bad... I plan on replacing that with the Ryobi 18v lithium ion trimmer quite soon. HomeDepot was sold out of them this weekend, or I'd have one right now.

[bennelson]

This past Tuesday, I went to the bearings store to see if they had the bronze bushings and new oil seals. They DID! Everything in stock!

Tonight, I attempted to install them.

Now here comes the trouble. Installing the outer bronze bushings from the OUTSIDE of the transmission case. Also, they need to be "countersunk", as they go in DEEPER than the oil seals.

For the first bushing, I was able to simply slide the tire up and down the driveshaft to use it as a slide hammer to tap in the bushing. However, that only got me as deep as the transmission case. Hmmm. How to push it the rest of the way? The driveshaft is about 6 inches long, too long for a 1" deep socket. I needed something just larger than the driveshaft, yet thin enough to go between the shaft and the transmission case.

It finally occured to me that the old bronze bushing was exactly that. I slid the old one right over the top, slid the wheel on, and tapped a few times. PERFECT!

I did the same thing on the other side driveshaft. It just took a little more work because that side is longer, and the exposed part of the shaft has corroded a bit over the last 30 years. Even cleaning up the shaft with sand paper and emery cloth, the rim still liked to get stuck, instead of nicely sliding.

The oil seal on the input shaft is a 3/4", and not very long, so I could tap that one in with a 3/4" socket and rubber mallet.

The brake shaft could have been a problem. It's the same 1" as the drive shafts, but very short, and right next to one of the drive-shafts. I wouldn't be able to drive that in with the wheel.

"If only there was some way to make a 1" ID tube out of a soft, easy to work with material..." I thought to myself, while staring at my 1" spade blade and a block of wood.

Duh!
I drilled a one-inch hole through the wood. Slid the wood over the shaft, smacked it with the mallet a couple times. Pow! Oil seal installed!

It was getting dark, and I don't have any gear lube, so time to call it a night.

Still, I am very exited that I got the bushings AND all four seals installed! (All by myself!) And without having to take the tranny apart again!

I am sure that there are some guys on this forum who know how to do all this kind of work, have done it hundreds of times, and even have the "proper tools". But for me, it's pretty exciting figuring out how things work, and fixing them.

This tractor could be rotting away in somebody's barn still. Instead, I am learning new skills, slowing working on my "No more gasoline" goal, and keeping out of trouble.

[I B RACIN]

That's awesome Ben.

[bennelson]

Today, I got the transmission back on the mower.

I didn't realize that it took weird U-bolts to mount the tranny axel to the box of the mower. I ended up re-using the original ones, even though they were ugly and surface rusty, there were still solid.

It's quite a trick to hold up the back of the mower, slide the tranny under while getting the stick through just right and lowering the box back down, all while trying to hold it up with a jack that can only go where the tranny has to go past!!!!

It took me longer than I thought it would...

The brakes still need work. Even with the brake adjusted about as far as it would go, it barely drags when I press the pedal. I will need to find new brake pads, the old ones are just worn too thin. Thankfully, I can remove the brake without having to take everything else off.

I mowed the front and side yard. Afterwards, each of the batteries was at 11.9V, or roughly 40%
That was with 3 batteries.
I parked the mower and hooked up my pair of 12V chargers (wish I had three!)

When I add three more batteries in front, I should double my range. I think it should be just about right to mow my entire yard on one charge.

[bennelson]

Mowed the lawn tonight.

Did the whole thing, minus the road right-of-way to the east of my garage.

Did all that on one charge of the three batteries in the mower.

When I was done, I put the mower back in the garage and hooked up the chargers. That's when I realized I missed a spot in the front yard.

Instead of dragging the Elec-Trak out again, I grabbed the electric Lawn Boy and the 100' extension cord. The 100-footer will reach from my front door electric outlet out to the corner street sign to trim around that.

Sorry about the lack of photos or videos lately. I have shot some video, but have been too busy the last while to do much with it. (I don't even have my ride in the Tesla video up yet!)

The mower still needs more work. The deck isn't quite level. I need to add batteries to the front. An on-board 36V charger would be nice. Needs lots more rust clean-up and yellow paint.

The biggest rust problem is the back corner. I will need to do some serious welding to fix that up! Also, I wan't to install a reciever hitch for a 2" tow ball. Then I can use the tractor to move campers and trailers around!

[Daox]

What kind of DOD did you hit doing the whole yard?

[bennelson]

I have a pair of chargers that can list your battery voltage or battery percentage when you hook them up to recharge.

All of the batteries were right around 40% when I hooked them up to the chargers.

I still plan on adding more batteries (to prevent wheelies if nothing else!) which should end up helping with battery lifespan.

[Daox]

That seems very good for your yard! Do you have an ammeter on the mower to show how much juice its pulling? Mine seems to be ~110 constant while cutting and goes up to 130 cutting dense/long grass. However, I'm suspect to the gauge as it doesn't return to zero when the mower is off, it rests at about 15A with no current going through it.

[Oval_Overload]

I never thought I'd read about someone restoring a lawnmower. Go Ben!