Whitewater Woman's Equipment Maintenance and Repair

[WhitewaterWoman]

I wanted to move my issues with my maintenance projects to a new thread, so I am not hijacking the Random thread.

Forest Cat and Nitro and Shevek, thank you for your help.

Here are pictures of a device that could help me get underneath the riding lawn mower. I assume the mower can take some movement/placement as I have watched him mow down some steep hills. I am too chicken for that. Just saying the mower does get tilted at least for a time. I had to search around and found these two.

I am thinking I should be able to move the mower up onto the flat spot. I don't think I can drive it up. And the motor won't work unless there is significant weight on the seat. I'm not sure how to put it in neutral to push it up. And there's no break, so I have to find some way to keep it up. But I feel like this is a start.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Here is another rusting problem. This is a mower that attached to the tractor. It is not that old, maybe five years. And it has the big rusty part that is peeling off. But when I look more closely, it looks like all those bubbles have rust on it. So this would mean scraping off the paint before treating the rust.

Comments/advice welcome.

 

[Forest Cat]

Here is another rusting problem. This is a mower that attached to the tractor. It is not that old, maybe five years. And it has the big rusty part that is peeling off. But when I look more closely, it looks like all those bubbles have rust on it. So this would mean scraping off the paint before treating the rust.

Comments/advice welcome.

View attachment 126614

To get it fixed thoroughly, I would sandblast it, or dip it in paint stripper, strip it back to fresh metal and then cover it with anti-rust primer and truck bed liner. Or you could brush the loose paint off with a wire brush and throw some rust-seal and truck bed liner or paint on it. But it might rust through it again later.

 

[Forest Cat]

I am thinking I should be able to move the mower up onto the flat spot. I don't think I can drive it up. And the motor won't work unless there is significant weight on the seat. I'm not sure how to put it in neutral to push it up. And there's no break, so I have to find some way to keep it up. But I feel like this is a start.

Yes, ramps like that could work fine. If you find some bigger ones, you get more space to work with underneath the mower. It shouldn't be a problem to drive the mower up on the ramps but if you have no brakes you need to put something behind the wheel so it doesn't move/roll down. That mower lift jack I posted in the other thread would also solve all your problems I think, with one of those you get lots of space to work with underneath the mower. And a better angle than you get with ramps, easier to work on it. And they are simple and safe to use. You can jack the mower up using a regular drill or hand crank it.

 

[Outdated]

Driving is how you would normally get your mower up on the ramps, or winching, I doubt you could push it up by hand. The ramps will need to be on firm ground or concrete though, or they'll just sink in the the ground from the weight of the mower. Tilting your mower that little bit won't hurt it, but if the fuel tank's full to the brim it might leak a bit.

This is a mower that attached to the tractor. It is not that old, maybe five years.

That looks bad for just 5 years, it looks like the metal was never properly primed before painting in the first place. The rust looks like it's only surface rust though, that means it should be able to be cleaned up and painted properly without having to replace bits. I'm curious what it looks like underneath.

It can be cleaned up just with some coarse sandpaper. Get rid of most of the rust then paint it with an anti-rust paint. A tin of paint and a paint brush is a lot cheaper than buying spray cans - with a spray can half your paint floats away on the air instead of going where it should.

 

[Outdated]

I forgot to mention - after sanding wipe the area down with a cloth soaked in vinegar. Just cheap homebrand white vinegar. That will also remove a little more rust, and it primes the metal ready to take paint. Don't do this in a closed in space, the fumes that come off of it can make you crook.

 

[Judge]

How nostalgic! Those kind of ramps are exactly what I used to have to change my own oil when I owned an MG Midget and an MGB sports car. Back in the day when the average joe could still service their own car without having to be a rocket scientist.

 

[Outdated]

Back in the day when the average joe could still service their own car without having to be a rocket scientist.

And without a laptop with the correct proprietary software.

 

[Mary Terry]

@WhitewaterWoman - Can you park the tractor, mower and lawn mower under a roof or a cover after you make repairs? We park the equipment in a shed with a roof to help prevent rusting.

Wish I could send hubby to help you. He likes doing stuff like that.

 

[Judge]

@WhitewaterWoman - Can you park the tractor, mower and lawn mower under a roof or a cover after you make repairs? We park the equipment in a shed with a roof to help prevent rusting.

Wish I could send hubby to help you. He likes doing stuff like that.

Which reminds me, you want to be especially careful of parking (and aligning) things like a tractor on those ramps. Make sure the wheels seat properly without any slippage while on top of the ramps.

 

[Forest Cat]

it looks like the metal was never properly primed before painting in the first place. The rust looks like it's only surface rust though, that means it should be able to be cleaned up and painted properly without having to replace bits.

Yeah that's typical paint blistering and surface rust. It will take a long time before that rust goes through the metal.

She could make a rat rod lawn mower. Just cover the rust with clear paint and let it look worn-down and shabby. I like rat rods.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I had an old John Deere, but working under it as well as changing implements required ramps. I had gotten long ramps since short ramps that only took one wheel did not work for me. Finally I was able to afford a Kubota BX series. It is well laid out and it looks like care and design was done to make maintenance and implement change a breeze. Plus a lot of the controls are hydraulic and the power take off is easy to use . . . shaft drive with no belts unlike the Deere.

 

[Mary Terry]

I had an old John Deere, but working under it as well as changing implements required ramps. I had gotten long ramps since short ramps that only took one wheel did not work for me. Finally I was able to afford a Kubota BX series. It is well laid out and it looks like care and design was done to make maintenance and implement change a breeze. Plus a lot of the controls are hydraulic and the power take off is easy to use . . . shaft drive with no belts like the Deere.

We have an old Massey Ferguson tractor a/k/a the "MF" tractor and an old Kubota. If you take care of them, tractors should last for decades. I don't recall husband ever having to jack them up to work underneath them but changing tires is scary. Our John Deere died long, long ago.

 

[Shevek]

I remember reading about life on The Farm, Stephen Gaskin's happening in Tennessee. The girls were demanding that the boys teach them how to drive the tractor and plow. Just from the way they asked, I knew that both sides would wind up frustrated. The girls wanted a set of instructions, like a recipe. The boys didn't know how to plow; they just did it, starting from a wide base of related knowledge.
When I get an apprentice, about the first thing I ask them to do is to break up the stuff in the scrap pile, to give them a feel for the materials before they can damage the good stuff. My advice is to play and try stuff, taking the instructions here and on YouTube as suggestions, not gospel. There are an awful lot of YouTubers who are better at video than the rest of their project, in which they have managed to accomplish something, but not practiced, consulted experienced professionals, or tried other methods
I'd never heard of using vinegar as a primer. I always use phosphoric acid, as found prepared in "Naval Jelly." If conditions are right, it produces a thick black coat that won't rust even without paint.

 

[Mary Terry]

I remember reading about life on The Farm, Stephen Gaskin's happening in Tennessee. The girls were demanding that the boys teach them how to drive the tractor and plow. Just from the way they asked, I knew that both sides would wind up frustrated. The girls wanted a set of instructions, like a recipe. The boys didn't know how to plow; they just did it, starting from a wide base of related knowledge.
When I get an apprentice, about the first thing I ask them to do is to break up the stuff in the scrap pile, to give them a feel for the materials before they can damage the good stuff. My advice is to play and try stuff, taking the instructions here and on YouTube as suggestions, not gospel. There are an awful lot of YouTubers who are better at video than the rest of their project, in which they have managed to accomplish something, but not practiced, consulted experienced professionals, or tried other methods
I'd never heard of using vinegar as a primer. I always use phosphoric acid, as found prepared in "Naval Jelly." If conditions are right, it produces a thick black coat that won't rust even without paint.

Your comment reminded me of Britian's "Land Girls" during WWII. Those strong, resourceful women cleared land, plowed land with mule teams, drove tractors, planted, grew and harvested food that fed the military and the nation while the Nazis tried to starve the country. They raised livestock, milked cows, and butchered meat. Men were rarely involved as all able-bodied men were fighting fascism. Britian would not have survived without them.

Big applause from me for women farmers!

 

[Outdated]

I'd never heard of using vinegar as a primer. I always use phosphoric acid, as found prepared in "Naval Jelly." If conditions are right, it produces a thick black coat that won't rust even without paint.

Vinegar works really well on the rubbish mix of metals they use to make things like mower decks these days. It has some steel in it. Almost any acid will do the job and vinegar is cheap enough to use on large areas.

We found out about it when preparing a mate's roof for painting. I suggested Flouric acid, commonly known as Boat Wash or Aluminium Cleaner, but when we spoke to a professional he said that flouric acid was too strong for zinc/allum and he told us to use diluted vinegar.

That was a big job, 600 square metres.

 

[Shevek]

Vinegar works really well on the rubbish mix of metals they use to make things like mower decks these days. It has some steel in it. Almost any acid will do the job and vinegar is cheap enough to use on large areas.

We found out about it when preparing a mate's roof for painting. I suggested Flouric acid, commonly known as Boat Wash or Aluminium Cleaner, but when we spoke to a professional he said that flouric acid was too strong for zinc/allum and he told us to use diluted vinegar.

That was a big job, 600 square metres.

Ahh, so not on steel. Rust on steel is like cancer - if you don't kill it, it will keep spreading. Water vapour gets in through the pores in paint which let the solvent out, and keeps the rust growing, soon flaking off any bondo or paint to let more water in. Steel needs an extra chemical skin, and no open sores if coated with anything but epoxy, which has no pores. On galvanized sheet metal, the zinc coating can also protect a cut edge. Stainless steel is protected by the chromium oxide that spreads over the surface, but if it is used in a place where vibration wears that off, it rusts like any other steel.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I remember reading about life on The Farm, Stephen Gaskin's happening in Tennessee. The girls were demanding that the boys teach them how to drive the tractor and plow. Just from the way they asked, I knew that both sides would wind up frustrated. The girls wanted a set of instructions, like a recipe. The boys didn't know how to plow; they just did it, starting from a wide base of related knowledge.
When I get an apprentice, about the first thing I ask them to do is to break up the stuff in the scrap pile, to give them a feel for the materials before they can damage the good stuff. My advice is to play and try stuff, taking the instructions here and on YouTube as suggestions, not gospel. There are an awful lot of YouTubers who are better at video than the rest of their project, in which they have managed to accomplish something, but not practiced, consulted experienced professionals, or tried other methods
I'd never heard of using vinegar as a primer. I always use phosphoric acid, as found prepared in "Naval Jelly." If conditions are right, it produces a thick black coat that won't rust even without paint.

Phosphoric acid give iron phosphate better would be zinc phosphate.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Thank you, all. It’s going to take a while to get to these projects. I appreciate all the information and see how much I can get done. (I also have inside projects going on.)

I did figure out how to get a replacement key for the tractor. It is an LS XR 4155. LS is the make. I’d never heard of it before. The color of all their tractors and implements is that startling blue. So, the tractor does start. I haven’t tried to drive it yet. I don’t have any pressing need for it, but would like to get the hang of it before the next hurricane season.

Mary Terry - There is a pole barn on my property and the lawn mower and tractor spend most of their time under it. I think the rust on the mower deck happened because the deck was not cleaned after use, so gobs of grass and dust sit on it all the time. Presumably that’s the same for underneath the mower deck.

For five years I lived on a farm and did much of the work including raising a butchering meat and fowl, large garden, sugaring, etc. But I was young and energetic then. I’m feeling somewhat old and tired. But, as time goes on, I’m getting more confident of being able to handle the new and unexpected challenges.

 

[Mary Terry]

We have a pole barn with a metal roof where we park the farm equipment, too. Yes, I think you're supposed to hose or clean off the mower deck and the underside after each mowing job because the grass is acidic and contributes to rusting.

I'm old and tired, too, but will keep on plugging away at the tasks as long as I'm able. I still grow a lot of our vegetables and fruit, and preserve what I grow by canning, pickling, and freezing. We have a couple of chickens for eggs, too. We don't have cows, but I can field dress a deer as well as a man and butcher it for the freezer.

Self-sufficiency gives me pride and a sense of security.