shear bolts and gearbox oil

Muckit

Hey lads

I've no manual for my abbey topper, so few bits not sure of. What strength shear bolt do ye use?

I'm using 8.8 at the mo, is that ok? (M8X50)

And gearbox oil, when should this be changed, how much to put in and what grade oil??


Thanks

reilig

Use 8.8 too.

Change the gearbox oil every second year. Mine's a fleming topper. There are 3 bungs on the gearbox - 1 for draining at the bottom, 1 at the top for filling and 1 at the side - you should fill the oil till it flows out here. Don't know if every topper has the same gearbox, but I have seen several other makes with similar to my own. Take caution not to overfill - damage can be done.

nashmach

reilig wrote: »

Use 8.8 too.

Change the gearbox oil every second year. Mine's a fleming topper. There are 3 bungs on the gearbox - 1 for draining at the bottom, 1 at the top for filling and 1 at the side - you should fill the oil till it flows out here. Don't know if every topper has the same gearbox, but I have seen several other makes with similar to my own. Take caution not to overfill - damage can be done.

Just bought a Fleming - 8ft fully offset. Is the shearbolt on the long PTO shaft near the first rotor?

Agree with the gearbox - should be EP90 oil. Most gearboxes are Comer.

Muckit

thanks reilig. So drain oil (bottom bung)and fill the oil in top bung til it comes out side bung? Then stick both back in, bingo. sound. That makes sense

One last thing, what grade oil?? Is there a standard gearbox oil?? Any numbers like engine oil? Thanks;)

pakalasa

For the record, I have a Belmac Topper.
Shear Bolt is grade, 8.8 also. (Heard of guys using 12.9 instead, asking for trouble)
3 plugs too, as described above. Dont know the grade of gear-oil. Italian make though, not Comer.

reilig

nashmach wrote: »

Just bought a Fleming - 8ft fully offset. Is the shearbolt on the long PTO shaft near the first rotor?

Agree with the gearbox - should be EP90 oil. Most gearboxes are Comer.

Sorry Nashmach, mine isn't an offset and is 10 years old, but the shearbolt is on the pto shaft. Agree that it should be EP 90 oil.

pakalasa

Here's a pic of the shear bolt. The '8.8' will be stamped on the head of the bolt.

(...to much free time, I know...sitting around here, waiting for contractor to call)

bk1991

after getting stick of puting shear bolts into pts's i now use a slipclutch on pto works much better than running a steel bolt in shaft .


bk1991

reilig

Have the 1 shearbolt in mine for at least the last 5 years. It will only break if you hit something like a log, stone or bank of clay. Thankfully my land is pretty clear, and I never top too low which means that I'm never shaving the ground.

Pharaoh1

I have an old Conor topper and according to Conor Engineering 80W/90 gear oil is recommended.

C0N0R

bk1991 wrote: »

after getting stick of puting shear bolts into pts's i now use a slipclutch on pto works much better than running a steel bolt in shaft .


bk1991

Ours came with a slip clutch. One time I was topping in a field giving a neighbour a hand one day and I say I topped three quarters of the field because he was forever replacing shear bolts!

Belongamick

I was just wondering is there a way to 'balance' the blade of the topper.
We have a fairly old topper, connor I think, the rotor is in two parts: the upper part connects to the gear box and the lower part has the two blades bolted on. Both sections are bolted to each other with washers in between.
When running there is vibration and a bit of noise untill you find the right revs when the noise fades away a bit.
Is there a way of reducing the vibration so it runs a bit smoother - cannot see anything relevant on google for this. Thanks.

pakalasa

Apart from loose parts, it is probably due to one side being heavier than the other, or the alignment being out.
What you could do is take off both blades and try it again. If the vibration is still there, then spin the rotor and see if one side is running higher than the other. If not then add a bead of weld to the side that you think is lighter and try it again.
It will take a while, but you probably will get to the bottom of it eventually.
You could drill small holes to remove material too, from the heavier side, but probably better to add weld to the lighter side.

I've never done this to be honest, but I think this should work.

Belongamick

I suspect it is a weight thing - I was thinking of adding or taking away a washer on one side or the other to try and balance it. Another thing I read for a lawnmower blade was to hang it on a nail by the center and see does it tilt one way or the other. It may take a while to sort it out but it is a bit annoying when not balanced up right.

Muckit

Is there a great need to be changing the gearbox oil? Surely if it's not leaking and unlesss your topping hugh acreage a year it should be ok?:rolleyes:

blue5000

Muckit wrote: »

Is there a great need to be changing the gearbox oil? Surely if it's not leaking and unlesss your topping hugh acreage a year it should be ok?:rolleyes:

Hi Muckit,
by draining the oil you are (hopefully) getting rid of any metal filings or chips that are in the gearbox. If you left these in there they would wear the teeth off the gears eventually.

Muckit

You've made a good point there, blue5000.

Of course there will be gear filings and it would be better to change oil to eliminate these and help reduce wear. Thanks for tip. And thanks reilig for suggesting changing oil

foreman

I have a problem with my rrailer topper shear bolts snappi g on start up.
Pto starts perfectly but after a few seconds snaps the bolt every time. Have tried on 540 and 1000 and same story.
I am using 10.9 bolts

Any ideas what the problem is.

Mad4simmental

foreman wrote: »

I have a problem with my rrailer topper shear bolts snappi g on start up.
Pto starts perfectly but after a few seconds snaps the bolt every time. Have tried on 540 and 1000 and same story.
I am using 10.9 bolts

Any ideas what the problem is.

Have you a slow pto take off option on the tractor? You might be giving her to much holly on start off. Any wire wraped around it underneath making it tight & hard to turn?

onyerbikepat

Is the PTO shaft straight? If you're not cutting and not accelerating the pto shaft, then the torque (which is what shears the bolt) should be very low. Seemthing getting caught somewhere.

foreman

Nothing getting in the way of blades