Rear wheel removal on a ride-on mower.

[postie jon]

Currently have a mountfield 1436H ride-on, both rear wheels are stuck fast on the rear axle only seems to be a circlip holding each on so i assume its rusted,dont want to go bashing it with a lump hammer as iam afraid of damaging the hydrostatic transmission , cant see a way of getting a hub or gear puller on either, have had it soaking previously with no success. want to remove them to get them cleaned up for painting and to paint the chassis behind, it is approx 12 year old and gives good service, any suggestions?

 

[frank horton]

OK postie jon,
as u've soaked em, leave the circlip off and drive it about a bit, sometimes they loosen.........
or u may need some heat at the centres, from the back if poss.......it will be just rust on the shaft and key way.......
beware u cant belt the rims at the back as they are made from biscuit tins..n..very soft.......
if ur painting them anyway it wont matter if u scorch em......
warm them up and let it go cold a couple of times then take for a ride.........
works for me........

 

[stuvy]

If you take the tyres off go to a tyre center as iv not long done x4 wheels from a pedal go kart with 8” rims. I smacked my self in the shin and killed my knuckles.

When I spoke to a mate afterwards he said a tyre place will do it in minutes for a drink

Place a bit of wood to soften the blow of the hammer

 

[wristpin]

Potential for doing a lot of damage to the transmission. Heat on the wheel boss is fine but because many of the wheel designs are two dishes with the tubular boss running through them, you cant get the heat to the middle bit and have to rely on conduction. Have seen holes drilled close to the centre boss and threaded rods put through to a puller plate on the end of the axle shaft + heat, ending with a buckled wheel!
If it was a manual box i would drop it out, split it, release the shafts from the diff, support the boss and press the shaft out. However a hydro is more work with more potential for causing more trouble.

 

[Robotstar5]

If you take the tyres off go to a tyre center as iv not long done x4 wheels from a pedal go kart with 8” rims. I smacked my self in the shin and killed my knuckles.

When I spoke to a mate afterwards he said a tyre place will do it in minutes for a drink

Place a bit of wood to soften the blow of the hammer

If you can find one, I tried 3 before I found one that would do an ATV tyre.

 

[dannyp]

I’d leave it well alone. I’m not sure on your specific model but I’ve had more dealings with mowers than I’d like they are basicly. Made crap.

If the wheels don’t want to come off leave them on. Belting them on some can pop the clip off the wrong end of the shaft ( in the transmition. ). Gears tend not to be retained by anything other than the shaft and a circlip on the end of it. that comes off and it’s probaly scrap, If the wheel has splines right through it moisture will have got in and made it a very very tight interfearance fit paint them on there. On ors I have to change the tyres with the rim on machene as it won’t budge