I picked a late 70s early 80s Troybuilt rear tine tiller. It had been sitting outside since the 80s. I replaced the engine and used it all last summer. It worked great. I also replaced the belts while I was at it.
I got it out today and tried to till up the ground. The problem is, as I put the tines to the ground it puts a strain on the engine and the belts will start to slip. The problem is not belt tension I feel it is a gear problem? I drained the gear oil and put in some new 90 weight. but it didn't help the problem.
Someone with more experience please help.

 

If it's the belts that are slipping, then it sounds more like a belt problem; not a gear issue.

Either you're asking the machine to do something that it's not capable of doing, or the belts are too loose.

Have you tried applying a "Belt Dressing" ?

 

Is this the old horse model? If so, did you put two belts on it (you said "belts" not belt)? If so, that is the problem. You only put a belt in one of the grooves, not both. They are different size grooves that change the gear ratio, so driving them both at once is going to work the belts against themselves.

 

The belts are not loose. I am not asking the machine to do anything it has not already done last year, It worked fine last year. This year it will not eve till soft ground without bogging the engine down. the engine will almost die before the belts start to slip.

 

yes it is a horse model. yes it takes two belts that are brand new and tight. When I got the tiller it had the original two belts that came from factory. the grooves for both belts are exactly the same. so there should not be any ratio change. Besides they worked fine last year. The man I got it from said the machine had about 8 house of work on it before he let it sit. So the machine came in its original state. and parts.

 

Hello kajuk,


This unit has a all gear driven gearcase, therefore if the belts are tight it will drive the tines.

Two things come to mind, there's gearcase seal protectors on the tines, grass and roots can get wrapped behind these proctors and cause more load on the tines. The tines should be removed and checked every so often depending on usage.

The other is a possible issued with the throttle control linkage or carb throttle shaft sticking (from sitting) or engine governor, this would cause the engine to bog when a load is applied.


Good Luck,

31

 

This is good information. Since this is s new motor I do not think the throttle is the problem or governor problem. Even at high RPM this problem still exists. I will check the seal protectors as soon as I can. To tell the truth I do not know what seal protectors are. I don't know what to look for.

 

Hello kajuk,


When a engine is put to rest, fuel left in the carb throat can cause a gummy substance. This can cause the shaft to stick and not react properly when loads are applied. Just something to check along with the control linkage.

The tines are on a keyed tapered shaft, remove both center bolts holding the tines in place. Smack the tine in the center area and the opposite side will jump off, use a block of wood on the shaft on the side that's off to pop the other side off.

The seal protectors are the BIG round concave area on the inside edge of the tines, their made as part of the tine.


Good Luck,

31

 

I have this tiller. I got it from a guy who supposedly was having problems with the gearbox. I bought it, took it home, and tried it out. It worked some, but bogged way down and would start burning the belts when I tried to use it. I checked it over and it had two brand new belts on it. I saw that the pulley sizes were a little different, did some checking and found out it is only supposed to have one belt and it gets switched from one to the other to change drive ratio. I removed one of the new belts and have used it without issue ever since. It may be that yours is built differently than mine, but they did in fact make at least some of them the way I described and it will cause the problem you're having.

Can you remove the belts and turn the input shaft fairly easily by hand with the tines in gear?

 

When I get time I will check to see if the tines can be turned with the tines in gear. I didn't think to try that. It will explain a lot when I try that.