In search of a dedicated small engine community I come here.

I have an older husqvarna frontrider with a hydrostatic transmission. While checking the transmission oil I noticed that the fan had broken of most of the blades.

Looking at the transmission cover I can see that it has been grazed by the blades, suggesting that the fan has been pulled sideways.

The oil check was part of a small service, that I was doing since I had to replace both belts going to the cutting deck as well as the belt in the deck. Those belts died when the belt tensioner, in middle of the mower, came loose and dangled beneath the mower.

My questions are these:

  1. WTF?
  2. If the belts have pulled that much in the engine driveshaft, as to do this, what else would you look for before starting the mower again?
  3. Given that it’s about 10°C outside, would you run the mower without a fully functioning fan?
  4. Have I missed something? Any wisdom you wish to impart?
    • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      1·
      30 minutes ago

      You sound like the mrs… But a new, comparable, mower is about 5000€ and I have a too close and personal relationship with my money to part with that much money for when a 25€ part might do the trick.

    • BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.worksOP
      7·
      3 hours ago

      If you can, I recommend waiting until you can replace the fan. Maybe this fits?:

      https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-Fan-black-1a646083070-Replaces-414415-583350101/dp/B00TD59K9K/

      Thanks, I’ve already found a local source though. I’m in Denmark and much of the stuff on Amazon doesn’t ship here. It does look exactly like the one I need. The part number in my manual is 5069868-01

      Have you discovered why the tensioner failed?

      My theory is that I attempted to cut too much too fast. Normally I’ll just rip belt #2 in the picture below. This time shaft #14 came loose from bolt #15 so the entire assembly dangled below the mower. The tensioner pulley #25 may have gotten stuck, because it was demolished in the process. Part of a parts diagram for a Husqvarna rider r16c

      If you haven’t already, considered getting new belts.

      Oh, I have. I replaced belt #3, as well as pulley #25 and the belt in the cutting deck. Belt #3 and the cutting deck belt was ripped, while I belt #2 seems ok. I did order a replacement for #2 though. Just kinda annoyed that I didn’t notice the fan issue earlier, because I was really planning on giving the garden an autumn mowing this weekend.

  • jmiller@lemm.ee
    14·
    9 hours ago

    I don’t think the hub of the fan was pulled over to make those grazes, I think it’s more likely those happened when blades broke off or something went into the fan and was dragged over the transmission case.

    As for running without, that fan is partly there for direct cooling, partly to keep grass clippings from collecting on top. Even in cooler temps, a blanket of clippings could make it get hotter than it should be.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 hours ago

      Crazy to me there’s no guard on that fan. Even one with large openings, chicken-wire type (but stronger) would’ve prevented whatever got in there to cause the blades to break.

    • GloriousGherkins@lemmy.world
      5·
      7 hours ago

      This is the right answer. The fan should be easy enough to fix since it’s held in with a clip, and a quick search for that fan shows they’re less than $20 in the US.

  • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
    3·
    9 hours ago

    It will reduce the lifespan but not kill the transmission to run it without the fan- especially because you said it’s 10C.

    As you can see the fan is held on with a clip and easy to replace- unlike my zero turn.