[boogarweed]

Hi all. I just bought a John Deere 214 in kinda ruff shape. It runs but smokes a little. I don't have a manual but wanted to hook up the tiller and do some tilling this afternoon. I looked at some pictures I found an tried to hook up everything as best I could. It works when I engage the PTO but makes a pretty severe knocking sound up towards the front of the tractor. I can't see anything obviously wrong and it doesn't make the noise when I engage the PTO without the tiller hooked up. Any ideas what the problem might be? raying:

 

[Herd of Deeres]

That's kind of a tough guess based on your description. Best I can figure is that you may not have set the manual tension adjuster on the tiller correctly and the belt is bouncing around. You must depress the idler pulley on the tiller assembly and tighten it with a socket wrench to get the belt tension from the mule drive to the pulley correct. Some pix of tiller mounting here: http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=127808&page=4

 

[PA318Guy]

Hoping that this is not the problem but if what Herd of Deeres recommended doesn't locate the problem look at the spacing between the engine pulley and the frame. If the engine mounts are cracking and breaking (there are 4 of them) then sometimes an attachment will pull the engine down till the pulley hits the frame. You should be able to see this while the engine is running with the right side cover off!

 

[boogarweed]

Thanks to both of you. I don't think the belt tension Herd of Deeres is talking about is the problem as I adjusted it just as you sugested and the belt is rather tight. However, I did notice that it was almost impossible to get a belt between the frame and the pulley you are talking about. I'll check that out and let you know what I find. Thanks again!

 

[PA318Guy]

You aren't going to like the prices of new engine mounts! Look on eBay but be very careful the ones being sold from "parted out" tractors are probably just about ready to go bad or already have! I have one here that I'll send you for the price of postage, it's not great but would hold for a period of time!

 

[boogarweed]

Is it the rubber motor mounts I see out there or the steel ones?

 

[PA318Guy]

Sorry, the 214 has 4 rubber engine mounts. There is some thin steel around the edge and the center bushing is steel but they are mostly rubber. See picture below, sorry for the poor quality!

 

[PA318Guy]

Where the pulleys hitting the frame then?

 

[boogarweed]

I don't know for sure yet. I will need to look tomorrow to see. Thanks for all your help though!

 

[PA318Guy]

Also, a lot of owners won't put the screws in the holes when they replace the engine mounts. This will cause them to fail really fast so make sure if you replace them to take the time to do it. You will find out just how nimble your fingers are when you replace these! Don't ask how I know that!:banghead3

 

[Herd of Deeres]

Rear tiller belt routing:

 

[boogarweed]

I'm at work and haven't had time to look at the tractor but I did find these mounts at McMaster-Carr new for $9.26 each. That was considerably cheaper than elsewhere.

 

[PA318Guy]

Then you done good boogarweed! They're about $26.00 apiece at the JD dealer!

 

[boogarweed]

I had a chance to look at the tractor closer this evening. The noise is coming from the mule drive. It looks like it's jerking and that's what's making the noise. I don't think the pulley is contacting the frame at all but I think the mounts need to be changed anyway. Could it be something in the tiller hanging a little that's causing the mule drive to jerk? I can't see any other obvious cause. However when I turn the tiller by hand it nothing seems to be wrong. I'm at a loss.

 

[Cat385B]

Its possible the pulleys have a little 'slop' to them, and are hitting the frame when at WOT. You can use your imagination on how to check that, I'm not going to post it, we have rules around here. :hide:

 

[PA318Guy]

Without the engine running how tight is the tiller belt, can you easily pull it off a pulley? If so, then you'll need to adjust the mule drive tension at the front of the tractor (either the T handle or the squarish knob if the handles broke). By the way if this does not turn then it will need to be "released" from the mule drive (get the spring out) and removed and lubricated. To start you can hit it with some PB blaster or WD-40 to help. I oiled the threaded rod about once a year to keep it from getting rusted on!

 

[Herd of Deeres]

Check to see if the mule drive wobbles on the mounts. On one side there are two short arms/stubs to stabilize it. I noticed on mine that the PO put a ~2" section of garden hose there as a bushing. Maybe that's your noise?

 

[pigsitter]

Do you have a McMaster-Carr part number for the mounts you ordered? It would be a big help to both myself and possibly to others here as well.:fing32:

 

[boogarweed]

The part number is 6008K33. I just got them in the mail. They have 4 bolt holes (one at each corner) instead just 2 at opposite corners. However, I saw several people on another forum who used them. One guy said he cut the extra 2 holes off but everyone else said they did not bother and they worked just fine.

As far as the problem I'm having, I am interested in the issue with the T-handle on the front of the tractor. The T-handle is gone and there is no square knob either. Someone put a bolt and a nut on it. It looked like the nut was there keep the bolt from backing out. However, when I tried to turn it, it didn't turn very much. The belt between the tiller and the mule drive is very tight but the belt between the mule drive and the engine could be tighter.

So I assume I need to remove this bolt. When I tried to turn it before it seemed like I might break something if I turned it much harder. Maybe some WD-40 will help?

 

[PA318Guy]

Here's what it should look like!