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Leaning Soveriegn (Update) w/pics


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Posted
Last year after pulling the blown Kohler motor on my GTH-L I noticed a significant lean in the frame. Here is a link to the original discussion: http://www.simpletractors.com/club2/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=46413&SearchTerms=leaning Just yesterday I began working on the tractor again. I had a 16hp briggs mounted in temporarily just to test the motor out(got if for $5!). Turns out the engine may need new ball bearings but otherwise runs good. Anyways after pulling it again I noticed that the dash tower was still leaning as were the running boards. I had previously loosened the BGB bolts and leveled it up at the front. It is now level in front but still crooked in the middle. It was so obvious I don't know why I missed it before. The whole engine bay is one piece which is welded into the main frame tunnel. The factory welds were not right. It is welded in about 5/16" higher on one side than the other. This accounts for the crooked dash.

Here is the left side, notice how much more gap there is between the line on the frame tunnel and where the engine bay is welded to it.

The front of the frame is also noticeably higher than it should be. From back to front it slopes upward. You can see the AC710 in the background are level all the way across.

This could also be because of how the engine bay is weled onto the frame tunnel. Its too low in the back. It will make it hard to accurately check the oil. I'm going to go ahead and mount a 16hp briggs in it for temporary use, so I can check out the hydro trans and lift, make adjustments and change fluids. Then I guess the tractor will be split and the frame stripped down. I'll have to cut the old welds and have the engine bay rewelded in the correct position.
Posted
Strange. I wonder what Simplicity's welding tolerances are. Or, how did it get past QC.
Posted
I don't know but in one a pic or two it looks like it was not factory welds. That is strange if it came from the factory that way.
Posted
I believe all the welds to be factory. The paint has just flaked off of them. I'm thinking this tractor was just a lemon, and the customer who bought it new just didn't notice or wasn't picky.
Posted
I guess I don't see the lean that you are trying to show. My GTH-L was also leaning a bit. I was looking at the front of the hood and thought it wasn't level. I also had noticed that the gap between the seat pan and the driveshsaft tunnel was not equal on the left and right sides. A quick check with the bubble level on the top of the drive shaft tunnel showed that it was not level, but when I put the level on the back of the seat pan it was almost dead level. I first loosened the four BGB bolts and jacked up the front frame to twist it in the opposite direction and then tightened the bolts. It was better but still not level. I then loosened every bolt that attached the left and right side plates to the BGB and the trans and rear hitch and again jacked up one corner of the front frame to put in some counter twist. I then tightened every bolt that was loosened before I removed the jack. The side gaps between the seat pan and the driveshaft tunnel were almost identical and when I laid the bubble level on the top of the driveshaft tunnel it was very close to level to where I could no longer see any lean with my eyes. It takes a little work but I got the lean out of mine.
Posted
Ok I'll be the first to say what some must be thinking! Wouldn't have this problem if it was a FDT!!:D:D:D:D
Posted
Steven, the method you describe is how I leveled up the front half so the engine would sit level. Only problem is due to the inaccurate welds, the whole mid section becomes crooked while front and rear are level. Elon, I hate to say it but I've seen problems with FDT frames too. Sometimes the heavy plate onto which the BGB bolts in the rear of the frame tunnel is not welded in 100% even on each side, but thats not a really big deal and is easily corrected by adjusting the bolts. This 17GTH is the most extreme example of this problem I've seen. I have to say if I didn't have the nice flat floor I likely wouldn't have noticed all these problems, maybe I'm too picky.
Posted
Hi, I fixed a couple of these units under warranty. They were built shortly after the tractor had been discontinued for a year and then they started building them again. We split the unit and filed the BGB holes slightly. Fixed the level problem. Suspect it was a fixture problem when the BGB plate was welded in. The first one was about a year old when the customer asked about it. The other was less obvious and there was enough slack in the holes to correct it. Al Eden
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