I started cutting hay today and after 2hrs my Cih 3309/ New Idea 5209 disc mower just quit. I knew it wasn't going to be good as this thing has been pretty close to flawless in 20 years. Found that the input shaft broke inside the gear box where a gear slides on to a keyway. I can see why it broke there as that would be a weak spot where they machined the key to fit in the shaft. They updated it on later models to having splines where the shaft slides into the gear.
I got to thinking ... I wonder if my slip clutch seized up over winter or something. So I took it apart and it looked suspect as it was a bit rusty in there. I cleaned it up but I've seen a lot worse. So I don't know if it was just fatigue over the years or combination of the slip clutch not having the correct amount of give or what.
Has anyone broke one of these?
Edited by Larry in AB 6/28/2012 01:48
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 IMG-20120627-00930.jpg (33KB - 967 downloads)
IMG-20120627-00937.jpg (38KB - 989 downloads)
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New idea disc mower had a break down! Pic
