Bright Raven":3bi6bojz said:
Bushhog 296. How much play or wobble is normal? I can reach under, grasp a blade and wiggle the stump jumper up and down. I crawled under and the stump jumper is well upon the splined shaft. The cotter key is still holding the nut on the shaft.
Is it a Modern or Rhino brand? I've seen both wear the splines and they are usually worn both on the shaft and the hub. I've had luck before, pulling the cotter pin and tightening the nut up some more, which pushes the hub further up on the shaft where good splines are and but once, had to fashion a thick washer when the nut was bottomed out on the shoulder of the shaft. The washer will need a larger id than the shaft's shoulder and the nut needs to be a castellated flange nut. I tightened the nut to refusal with a 1' drive set, then with a hammer wrench and BFH then reinstalled the cotter pin. It has lasted several years and the last time I used it, it seemed to be holding up. I did consider welding the hub to the shaft but decided not to. A hammer wrench can tighten it tighter than any but the biggest impacts can remove. Be careful about it bouncing back tho..helps to put a bungee cord holding it in the direction of rotation..or get someone to hold some tension on it with a piece of sash cord.
You can buy the output shaft for the gearbox and a new stump jumper hub too, for most mowers if they aren't too ancient, just make sure you get the lash correct in the gears...it will all have shims.