Repair a Sagging or Broken Lawnmower Wheel

Intro: Repair a Sagging or Broken Lawnmower Wheel

This instructable will show you how to repair a sagging push lawnmower wheel.  The example is my lawn mower I've had for years and with regular maintenance the engine is still in great running condition so I don't want to just go out and buy a new one.

The deck has started to degrade and the wheels are supported by the sides where it's the weakest.

STEP 1: Things You'll Need.

You can do just one, but since I was doing it I did all four.

Materials you'll need:
4 Brackets  2" x 2" x 1/4" angle x 3 1/2
   (I got these at my local fabrication place and the cut them and cleaned them up for me)
8 bolts 1/4-20 x 3/4" (I replaced what old hardware I could)
8 nuts 1/4-20
8 washers 1/4 size i/d

Tools you'll need:
Drill
Drill bits
Hammer
Spanners (open/closed end wrenches)
Ratcheting wrench & sockets
Wire brush

STEP 2: Dissasembly

If the deck is too far gone, this isn't for you.
But if you're deck is in decent shape than you can go ahead if you feel ambitious.

*Also I didn't move the deck from the engine, It would have made this process easier*

Using the wire brush clean all the grass and rusted bits away so you can get your sockets on the bolts and the bracket will fit into the inside of the deck.

Take apart the wheel assembly and keep in the same order.
Remove the handle and handle bracket.

STEP 3: Making and Mounting the Bracket

Place the blank stock up into the inside of the deck and mark the holes where the handle bracket attached to the deck.

Drill out the top holes.

Mount the bracket to the deck.

Tap / reshape the side of the deck to it is flush with the bracket and perpendicular to the top of the deck.

Mark the holes for the wheel support and height positioning plates tab.

Remove the bracket.

Drill out the holes for the wheel support and height positioning plates tab.

Reassemble the bracket onto the deck and tighten everything down.

STEP 4:

As you can see from the two images from the back the wheel is nice and straight again and hopefully will stay this way for another 7 years.

Comments

[giveitago]

My two front wheels rusted out and fell off even though the engine runs fine, so this is just what I was looking for. I went with slightly larger aluminum brackets for my lawn mower - 2.5 x 2.5 and 4 inches long. I got them from a place called metal by the foot after calling a couple of places that didn't take small orders - i was told to go there. I would make two changes. Although 1/4 " thick brackets are remarkably sturdy it's overkill and very hard to drill thru with even a good cordless drill - says me after ten minutes and two drill bits. 1/8" thick brackets are good enough and much easier to work with. I would also use 1" bolts for more clearance. Great instructable. Thanks.

[Glizzygame27]

My push lawn mower frame came a lose and now I can't find the bolts to neither sides to be able to push it. I have a lot of different screws and nuts. But I really don't know what to do from there

[axiesdad]

"Use it up; wear it out; make it do, " was an expression my depression era parents had tattooed on their souls. I too hate to throw anything away that can be salvaged with a simple fix. What I'm saying is "Hooray for you!" Kudos for a nicely done 'ible and an earth friendly attitude.

[tw2sheds]

".................or do without." is how I heard it

[gravityisweak]

I don't have anything close to the machinery required to custom make a metal bracket like that. Do you think a custom made PVC bracket would hold?

[dmwatkins]

Looks like he just used aluminum angle. If you never worked with it, it's great stuff, and you can get it at most hardware or home improvement stores. You can cut it easily with a hacksaw, and drill it easily with an ordinary drill and bits! Nothing special needed!

[gravityisweak]

Works for me! Thanks for the tip!

[sully32]

nobody else a fan of custom lawn mower camber?

[tommagic1]

I simply use a steel door hinge. I grind off the hinge part, and I am left with a steel plate. I enlarge one of the screw holes and just bolt the wheel to the mower frame, slipon the plate on the underside, put the nut on and tighten away. Works great, it's quick and cheap!

[Phil B]

Well done. 

I have done things similar to this, usually for other people to help them out.  Then they buy a new mower within a season, regardless, and make me wonder why I bothered.

[Pignanelli]

That's funny! I went to some trouble some time ago, getting the software and cables (which she was missing) necessary to make my Mom's aging Bernina sewing machine sew beautiful embroidery... didn't cost her a dime... Win, right? NO - She shortly thereafter ran out and spent 5 grand on the new model, which in my opinion is an inferiorly engineered machine in that it uses YOUR COMPUTER as the 'brains' of the embroidery module - that is, it is not self-contained and is essentially tied to the windows operating system. Glad to help, but I agree, sometimes you wonder why you did! The other thing that bugs me is that people feel justified in asking you to do things for free because they "couldn't possibly do it themselves". But do they think to do something for you that THEY COULD DO? HAHA

[rimar2000]

Phil "do good without looking at who"

[smokin joe]

Never heard that phrase before. I like it!

[rimar2000]

It is likely that the sentence is badly written, because I do not speak English but Spanish. I use Google Translator.

In Spanish they say  "haz el bien sin mirar a quién".

A new (recent) translation says ""do good With Dick and Jane". ¿It is so, or is a translation error?

[Phil B]

Osvaldo, "Do good without looking at who." is an acceptable English expression.  The grammar would be just a little better if it said, "Do good without looking at whom."  "Who" is the nominative case.  "Whom" is the objective or accusative case.  Another way to say it would be, "Do good without considering the recipient." or "Do good without considering who benefits."  

Dick and Jane are two of the main characters in a series of books almost everyone used in their first years of school.  There were also a little sister named Sally, a cat named Puff, and a dog named Spot.  A couple of years ago there was a movie titled "Fun with Dick and Jane."  It starred Tia Leoni and Nicholas Cage.  It did not concern the children's books, but tried to remind everyone of them.   

[Ricardo Furioso]

The Boy Scouts put it simply: Do a good turn daily.
I have issues with a lot of Boy Scout issues, but not this one. It's great.

[rimar2000]

Thanks, Phil. ¿How are you? I am enjoying retirement. Recently I had to change all water and gas pipes in the house, were very old and have leaks at some points. Imagine what condition was, especially for my wife, who suffers from the lungs.

Luckily, the builders left, and the house goes back to normal.

[smokin joe]

rimar2000, I do not speak Spanish. The new translation is very good.
"help people without judgement". You sound like a person with a good heart.

[Shiseiji]

I choose to base what I take on with a couple of criteria:

1) Someone requesting my time and talent so they can save money.
2) A gift

I am cautious with requests especially if I think the other is simply spending my time, which I value, to save their money. I often don't get enough joy from doing the task at the expense of other tasks to just give my time and talent away to save someone else's money. I just turned down an "opportunity" to help with a remodel for beer. 1st I don't drink beer, 2nd I had just met this person, and 3rd I have other things I need to do. I often find I can figure out how much they value my time if they get pushy and I mention a price, even if it is for material and expendables. They tend to go look else where.

A gift is something I choose to give without any second thoughts. Since I gave it away it is no longer mine and what they choose to do with it isn't my concern. Though it may influence what I choose to give in the future.

I reserve the right to decide if I want to give or not. Just my personel thoughts for what they may be worth.

Ron

[Jerry99]

I had this happen to me. For what it is worth, I took it to a local welding shop and they made a small replacement metal plate, punched the appropriate holes in it and welded it to the deck and bolted the wheel back on. They charged me $25.