522xi hard braking/return to center..

[mikeeyre74 289]

Question: re: this..

 

 

So this is the 522xi I got. I greased everything up that has a fitting including these Shafts here in the tunnel. It's still hard to get the hydro to return to neutral by hitting the brake pedal, morseso from the reverse position that the forward though. It's just clunky. You have to really PUSH it and then it snaps out of reverse and brings you to a screeching halt. I am surprised to see that the cam mechanism there that slides along the "roller" I have the arrow pointing to doesn't have an actual roller tho? Seems like it's a welded tube. Is that correct? Seems like without a roller it's gonna be a massive wear point in this machine and that it would eventually gnaw it's way through that pipe without a roller or dissimilar material (like a nylon wear pad or something) to run up against? What am I missing?

[doc724 925]

It should not be clunky.  Mine is not.  Tomorrow I will pull the tunnel cover and take a picture.  I do not think the problem is in the area you show (though I cannot be sure).  I rather think the problem is perhaps somewhere else.   Why do I think this?  One of the 416H's I had behaved just like you state.  In those machines, there is a teeter totter under the tunnel and if you get crap in the pivot, it does not like returning to center.  Also, I bought a foot pedal kit (Matt's Foot Pedal Kit) for my current 416H and Matt specifically identified that the shaft through the teeter totter has to be perfectly clean and not rusted for the foot pedal to work.  I could be wrong and perhaps one of the other xi owners will chime in.

 

BTW, just because you greased something, does not guarantee that the grease is under the entire part.  If there is rust in there and the cam will not move relative to the shaft, grease will not get in and will squirt out just like your picture shows

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

You might want to pull the right rear tire and possibly even the fender pan, the neutral adjustment cam and brake band is all right in that area, with the axle up on stands and engine running you can check and adjust accordingly, another thing to check while you have it that far down is ALL the frame to transaxle mounting bolts as the 520xi I got last all were loose with 1100hrs running a 60" deck, also the brake pedal is just a parking/emergency brake the rocker/motion control pedal should return to center as soon as you step off of it ,if my memory serves me right spring loaded, also with the 20hp Xi's up they have "smart turn steering" with the cruise control so it automatically slows you down as the steering wheel is turned so as not to throw you off the seat in a sharp while running wide open mowing the straight aways this can be binding also, not that these Xi's aren't more "refined" than my beloved 520H I'm just fine with the hand stalk after 19+ years vs the toe to heel foot rocker maybe if it had been twin side by side pedals I would have gotten used to it better and not flipped to someone else, anyways before I ramble on to far without answering your question I don't have pictures or manuals anymore try downloading the operators/service manuals from here, Jeff.

[mikeeyre74 289]

Wait, what? The motion control pedal should return to center by spring loaded return if you take your foot off it?  If that is the case, there is definitely something wrong with mine… Because no matter which direction you press that pedal, it stays there.  All of the old machines never had an automatic return to center… With my sunstrand and eaton models made in the 70s, you push that whenever you want it and it stays there. That's why I figured this was the same way?  If it is supposed to return to center, then I definitely have some binding.  Either which way, it is very difficult to push the brake pedal. It's like you can stand on it and it doesn't really want to go at all, but if you kind of kick it a few times something loosens up and then it works. I define need to pull the fenders and tunnel off it to see what's up in here and clean things out. This machine was never cleaned and it's really kinda gRoss. I'm heading back to the car wash today to blast the rest of the muck off now that the deck is out of my way. 

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Take the fender off before going to the car wash. I mentioned that in the original thread because of the conditions that it had been left in. Sounds like something has grown up in there or is obstructing the linkage. I doubt that the problem would just be a missing return spring.

 

By the way, don't disengage the cruise without having your foot on the pedal Talk about a screeching halt! 

 

Here is a photo of a bare chassis that I gleaned from the internet. It may be from another RS member.

 

Edited August 8, 2017 by shallowwatersailor

[mikeeyre74 289]

After this conversation and knowing what I know about how ugly the front end was on this thing, I have no doubt that you're right. I need to get those fenders off and then go to town with the car washer... 

 

that picture above is a little mOre involved than I wanna get with this thing, however.

[doc724 925]

After I replied last night, I thought a bit more this morning.  As you have learned the foot pedal is supposed to return to neutral when you remove your foot.  It may also have a grease fitting.   John Matthews is a good resource on all things xi.

[EricF 589]

Disclaimer -- I don't own any 5--xi models, but I'm wondering if the "cruise control" could be at least partially at fault. A lot of pedal-controlled hydros use a friction lock acting on the motion linkage as a simple cruise control -- having the cruise stuck "on" due to being gunked up or damaged might be what's causing the pedal to stay wherever it's put. With the fenders off and crud cleaned away, it might be easier to spot the problem.

 

@WV Hillbilly, I'm with you on preferring hand levers for hydros. I can understand where a pedal is nice for back-and-forth operations like running a front plow or working in tight spaces, but they're a pain (in the foot/ankle, literally) for constant-speed work like mowing unless you have a way to lock the pedal, and that just means more linkages to keep in working order. Either way you have to take a hand off the wheel -- adjust a hand lever or fiddle with a cruise control lock if you have one. I never saw any safety advantage other than pedals make more sense to car drivers.

 

[mikeeyre74 289]

That's a good idea to check there, with the magnetic friction lock on the cruise control. I do know that the cruise control light on the smdash comes on and turns of when I hit the switch and cancels like it's supposed to when I hit the brake... but I understand that the cruise is still supposed to let you override it with more forward speed by hitting the pedal , and the pedal just feels hard as it is right now.. so if it were locked on right now, it would be painful to try to override this at this rate. Doesn't seem right. It Seems more probable to me that the cruise friction lock is jammed up with crap under the fender than anything else. Might be able to get those fenders off this evening to take a look. 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

The cruise control is electro-magnetic, and can be set as low as crawling along forward then pedal pushed farther to increase speed then returned to set speed when lifting your foot, I did enjoy that part vs continued pushing of the foot pedal, another big advantage of the Xi's is the sharper turning radius around obstacles in the yard vs the 520H which is still tighter than the average L&G tractor, if you check out my previous post on the 523Dxi and 520xi I believe I have several pics up with the fenders and front hood off and engine removed, Jeff.

Edited August 8, 2017 by WVHillbilly520H
Add pic

[mikeeyre74 289]

Oh. My. Goodness. 

 

Heres the before pics:

 

 

and here's a few after:

 

 

 

got a little nervous after i got home when she started up to get off the trailer and then stopped part way down and then wouldn't start bAck up again... somehow managed to blow a fuse there, but that was easily remedied and we're back in business. 

 

The best part? The wash job completely fixed the machine. The MC lever works like a champ now. Snaps right back to center all on its own and feels like a million bucks. Thanks for the diagnostics, fellows!

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

A clean pallet is always easier to start diagnosis and repairs than in its original condition, that  will thank you, and you'll thank yourself when you start the repair process, Good luck and you're welcome, BTW I do know where a N.O.S. never been sold only demonstrator 12hr 522xi is setting still today,Jeff.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

Good job! A quick note. Make sure the gas lines, including the vent line, are correctly placed when you re-install the fender.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

9 hours ago, mikeeyre74 said:

 

 

 

 

The best part? The wash job completely fixed the machine. The MC lever works like a champ now. Snaps right back to center all on its own and feels like a million bucks. Thanks for the diagnostics, fellows!

See that silver fitting directly below the hood on the dash tower ,that is an inline filter for the hydrostatic power steering that needs to pulled apart and cleaned with you change the rear hydro fluid, helps keep that steering smooth and easy, Jeff.

[mikeeyre74 289]

I read the book and my understanding is it's just a cleanable item, not a replaceable filter? If so, my plan wass to change the fluid back there (with the hydro filter) tomorrow and break that strainer apart first, before the change of fluids. I've got this!

[mikeeyre74 289]

So I got that screen apart today and yep, it was all crapped up. Got her cleaned up and back together now and it's a bit quieter even.. not that it was too loud before. Went with synthetic in the transmission when I changed that and all seemed to go well. Made the neutral adjustment to knock out a little reverse creep action while I was in there and that was easy enough. 

 

And then that's when she just died. Took me a while to figure it out, but eventually tracked it down to a severed crankcase hose from the fuel pump, so she basically wasn't getting any fuel. The cut was behind a brace and behind the oil filter housing, so it wasn't readily noticeable. some new fuel line on there and it was back in action. Gonna take a look at the fuel gage sending unit next because it's always reading FULL..  onwards and upwards!