# Need advice on a recently bought 2005 vermeer sc252



## jaystihl (Sep 22, 2014)

Helllo, I recently purchased a 252 and noticed what seems to be a lot of play on the top portion where the engine sits( swing arm?). when i am on the way across someones yard to a stump, the whole top portion sways back and forth quite a bit, and was wondering if this was normal or not. i looked underneath where the hydrolic piston is mounted and the nut seems tight but seems to have some play. Also i noticed the drive chain was very loose so i tightened it up some but not sure how much play to leave in the chain. sometimes the chain seems tighter than other times? Any help would be greatly appreciated. any other info on what i should do for matinance on a used machine is great as well, i will be changing the oil( 10w-30 synthetic?) or non synthetic? engine is a 2012 27hp kohler 391 hours.


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## Eq Broker (Sep 23, 2014)

Hi Jay,

There should be a king pin and bushings on the grinder that have gone bad and that's why the cutter wheel head is sloppy. Look at the base of the swing arm and you should see a bolt or a pin that ties in with the swing arm. You'll have to replace those parts. Either type of oil will work. Keep the cutter wheel bearings greased and watch the air filters as grinders do create a lot of dust. Make sure to grease the other fittings as well. 

Hope this helps!

Dave
Global Equipment Exporters
770-420-6400


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## marne (Sep 23, 2014)

The drive chain should have 3-5mm play.
The lowest nut below the grinder can be tightened around 280Nm with a 36mm nut.

I use 15W-40.


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## jaystihl (Sep 23, 2014)

Thanks eq, and marne, just noticed today i hit a old telephone cable, and it looks like it got underneath the grease boot on the cutting wheel shaft and pulled the boot out. is this fixable? maybe i can push the boot back in? Felt like it was pretty hard. looks like this is the joys of owning a stumper, Ha!


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## marne (Sep 24, 2014)

Put in a new grease nipple, keep spare nipples with you. 
A stumper needs endless and repeating hours of care, tensioning, greasing, adjusting, replacing, welding, sharpening, oil changing, searching buying. 

That's just why many companys don't own one and secialised grinding companys exist. 
After I knew what it means to own, operate and maintain grinders, I could never ever anyone else operate one of my machines. It is really different from a mower, a chipper or car.


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## CalTreeEquip (Sep 25, 2014)

About the excess play. Determine if the slop is in the pivot bearing or the control arm bushings. There are four bushings and if they are all worn then there can be quite a bit of play. 
Generally don't run synthetics.
Chain should be taut but not overly tight. Grease it with chain lube.
Not sure what you mean my a "grease boot". There is a grease seal on all the bearings. If you tore that out you'll need to replace the bearing. I don't know of any boots on these things.
Go to Vermeer's website and register your machine with them, they will send you an owners and parts manual for it free of charge.


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## jaystihl (Sep 25, 2014)

Thanks for all the help cal. i purchased some green teeth tonight, but have a really hard time finding the replacement 3rd wheel(steering). and also want to see how much the addintional bolt on wheels(2), to make four wheels in front for more stability. Hopefully vermeer will send me a parts manual with those in there as you stated earlier. Its crazy how many of these machines are out there and so hard to find parts!


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## jaystihl (Sep 25, 2014)

By the way, is there any reason for not using synthetic or just a personal preference?


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## OLD MAN GRINDER (Sep 25, 2014)

jaystihl said:


> By the way, is there any reason for not using synthetic or just a personal preference?


 
Just a personal preference for me I use Castrol 10/30 full synthetic in all my ztr's and stumpgrinders after the initial 50 break in hours..

Bob.....


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## stumper63 (Sep 27, 2014)

Parts are not hard to find for a 252, you just have to get them from the nearest Vermeer dealership. The dual wheels are sold in pairs from Vermeer and are about $250. I guess you're in Florida so maybe its always flat, but I would recommend always using them, especially if you're new to grinding. The steering wheel tire and wheel is about $50 if I remember correctly. I've had several over the years.
Stumper63


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## marne (Sep 27, 2014)

In Europe, Vermeer charges 760$ for the pair of duals. A true blatancy, if anyone ships 1 7/16" 252 clutches, you're welcome.


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## jaystihl (Sep 27, 2014)

Thanks for your reply stumper, i should have looked at this thread before i made a new one for the tires. oh well maybe someone will want to get rid of theirs


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## jaystihl (Sep 27, 2014)

stumper, does the extra wheels up front make a big difference when you still only have the one wheel in the back. It is flat in florida except for lots being built up more and more from hurricane/flooding. only had the grinder a week and was going across a slight embankment, you guessed it , rolled the damn thing right on its side. luckly no damage, just had to clear oil out of cylinders and buy new air filters.


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## 066blaster (Sep 27, 2014)

I used mine once without the duals. I had to get though a gate. It was scary. It makes it alot more stable with duals. No worries at all, about tipping.


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## marne (Sep 28, 2014)

I found it's harder to steer with the duals, when u got a sharp turn with em on, you can still unlock one drive wheel, than it works perfect.
It seems that for some reason, that while grinding the machine is sitting heavier on the ground, when having the duals on.
The wheels are on in maybe 40% of my jobs, these can't be done without em, while here everything is so tight, that leaving em off is also a must very often.

Just buy em.


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## jaystihl (Sep 29, 2014)

Think i am definatly going to by them. As far as steering goes, (i only have a single wheel in back), i can't seem to steer worth a darn! dont think i have the original tire on , but the machine seems to drag or push the steering wheel. tried putting a bigger tire on and it was worse. Any suggestions? just crazy that you have to constantly lock and unlock wheels just to steer.


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## 066blaster (Sep 29, 2014)

I don't unlock the wheels ever. Just go forward and Back to get the thing pointed where you wanna go. They don't steer that great that's just the way they are.


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## jaystihl (Sep 30, 2014)

hey blaster, do you know how wide the machine is with four tires on the front? looking for a trailer that is not to big but wide enough to fit when i get the extra tires


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## 066blaster (Sep 30, 2014)

I can measure tomorrow its a my shop. I think less than 4 foot. I will check tomorrow though.


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## 066blaster (Oct 3, 2014)

jaystihl said:


> hey blaster, do you know how wide the machine is with four tires on the front? looking for a trailer that is not to big but wide enough to fit when i get the extra tires


It's 44 inches wide with the duals. 48 inch trailer would work fine


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## jaystihl (Oct 4, 2014)

Great thanks


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## stumper63 (Oct 4, 2014)

I don't think 44" with duals is correct. The machine is 35" wide, and each dual wheel sticks out about 8" either side, so you're looking at about 51" wide. At least that's what my 252 was. 

Stumper63


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## 066blaster (Oct 4, 2014)

On the Internet it says 49.5 with duals. I will check mine again I guess


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## jaystihl (Oct 4, 2014)

I found a spec sheet on it and its 49.5". Any of you guys know if I can just tow the grinder instead of buying a trailer? I can buy a 2" hitch for 12 bucks as opposed to 800.00 for trailer. I have seen people do it but wasnt sure if it was ok for the machine


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## 066blaster (Oct 5, 2014)

It is 49.5 it was dark when I measured the first time. I think they can be towed around at slow speeds on a job if needed but not on the road. If you buy a 48 inch flat bed trailer you could let a dual wheel hang over the edge a little.


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