List of Upgrades to Vermeer SC252

[jason2078]

bum

Sorry, to here that scott. Even Greenteeth's old style bolt and nut tooth is quicker to change then most setups out there.

 

[gr8scott72]

Sorry, to here that scott. Even Greenteeth's old style bolt and nut tooth is quicker to change then most setups out there.

Oh, I know, just ranting. I like my greenteeth. Especially the $3 ones I just bought.

 

[HolmenTree]

I found a quick trick to sharpen GreenTeeth. Put the bolt end in a power drill , with the drill in reverse hold the side of the cardide against a greenstone wheel on a bench grinder which is turning the other direction. Sharpens really quick.

Does anyone have part numbers for those 1 1/2" pulley hub bushings to replace the 1 1/4"ones on the 252 jackshaft. I'm repacing the 1 1/4" jackshaft with a straight 1 1/2" but I'm having a hard time finding the larger bore bushings to fit the pulleys.

Thanks for any help.
Willard.:greenchainsaw:

 

[HolmenTree]

Well I changed the 252's jackshaft the other day and did a little measuring. In order to replace the 1 1/4" shaft with a 1 1/2" you would need a new clutch side jackshaft pulley with a larger bore to accept the larger 1 1/2" hub. The day when I replace the 25 hp Kohler with a 35 hp, that will be the day when I start looking for that pulley. $80 for a spare 1 1/4" jackshaft is cheaper then replacing all that gear.

 

[BCstumper]

Bearings

Has anybody found a place for bearings, cheaper then vermeer, Have one starting to make noise.



Brian

 

[Beast12]

I believe my Dad bought some from TSC. I was very unsure if they were going to work or not. But, they have been in for over 200 hours with no problems. We usually go around 500-600 hours on a lower set. About 1000 on the uppers.

-Matt

 

[gr8scott72]

Has anybody found a place for bearings, cheaper then vermeer, Have one starting to make noise.



Brian

I got mine for the Rayco from Motion Industries.

 

[Beast12]

Ya, any bearing place in your city should have them. The bearings are nothing special. Just make sure you have the old bearing with you when you go in.

-Matt

 

[ApexTreeService]

Cut that ridiculous bar off the front for increased functionality, also added Amsoil complete oil bypass filtration system for oil filtering of particles 2 microns and larger at 98.7 percent efficiency on a single pass.

 

[stumper63]

Yeah, finally cut that guard for the "rental users" off of mine a year or so ago too, why didn't I do it sooner? Way more functional, can get right up to fences, decks, whatever. Always had it bungeed in up position anyway. No problems or incidents since.

Where did you get the oil filtration system? Is it externally mounted, or just spin on where original filter goes?

Thanks,

Stumper63

 

[ApexTreeService]

You can get a general purpose oil filtration system from amsoil.com, click on bypass at the top, and it's a bmk23. The kit will include an adapter that spins on where the original filter goes, hose, and an aluminum block that the original full flow filter and fine particle filter screw into. I welded the bracket for the block about halfway down the 'boom arm', so the oil filters/block just hangs there, then the hose goes from the block, around the front of the engine just below the key in an arc, and into the stock oil filter location. That's the best location I could find after staring at it for and hour or more.

 

[ApexTreeService]

Tonight I just did the very first upgrade that should have been done 6 years ago when I bought the machine :

Change the hydraulic pump pulley to a smaller (3" vs. 5" stock one) one for increased (40%) travel speed and increased boom/arm speed. Now it is much faster, but I am going to put a smaller sprocket on the wheel drive motor to increase land speed even more. I love the faster boom speed because I use it to raise the machine and 'walk' the front end left or right instead of driving/steering it for large stumps. The wheel drive motor seems more powerful now, no problem spinnin' em.

It was so easy and painless too. You order a 2 piece taper lock pulley (1 piece is the sheave, 1 piece is the bushing/keyway) with a 9/16" bore, 3" diameter, for a 1/2" belt. Get a 4L250 belt, swap everything and your done.

Also, one other must do. Every have to drive off the pile of shavings and rake them elsewhere so you can continue grinding without having to power through the chips under the machine? I do it like 5 times a stump, and it's annoying. So I unbolted the front chip flap, and moved it forward to the front end of the box instead of the back. Then I bought some 1/8" rubber to fill in on the sides, and now I have twice the area to fill with chips before they start to pile up against the back of the wheel.

 

[stumper63]

Plyscamp did this awhile back, guess I should try it too. Do you have a spec. on the pulley? Part #, etc?

Never thought about moving the curtain, I'll look at it today when I'm grinding.

Thanks,

Stumper63

 

[ApexTreeService]

The part numbers are:

Belt: 4L250
Sheave: AK30H
Bushing: H9/16

The sheave is the part that the belt runs on, it has a hole in the center which the bushing bolts into, then the whole unit slides on the 9/16" pump shaft. Simple.

If you want these guys said they'd ship it too, that eliminates you having to call around. McGuire Bearing, Salt Lake City, 801.975.1144. I paid $51.

 

[stumper63]

Nice, we have a McGuire Bearing in our town, and I know a guy who works there, thanks for the tip!

Stumper63

 

[Bigstumps]

You need to be careful doing this.

You are increasing the RPM of the pump - which will increase the flow coming out of the pump.

With increased flows there are other considerations - suction line sizing, pressure line sizing, filter sizing, and tank sizing.

Too small a suction line = pump cavitation Too small pressure lines/filter = excess heat

I'm not saying it won't work - just need to be carefull how much flow you get and what the long term implications might be.

When you change your drive sprockets you are going to trade speed for torque. Just depends what you need.

You can also look at increasing relief pressure - most components are good to 3000 PSI - the limiting component will be the hydraulic drive motor it is probably not good to 3000PSI - you can look this up and then reset the relief closer to this pressure. This will gain you power/torque.

 

[stumper63]

Bigstumps,

Let's see if Plyscamp is still looking at this thread. He made the pulley change 1-1/2 years ago on two of his 252's.

Gordy, any problems noticed since switching out the pump pulley, like Bigstumps said may happen? Cavitation, excess heat?
Did you go with the 3" or 3.5" pulley?
How many teeth bigger did you go with the drive sprocket on the drive motor?
Still plenty of drive power on slopes, not too high-geared?

Let's see what the survey shows...I met and spoke with Gordy last winter and things were going good then.

Stumper63

 

[Plyscamp]

I made the pulley change (3") on Dec. 05-2005 on my diesel unit. I have had no problems of any kind with the conversion. And yes it will spin the wheels until it buries itself. The Lombardini diesel only runs at 2,600 RPM's so yes it was necessary to increase the sprocket size to maintain speed. It has been so long since I changed it I do not remember what tooth sprocket I used.
Now before you come back and say I did not increase the pump speed due to the engine RPM's, I also made this change on my other SC252 with the 35 HP Briggs Sept. 19-2007 and again absolutely no problems.

 

[ApexTreeService]

I am so happy I did this. I wouldn't care if I had to replace the hydraulic pump once a year, I waste so much time on the job site moping next to the Vermeer. My workers all know it's break time once that thing starts up. Takes 5 minutes to get to the back yard. Times that by 2, then by jobs a day, week, yr and you have A LOT of wasted time. Also, I waste a lot of time grinding too, waiting for the boom to raise/lower, or sweep, repositioning is a full on chore if you have to wait/do it.

My wheel power has increased since I did the pulley conversion, so I think that should be compensate for taller gearing on the wheel drive motor once I do that.

 

[Bigstumps]

I agree about the wasted time!!! Before I bought my Kubota I thought about installing two Kohler engines - don't laugh, I've seen it done on some Dixie Chopper Mowers. Could you imagine 50HP on one of these!