New splitter or engine replacement

[memory]

A standard lovejoy coupler will have the rubber star insert. The rubber keeps the two metal halves from running against each other. The coupler wont last long without the insert.

So guess I will look for a new coupler. Can the rubber piece be bought by itself? Will have to cut off part of the engine shaft especially if a rubber piece gets added.

The Preadtor has two versions. The one you have is the Hemi head Version, at one time I knew the numbers for both when ordering and which was which.

They are easy to tell each by the valve cover, the stamped medal cover one is the standard version. the one with the cast Alum valve cover like yours in the Hemi version.
Your tire should be fine, the exhust is above and goes straight out.

I will have to check my recite but I don't believe the extended warranty cost me $50.00. It has been over 2 years now any way.

I did have a problem with the one on my snow blower. after a bit it acted like it was running out of gas and quit. remove the cap and see it still had gas and it would start right back up.
Guess the thing wasn't venting thru the hose that goes to the air cleaner properly.
Cart guys said cut that hose add a T in there so it vents inside the air cleaner box. I did and not more problems.

Al

Which version is the better one?

 

[alleyyooper]

If your cart raceing then the Hemi version. For a splitter, chipper shredder, snow blower or tiller I don't think it really matters.
I have both versions and they both start great are easy on fuel(compaired to a brigs engine.

Al

 

[GVS]

Paint over the sticker or peel it of fif it bothers you. I see you got the Hemi verison.
If the tire doesn't wobble around I wouldn't worry about that clearance.
Yes you could fire the engine up take a hack saw to the shaft while it does the work. Not sure how hard the steel is and you may have to retap the shaft if a set bolt is required.

Here is a picture of the treated wood spacer I made for my chipper shredder that works.



I ran My predators about a half hour at mid throttle doing no work. Drained the oil and put new in and they went to full throddle and work.
Don't know if you got the extended warranty or not? I did and the girls told me if I wanted to replace a two year old engine drain the gas and oil out bring it in say it wouldn't idle or some thing and get a new engine no questions asked.

So my self I didn't worry much about break in once I had changed the oil.
Of course my engines are ran different. Snow blower only in the winter in the spring I dump in 4 onces of Marvel Mystery oil in a full tank of fuel run it a bit and shut it off for the summer. Chipper Shredder I run for about 2 weeks in the spring repete the MM oil in a full tank of full and store it that way till I need or want to use it again.
The wood splitter is the same but can set for a two years when I have enough uglys piled uop I think I need to fire it up.

I need to buy another Predator for a Troy built Horse tiller I have now.


Al

I like the way you store your engines for the long term.

 

[memory]

Thanks for all the help so far.

On the coupler on the pump side, should the coupler be at the edge of the shaft?

 

[husqvarna257]

I have the Lifan motor from Home Depot, 13 hp on my home made splitter. It came with the 2 year warranty vs the HF 90 day. I think they are the same motor with a different name slapped on. I have a 5" cylinder on mine with a 22 gpm pump and I broke it in running splitting some huge nasty rounds with no issues. I change the oil once a season after splitting 10+ cord and it stays out all winter with gas in it. I treat all the fuel with Star tron even if I am using it every day. I have had very few rounds lug the motor down and those were some nasty big pieces.

 

[muddstopper]

So guess I will look for a new coupler. Can the rubber piece be bought by itself? Will have to cut off part of the engine shaft especially if a rubber piece gets added.



Which version is the better one?

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...t6tdezw9HQp249m0giFGOAwKbAIT3Nv8aAoL6EALw_wcB
As you can see the rubber insert has a place for the shaft to extend into. While the spider part of the coupling should be a snug fit, you dont want the shaft bottoming out or compressed inside the rubber piece. I am not sure, but I believe the way the coupling fits together, the insert doesnt make things any longer. I will say that running the coupler without the insert it wont last long, and the vibration by not having it can beat the seals out of your engine and pump. I have seen those coupling for sale at TSC, I suspect they sale the inserts as well.

 

[memory]

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/35407428?cid=ppc-google-New+-+Motion+Control+&+Fluid+Power+-+PLA_syi2RNP5G___164110844334_c_S&mkwid=syi2RNP5G|dc&pcrid=164110844334&rd=k&product_id=35407428&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6IfoBRCiARIsAF6q06vHUpKKriAoOKg5yoNj2YMt6tdezw9HQp249m0giFGOAwKbAIT3Nv8aAoL6EALw_wcB
As you can see the rubber insert has a place for the shaft to extend into. While the spider part of the coupling should be a snug fit, you dont want the shaft bottoming out or compressed inside the rubber piece. I am not sure, but I believe the way the coupling fits together, the insert doesnt make things any longer. I will say that running the coupler without the insert it wont last long, and the vibration by not having it can beat the seals out of your engine and pump. I have seen those coupling for sale at TSC, I suspect they sale the inserts as well.

I bought the rubber piece off ebay, not sure if it has the place for the shaft to extend into or not, only has a pic of 1 side. If the rubber piece keeps the 2 coupler pieces from coming in contact with each other, I would think it has to extend it a little bit, maybe not much. We have a TSC just down the road and did not see any couplings, didn't see any listed on website either, at least not when I searched for lovejoy.

I will still have to cut part of the engine shaft off so both mounting plates sit flush. Just have to figure out how much to cut off, don't want to cut off too much.

When I took the coupler apart, there was no rubber piece to be found. If it had one at one point, wonder how long it was ran without that.

 

[sundance]

Without the insert you need to take a good look at the couplers. They may be real beat up and might need replacing. TSC lists them as "L jaw couplers" but sure look like Lovejoys to me. Lots of other sources as well. Just match to each shaft diameter and make sure you use the insert when joining them.

 

[husqvarna257]

pretty sure I got my coupler on amazon. ebay might be good as well

 

[muddstopper]

If the lovejoy has been ran without the rubber insert, I would replace. Metal to metal wears the little forked pieces down and even using a new rubber insert, it might not last long. Replacing the whole coupling might cost a little now, but it is just money you will have to spend sooner or later anyway. Why do the job twice.

 

[sundance]

If the lovejoy has been ran without the rubber insert, I would replace. Metal to metal wears the little forked pieces down and even using a new rubber insert, it might not last long. Replacing the whole coupling might cost a little now, but it is just money you will have to spend sooner or later anyway. Why do the job twice.

Agree completely. If there's really any slop in them, it'll eat parts.

 

[memory]

Don't have a new coupler to compare to the old one but to me, looks like there is nothing wrong with the current coupler. I will get a pic of them.

 

[farmer steve]

http://www.daltonhydraulic.com/hydraulic-pumps/jaw-couplers
i bought a hydraulic pump and couplers from theses guys. got quick sevice.

 

[sundance]

I bought the rubber piece off ebay, not sure if it has the place for the shaft to extend into or not, only has a pic of 1 side. If the rubber piece keeps the 2 coupler pieces from coming in contact with each other, I would think it has to extend it a little bit, maybe not much. We have a TSC just down the road and did not see any couplings, didn't see any listed on website either, at least not when I searched for lovejoy.

I will still have to cut part of the engine shaft off so both mounting plates sit flush. Just have to figure out how much to cut off, don't want to cut off too much.

When I took the coupler apart, there was no rubber piece to be found. If it had one at one point, wonder how long it was ran without that.

Make sure you pay attention to the keyway when you decide to cut. Need to make sure there's enough for the coupler or you'll be paying to have it machined.

 

[kevin j]

Might be better off getting a longer bell housing if you have room. Then keep the motor and shaft stock, full keyway, etc. Surplus Center and many other places have them in a couple lengths for the same pump and engine bolt patterns.
Otherwise, cut the motor shaft, as the washers may have moved the pump pilot diameter out of the alignment diameter hole in the bracket. The pilot bore and shoulder keep the. Pump aligned with shaft centerline.

Some of the rubber spiders have a hole in the middle for the shafts to
‘Almost’ touch, but usually they have 1/8 inch or so of rubber. Don’t put any end loading pushing shaft ends together, or the thrust load will damage the pump internal side plates pretty quickly.

The oil, they are mixing two oil rating systems. AW just means anti wear hydraulic oil (the additives it has). Normally, it would say AW32, or 46 or 68. The numbers are the ISO viscosity ratings at 40C/ 104? F. An actual ISO AW 10 would be really thin, almost like kerosene. I think they mean SAE 10, motor oil viscosity rating system. Dexron is fine. I use AW46 because I don’t split in the really cold weather, and my tiny tank runs hot in hot weather, but AW32 is fine also. Thats roughly an SAE 10 viscosity.

gear pump, spool valve, and cylinder, about as simple as they can possibly get. Pretty generic parts and can be sourced many places.

 

[alleyyooper]

I bought my Love joy at TSC when I changed from the 1" Brigs engine shaft to the 3/4 predator shaft.

I am not sure what they call them I just asked the guy I cornered if I could split one of the 1" ones up and have half 1" and one 3/4 "
He said sure thing.

Al

 

[GVS]

Without the insert you need to take a good look at the couplers. They may be real beat up and might need replacing. TSC lists them as "L jaw couplers" but sure look like Lovejoys to me. Lots of other sources as well. Just match to each shaft diameter and make sure you use the insert when joining them.

Most any real farm store/implement dealer will stock about any size you could need.It's not a hammer blow coupleling so forget runing a lovejoy without the insert.

 

[JoshNY]

I was just at tractor supply today, and they did have the lovejoy type couplers in several sizes, and they had the rubber inserts as well. They were in the aisle with hydraulic hoses and cylinders.

Sent from my SM-S727VL using Tapatalk

 

[memory]

According to TSC's website, my store does carry them and has them in stock but I sure didn't see them when I looked. Got one online and got it installed and it does have a place for the shaft to go into. Cut part of the engine shaft off and that was some tough cutting, must be some pretty hard metal.

Used the splitter for a bit and ran good, engine wise. Having a little trouble with the wedge assembly. Can't get one of the adjustment pieces to stay in. How tight should the wedge assembly be on the beam? Should there be any play or no play? The beam does have some wear on it, not sure if that is contributing to my troubles or not. On one of the pics that has a bolt circled in red, there originally was some bushings on both ends. With those bushings in there, there was probably a gap of a 1/4" or more between the plate and the beam. It also had 2 spacers on the other side, causing the same thing, also took them out. Near those bushings are 2 adjustment pieces, kind of hard to see in one of the pics.

 

[NSMaple1]

IMO I think there should be just enough play to let it move freely. Like, if you unbolt the ram, you should be able to slide it back & forth by hand OK.