184 rear end keeps coming loose.

[km184ih]

I have a 184 recent took down to the frame to fix a couple things and give a new paint job. We had the problem earlier of the rear end coming loose. Found out it was the bracket on the bottom of the rear end that bolts to the front and to the frame rails. Fixed that and mower for a year and the rear end seems to shake when letting out on the clutch. Gets so bad that it finds a way to loosen the bolt on the bottom plate and has stripped out the two bolts on top of the rear end that bolt through the seat mount and frame in between the shifted and battery box. My dad wants a way to reinforce the rear end or final drives some how so this does not happen any ideas?

[outdoors4evr]

I think the first question is why the clutch is so grabby.

I noticed when I disassembled the rear of my 184 that many of the lockwashers had about 1/4" of the washer broken off. I replaced more than 5 where the frame meets the transmission and finals. It would be easy for them to be missing or lost during removal.

[Mortgaged]

Seems weird that the clutch engagement would cause this. How frequently are you engaging the clutch? Is something else vibrating when the mower is running?

Otherwise: Grade 8 Bolt, Lockwasher, Blue Loctite and a Torque wrench. If you've stripped the threads, there's enough meat to drill and tap for a 7/16" coarse threaded bolt. Check the original bolt size first, I believe it's 3/8" inch at this location.

Clean the surfaces before using loctite and use that torque wrench! As good as I think I am at hand torquing bolts, I'm typically well below where the torque wrench says I need to be. Since I started using mine regularly 10+ yrs ago, I've had a lot less problems with things coming lose. Only takes a minute to check.

[gitractorman]

Yep, get some acetone and put it in a squirt bottle. Squirt it in all the bolt holes and keep flushing them out until they run clear. You may want to get a small wire brush or tooth brush to clean out the bolt holes. Then clean all the bolts with acetone until they are dry and free from oil. Once everything is dry, re-install using lock-tite and new lock washers. If any bolts are worn, replace with new grade 8 bolts. I'll bet that they will never come loose again!

[km184ih]

I replaced the clutch disc when it was refine. The 3/4 bolts on the top battery side are the ones stripped out. I don't really have a good guess why the clutch is so grabby.

[Larry B]

My 184 has a habit of having all the bolts that hold the rear end work themselves loose. Got bad enough that it broke the piece that bolts to the bottom of the trans. Long story short the frame was broken on the right hand side where the trans bolts on. I welded it and the bracket under the trans and installed all new hardware but I still have the annual ritual of getting under the tractor and tightening everything back up. It appears some of the holes were enlarged on the frame a little the first time. This all started about 15 years ago when my son was using the independent brakes a lot to turn corners when he was mowing the yard. Pull off some sheet metal and look at the frame around the trans and check for a crack or broken frame. I can tell when things are starting to come loose when the brakes start to grab because the trans is moving on the frame.

Larry B

[mjr46]

I have a 184 and the rear end seems to shake when letting out on the clutch. Gets so bad that it finds a way to loosen the bolt on the bottom plate and has stripped out the two bolts on top of the rear end that bolt through the seat mount and frame in between the shifted and battery box. My dad wants a way to reinforce the rear end or final drives some how so this does not happen any ideas?

fix the cause not the result .......have the flywheel machined...sounds like clutch chatter, mine did the same, only it didn't break anything