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Just replaced the motor on my 350 - the impellor pulley wheel on the baseplate seems rather stiff -

Should it be capable of turning freely or need a bit of torque by hand ? If it needs to be freed up what is the best technique ?? I can't see how !! Don't really want to have the expense of a new baseplate if it can be avoided

By george118 - - 18 August 2010

Answer this Question (3 Answers)

  • Chris from eSpares
    Chris at eSpares says...

    There is a centrifugal brake that when the power is stopped and the rotational speed drops will apply a physical break to the spinning blade. When manually turned the effect of the brake can be felt but when driven to normal speed the centrifugal force completely release the brake as long as the belt is not slipping.

  • As the bearings are sealed units & my old drive assembly did seem excessively stiff - try as I might with pentrating lube, and hammer taps, I bought a complete new assembly from Espares. However by comparison the brand new one seemed pretty much as stiff. When fitted it became immediately apparent that it was my old motor which was the issue - groaning & smoking, & wasnt going to make it as far as the lawn! My initial diagnosis was wrong. Espares were kind enough to give me my money back on the assembly. By BP - - 17 October 2016
  • the baseplate should be stiff to turn , but not excessively so . really the only sure way to know is comparing old with new . you cannot free it up -its either going to turn with the motors power or not. one way to find out is to use your mower and see if it slows down in thick grass , if the motor doesnt struggle then theres no need to change it . By redrobbo - manchester - 11 April 2012

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Lawnmower Centrifugal Baseplate Drive Assembly Stock Number: ES1006607

Genuine spare part for select models of Flymo lawnmowers

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