I just got an Airens Rocket going. I have a 5 hp. Briggs on it for the time being. I also put a new tire on, and put tubes in both tires. Like you, I had water in the main gear box, and the tines gear boxes were in rough shape as well - the middle gear box had NO oil, and had water and rust in it. I salvaged some “better” tines from a 1990’s Maxim front tine tiller, but, I had to bolt them up to the sides of the existing tines.
it's June 2022 .. I picked up an old Ariens RT5020 901011 000323 off the side of the road where it was sitting out for the trash man to pick up. this thing is heavy ! Wish me luck !!
I have an Ariens Rocket similar to yours. The twin pulley is used for different drive speeds. You move the drive belt to a different groove. At least on mine, the driven pully on the gear box if you look has a different diameter, so it still uses one belt for forward and one for reverse. The reverse on mine, it does not have an engine with a second shaft. the reverse belt engine pulley is bolted to a fixed arm attached to the Briggs engine with a single large bolt. The arm can move to tighten or loosen the reverse belt tension (pivots on that large bolt). That pulley runs on the reverse side of the belt. A lower movable pulley moves in against the reverse belt when the long forward reverse rod is pulled back by a user. The driven pully on the gear box, the reverse belt runs on the flat side of the reverse belt. I picked my tiller up on the side of the road minus its engine. The aluminum gear case was cracked in half. I welded (aluminum brazed) the case back together, it's the weakest link in these old tillers. I recently ran mine to till the garden, and it worked fine. The old 5 hp Briggs engine had a rusted out tank that you can not buy, and it's an awful design with an internal fuel bowl. I adapted an H35 Tecumseh carb to the motor block. I used the plastic angle changer for the Briggs governor rods off the old carb governor linkage bolted to a small flat plate and that attaches to the intake manifold lower bolt and right side carb to intake manifold bolt. The Briggs block had 3 bolts holes and was larger where the carb mounts, and so had room for anther drilled hole to mount the Tecumseh intake manifold. I had to figure out the right length for the control rods to connect to the governor arm and throttle plate. I cut the rusted tank away from the governor control bracket of the tank and drilled a hole to attach it to the flywheel cover for good support as having only one on the block is not enough. .
Great salvage job! I've gone through the same issues with Gravely and other equipment for the farm over the years. It always amazes me how people poorly maintain equipment, but you can bring things back to life with ingenuity. I hope you were able to find the governor parts.
Thank you! Some of the older iron is really worth saving from the landfill. Cast gear-case housings instead of stamped sheet metal and belt drives. Unfortunately I don’t think the old engine will be worth saving. Some quick measurements show accelerated wear (likely from running out of oil). I might rebuild it in the winter as a project but the tiller runs nicely with the Honda.
I'm In agreement with you about peoples machine maintance, I brought one of these for $50.00, but the original tec engine had been replaced with 5Hp Honda burning Oil as well On original Oil I'd say, the trans full of oil the tines Box empty The front bearing behind the main drive Pulley flops around like a fish in a bucket The wheel seals and Bearings Shrapnel and Tires Flat! I noticed you didn't have trouble remove the wheel hubs I spent the better part of half a day trying to remove one it was rusted solid, tried heat and diesel + ATF.
Oh man, what a nightmare. The unfortunate reality is this lack of maintenance we are seeing is just contributing to manufacturers moving towards producing disposable products.
Can anyone tell me what size engine drive pully originally came with these tillers? The one I got for free, had no engine. When I put a 5hp engine on, I used a single groove pully 3.5" diameter 3/4" bore with a 1/2 or even larger belt groove (maybe for 5L belt??) An 84310 1/2" vbelt drops down into the groove, does not align with the pully outer edge. Which means it is more like a 3" pully for that belt. The belt I put on that worked with that pully is 84310. Reason I ask is pully diameter changes speed of tiller and torque to the gearbox. It tills ok AFAIK. I also reverified my Ariens gearbox pully has 3 belt grooves and the outmost one (one close to engine) for reverse is FLAT, and the other 2 have different diameters for different speeds, meaning the machine could not run 2 forward drive belts at the same time.
Hi, I am about to do exactly the same thing on exactly the same tiller so I really appreciate this video! I had a couple of questions: when you put the case back together, did you reuse the old gasket, replace the gasket or use silicone ? I'm not sure I can find a gasket anywhere. Also, what lubricant did you use for the case ? I think the manual calls for Ariens L-2 but I need to find a substitute. Thanks!
You can use RTV to seal the case and 80W90 gear lube. Best to use a GL-4 compatible gear lube if you can find it in your area, although not 100% necessary.
I just got an Airens Rocket going. I have a 5 hp. Briggs on it for the time being. I also put a new tire on, and put tubes in both tires. Like you, I had water in the main gear box, and the tines gear boxes were in rough shape as well - the middle gear box had NO oil, and had water and rust in it. I salvaged some “better” tines from a 1990’s Maxim front tine tiller, but, I had to bolt them up to the sides of the existing tines.
Thanks for sharing the info about the tines!
it's June 2022 ..
I picked up an old Ariens RT5020 901011 000323 off the side of the road where it was sitting out for the trash man to pick up.
this thing is heavy !
Wish me luck !!
Good find, it’ll be a rewarding project.
I have an Ariens Rocket similar to yours. The twin pulley is used for different drive speeds. You move the drive belt to a different groove. At least on mine, the driven pully on the gear box if you look has a different diameter, so it still uses one belt for forward and one for reverse. The reverse on mine, it does not have an engine with a second shaft. the reverse belt engine pulley is bolted to a fixed arm attached to the Briggs engine with a single large bolt. The arm can move to tighten or loosen the reverse belt tension (pivots on that large bolt). That pulley runs on the reverse side of the belt. A lower movable pulley moves in against the reverse belt when the long forward reverse rod is pulled back by a user. The driven pully on the gear box, the reverse belt runs on the flat side of the reverse belt. I picked my tiller up on the side of the road minus its engine. The aluminum gear case was cracked in half. I welded (aluminum brazed) the case back together, it's the weakest link in these old tillers. I recently ran mine to till the garden, and it worked fine. The old 5 hp Briggs engine had a rusted out tank that you can not buy, and it's an awful design with an internal fuel bowl. I adapted an H35 Tecumseh carb to the motor block. I used the plastic angle changer for the Briggs governor rods off the old carb governor linkage bolted to a small flat plate and that attaches to the intake manifold lower bolt and right side carb to intake manifold bolt. The Briggs block had 3 bolts holes and was larger where the carb mounts, and so had room for anther drilled hole to mount the Tecumseh intake manifold. I had to figure out the right length for the control rods to connect to the governor arm and throttle plate. I cut the rusted tank away from the governor control bracket of the tank and drilled a hole to attach it to the flywheel cover for good support as having only one on the block is not enough. .
That sounds interesting. On this one both pulleys were twin belt, with no difference in diameter/ratio of the front or back belts.
Great salvage job! I've gone through the same issues with Gravely and other equipment for the farm over the years. It always amazes me how people poorly maintain equipment, but you can bring things back to life with ingenuity. I hope you were able to find the governor parts.
Thank you! Some of the older iron is really worth saving from the landfill. Cast gear-case housings instead of stamped sheet metal and belt drives. Unfortunately I don’t think the old engine will be worth saving. Some quick measurements show accelerated wear (likely from running out of oil). I might rebuild it in the winter as a project but the tiller runs nicely with the Honda.
thank you, subbed
I'm In agreement with you about peoples machine maintance, I brought one of these for $50.00, but the original tec engine had been replaced with 5Hp Honda burning Oil as well On original Oil I'd say, the trans full of oil the tines Box empty The front bearing behind the main drive Pulley flops around like a fish in a bucket The wheel seals and Bearings Shrapnel and Tires Flat! I noticed
you didn't have trouble remove the wheel hubs I spent the better part of half a day trying to remove one it was rusted solid, tried heat and diesel + ATF.
Oh man, what a nightmare. The unfortunate reality is this lack of maintenance we are seeing is just contributing to manufacturers moving towards producing disposable products.
@@CanadianDirt also people think that they only run a couple of hour of light tilling it be right for life, yeah.
Nice idler fix!
Thank you!
My ariens rt8020 1984 .
Can anyone tell me what size engine drive pully originally came with these tillers? The one I got for free, had no engine. When I put a 5hp engine on, I used a single groove pully 3.5" diameter 3/4" bore with a 1/2 or even larger belt groove (maybe for 5L belt??) An 84310 1/2" vbelt drops down into the groove, does not align with the pully outer edge. Which means it is more like a 3" pully for that belt. The belt I put on that worked with that pully is 84310. Reason I ask is pully diameter changes speed of tiller and torque to the gearbox. It tills ok AFAIK. I also reverified my Ariens gearbox pully has 3 belt grooves and the outmost one (one close to engine) for reverse is FLAT, and the other 2 have different diameters for different speeds, meaning the machine could not run 2 forward drive belts at the same time.
Hi, I am about to do exactly the same thing on exactly the same tiller so I really appreciate this video! I had a couple of questions: when you put the case back together, did you reuse the old gasket, replace the gasket or use silicone ? I'm not sure I can find a gasket anywhere. Also, what lubricant did you use for the case ? I think the manual calls for Ariens L-2 but I need to find a substitute. Thanks!
You can use RTV to seal the case and 80W90 gear lube. Best to use a GL-4 compatible gear lube if you can find it in your area, although not 100% necessary.
Good topic , but too fast taken it apart
Do you know what the replacement Tines are for the RT7020? 10”, 12”? Part number? Cross reference to MTD, etc…..
No unfortunately not
Can you please explain how or why my rocket tiller all of a sudden the tines started turning the wrong direction I am stumped shy of tearing it apart.
Are the tires rotating backwards as well?
What is the name of the belt you used ?
The 3 names they are referred to around here are: Fenner belt, power-twist belt, and link belt.
@@CanadianDirt thanks buddy
Don't these motor have points in them ? Check points.
Hi