STR46SPVGH • RIDE-ON POWER TROWEL — OPERATION MANUAL — REV. #0 (07/17/08) — PAGE 31
Figure 29. Blade Pitch Adjustment Bolt
The easiest and most consistent way to make adjustments on
the trowel arm fingers is to use the Trowel Arm Adjustment Fixture
(P/N 9177) . It comes with all the hardware necessary to properly
accomplish this maintenance and instructions on how to utilize
this tool.
If a trowel arm adjustment fixture is not available and immediate
adjustment is necessary, temporary field adjustment can be made
if you can see or feel which blade is pulling harder by adjusting
the bolt that corresponds to that blade.
A better way to determine which blades need adjustment is to
place the machine on a known
FLAT
surface (steel metal plate)
and pitch the blades as flat as possible. Look at the adjustment
bolts. They should all barely make contact with the lower wear
plate on the spider. If you can see that one of them is not making
contact, some adjustment will be necessary.
■
Is one blade is completely worn out while the others look
new?
■
Does the machine have a perceptible rolling or bouncing
motion when in use?
■
Look at the machine while it is running, do the guard rings
“rock up and down” relative to the ground?
■
Do the pitch control towers rock back and forth?
STR46SPVGH — MAINTENANCE
Changing Blades
It is recommended that
ALL
the blades on the entire machine
are changed at the same time. If only one or some of the blades
are changed, the machine will not finish concrete consistently
and the machine may wobble or bounce.
1.
Place the machine on a flat, level surface. Adjust the blade
pitch control to make the blades as flat as possible. Note
the blade orientation on the trowel arm. This is important
for ride-on trowels as the two sets of blades counter-rotate.
Lift the machine up, placing blocks under the main guard
ring to support it.
2.
Remove the bolts and lock washers on the trowel arm, and
then remove the blade.
3.
Scrape all concrete and debris from the trowel arm. This is
important to properly seat the new blade.
4.
Install the new blade, maintaining the proper orientation
for direction of rotation.
5.
Reinstall the bolts and lock washers.
6.
Repeat steps 2-5 for all remaining blades.
Steering Adjustment
The steering assist adjustment should be performed only by
qualified service technicians. For STR46SPVGH steering
adjustment instructions, reference MQ Whiteman service bulletin
200925.
Ttt
Clean-Up
Never allow concrete to harden on the power trowel. Immediately
after use wash any concrete off the trowel with water, be careful
not to spray a hot engine or muffler. An old paint brush or broom
may help loosen any concrete that has started to harden.
Look for the following indications if blades are wearing unevenly.
If so, adjustment may be necessary.
Maintenance adjustment of blade pitch is made by adjusting a
bolt (Figure 29) on the arm of the trowel blade finger. This bolt is
the contact point of the trowel arm to the lower wear plate on the
thrust collar. The goal of adjustment is to promote consistent
blade pitch and finishing quality.
Blade Pitch Adjustment Procedure
1
Spider Plate
2
Trowel Lever (Finger)
3
Trowel Arm
4
Blade Pitch Adjustment Bolt
Adjust the “high” bolts down to the level of the one that is not
touching, or adjust the “low” bolt up to the level of the higher
ones. If possible, adjust the low bolt up to the level of the rest of
the bolts. This is the fastest way, but may not always work. Verify
after adjustment the blades pitch correctly.
Blades that are incorrectly adjusted often will not be able to pitch
flat. This can occur if the adjusting bolts are raised too high.
Conversely, adjusting bolts that are too low will not allow the
blades to be pitched high enough for finishing operations.
If, after making Blade Pitch adjustments the machine is still
finishing poorly, blades, trowel arms, and trowel arm bushings
may be suspect and should be looked at for adjustment, wear, or
damage. See the following sections.
2
3
4
1
