# fajitamondays' Greensmaster 800 Restoration Journal



## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

This journal is to document my experience obtaining, and restoring an old Greensmaster 800 (A 1998 model 04048). A lot of mistakes were made early on, and a lot of lessons were learned.

*Background*
Back in the summer of 2021, after much searching, I got an alert to a Greensmaster 800 for sale 200 miles away. As with many parts of the country, here in the PNW, there is no established market, or scene for used greens mowers. You either have to be drinking buddies with a golf course super for even a lead on one, or just have to set up alerts on FB Marketplace, Craigslist, and be willing to take an impromptu road trip to get one.

The asking price for this particular GM800 was quite steep, but the pictures in the listing looked alright, so I took the bait and made the trek to make a deal. My front lawn is only 300 square feet, with a remaining 450 square feet between the side and back yards, so an 800 or 1000 was what I was looking for. A 1600 would be fun with the wider cutting width, but I would look pretty funny cutting my front lawn with one of those.

I met the seller at his shop, and gave the GM800 a quick visual inspection. He demonstrated that the engine fired right up, and that the cutting unit and drive units were functional. It also had the transport wheels and original grass catcher, which was nice. Honestly, I was rather tired from the drive (it was a long day), so I handed over the cash without too much scrutiny, and was on my way back home.

_* Future fajitamondays comment: "Oh, you messed up!" *_










*A long break*
After getting the GM800 back home after a 400 mile day, I rolled it into my shed, put some fuel stabilizer in it, ran it for several minutes, and ended up parking it for the fall and winter. I had a lawn renovation to attend to, as it was getting into prime growing temps.

My front lawn was getting converted from TTTF+Poa Annua, to PRG (Barenbrug RPR + various MVS PRGs), and my side yard was getting a monostand of Bewitched KBG sod. All in anticipation of great reel mowing fun next year.

*Fast forward to March 2022*
After a dreary winter, I had the itch to go start up the GM800 and run some fuel through the carb. To my delight, it started right up after 2-3 easy pulls.

_* This is where things quickly go downhill *_

After running the engine, I shut it off, and went to put it back up on the kickstand. When I lifted up on the handlebar to get the kickstand flipped down, I heard a faint snap, and the mower dropped a little on one side. The handlebar completely cracked on one side at the elbow just above the console!

It turns out there was a major rust spot under the handlebar foam on one side. It wasn't visible because it was under the foam, and it must have been on its last legs when I purchased the mower last summer, as it felt sturdy then. I trimmed some of the grip away to get a better view.









At this point, I decided to take a closer look at the mower to see what else I missed when I purchased it. The list quickly grew:


A missing grease fitting on one of the reel bearing housings. Hmm...I wonder how long it has been like that? Attempting to spin the reel by hand with the reel disengaged was very hard. Great.









I took the drum pulley covers on both sides, and found a bunch of rust on the frame and various nuts/bolts. Apparently these covers can trap a lot of condensation inside of them.

Ok, now onto the bedknife and bedbar. Oh that's right, the seller had it off the mower and in the grass catcher for some reason. Totally not suspicious, right?
- Taking a look at it, the bedknife looked like it attempted to fight a rock at some point. No big deal, as I can get a new one for $40 from R&R. It had a microcut bedknife, so I was going to get a new one for a higher HOC anyways.







- Looking at the bedbar mount bolts, one side was fine, but the other side was missing. Huh? Looking at it closer, it was snapped off inside of the bedbar! Just my luck, the previous owner had already drilled a usable pilot hole into the snapped off bolt, and I was able to get a screw extractor into it. With a torch, some PB Blaster, and a steady hand, I was able to back the broken bolt out without issue.







The front frame support rod was bent on the same side the bedknife had damage on.








Thankfully, the reel itself seems okay, other than some surface rust, and needing a good grind. The overall diameter measures out to well within service life according to Toro specs (> 4.5"). Unfortunately, Toro never made an 8 blade reel for the GM800, and R&R doesn't make an 8 blade for the 800, so I'll have to make do with an 11 blade, and possibly throw in a .25" clip kit to help with the cut quality on a short cut home lawn. Had I known that I would need either a GM1000 or GM1600 to get into an 8 blade option, I probably would have not purchased the 800. I don't know...maybe the clip rate mismatch won't be so bad.

_* For anyone shopping for a used Greensmaster *_

Don't do what I did. Check for the following before forking over any cash:

Bring a measruing tape (the flexible kind tailors use), or heck, a long piece of string to measure the reel diameter. 4.5" diameter is the service limit on these, and that translates to no less than 14.14" length on your measuring tape/string (I.e. the circumference of the reel). A new reel will set you back $300-400.
Disengage the reel, and it should spin freely by hand assuming it's not jammed against the bedknife. If it does not, you likely have some bearings to replace.
Check the bedknife and bedbar. A hosed bedknife isn't a big deal ($40-50), but any issues with the bedbar (E.g. cracks/warped) could be be a $200-300+ part to replace.
Check to make sure the two bedbar mounting bolts are not stripped or broken.
Check for any signs of rust/cracks along the handlebar, especially right near the elbows above the plastic console. These handlebars are obnoxiously expensive to replace with an OEM part. There should be no strange flex in the handlebar (other than the loose mounts at the base) if you have the mower flat on the ground, and you twist the handlebar left and right. It should generally feel strudy.
It goes without saying, that the engine should start and run without issue. Check to make sure there are no cracks in the fuel tank. Also check right under the carb, and see if there is evidence of fuel leaking onto the metal plate covering the reel. If there is missing paint right there, there was likely a fuel leak at some point, or possibly a careless carb rebuild where they didn't clean the fuel up right away off the paint.

*Anyways, back to the broken handlebar*
Knowing that Toro OEM parts are stupidly overpriced (At least for NOS/obscure old parts), I contacted a local metal fabricator to see what he could do to repair my broken handlebar. After many delays and poor communication, he dropped off my handlebar, and it looked like a pretty good repair. After he left, I loosely re-attached it back to the mower later that day, and I could tell something wasn't quite right. Ugh, the repair was cockeyed.









I sure have a knack for paying for things, and quickly running away.

While I could certainly use this repaired handlebar, I don't think I could live with it being so crooked. Long story, I don't want to deal with the hassle of re-engaging with this particular fabrication shop to have them correct the issue.

So...a call into my regional Toro dealer, and apparently the OEM handlebar has been discontinued by Toro (Part 98-5925), with no listed replacement part number. It looks like I might be able to make the handlebar from a newer GM800 work (Part 120-2687), even though those had different console mounts. The price on this? $550 before tax and shipping! Ugh...I'm going to chew on this for a while.

*The mower comes apart*
Well, one thing led to another, and I now have this mess on my hands  

















Like many self-taught/self-proclaimed mechanics, I am very talented in disassembly. Getting things put back together without leftover fasteners is a different story. I put things into as many labelled ZipLok bags as possible, to improve my reassembly prospects.









Initially, I was just going to remove the reel to inspect the bearing on the side that had the missing grease fitting. It's a good thing I did that, as that bearing was dry, and had a bunch of sand in it. An impact wrench made this job easy, as you can zap the nuts right off

Getting the engine off was actually pretty straightforward. Just remove the two v-belts off the engine shaft after wiggling them off of the idler pulley, disconnect the throttle/clutch/brake cables, and then the engine is isolated and ready for removal. My mower has the optional light kit on it, so I had to remove the generator pulley and belt first, before I could get to the two main v-belts.

Once the engine is off, you can remove the countershaft assembly in once piece. Just remove all of the associated nuts and bolts holding it to the frame. Be sure to not let the left half dangle in mid-air. You'll know what I mean once you get to it. Support it with a scrap piece of wood, or whatever you have on hand that is the right height to keep it level with where it meets the differential.

With the reel, engine, and countershaft assembly off, what's left of the mower is crazy light.

Once the countershaft assembly is off, the frame and drum are ripe for picking. This was the point of no return for me, as once you loosen the drum assembly bolts on the right side of the mower, you will immediately alter the level between the drum and the reel, and will need to take the mower back into a shop to have them level the drum to the reel on a quality bench plate. According to the service manual, the gap between the precision/bench plate and the drum cannot exceed .01 inch, with the reel weighted down on top of a 1/4" spacer bar where it meets the bedknife. My understanding is that if you attempt to mow with an unlevel drum-to-reel, the cutting results will be really weird. In any case, I'm taking the mower into a Toro shop for a reel grind anyways, so I'll have them do this leveling procedure then.

Drum assembly removal was kind of strange, and I definitely didn't do it according to the service manual procedure. The way I did it was to remove the four bolts on each side (rotate the drum pulley until the holes line up with the bolts), which removes it from the clamp mechanism holding it to the frame. What I did not expect was that this also unravels the "flangettes" that sandwich the drum bearing on each side. Oops, I guess I'll be cleaning and repacking those bearings now. If you get this far, look at the drum bolt holes on the right side of the mower frame (operator's right side), and notice how the bolt holes are elongated. This is where you have your up and down adjustment range for the drum-to-reel levelling procedure noted earlier. The left side does not have this, which is why the service manual says to do the adjusting using the right hand side.

Miscellaneous note on frame disassembly: If you remove the middle crossbar, you may notice that water mysteriously drips out from a weephole on each end of the crossbar where it mates to the frame, and has no way to drain out. Very odd design by Toro, to let condensation and water pool up inside of this part. I'm tempted to drill a small hole on the underside of the crossbar to let water drain out, but that may be a poor engineering idea on my part. You can see this in The Lawn Tools video where Right Tool disassembles his GM1000 (05:40 in the video titled "Greensmaster 1000 restore Part 2 - Removing the Reel").

*Paint!*
This brings us to current day (April 7, 2022). I have everything sanded and prepped for paint. A sander attachment for my oscillating multitool made this a pretty fast job. I took a 3M heavy duty stripping pad to anything that the sander couldn't reach.

The worst of the rusted spots got some Naval Jelly/phosphoric acid treatment. We had a strange hot spring day today (80 degrees), so I went ahead and sprayed the primer and basecoats today. Apparently the temperatures are dropping right back down into the 50s and 40s in the coming days, so the parts will be moved into the garage once dry to the touch to cure for a a while. There are a bunch of birch trees spewing yellow pollen in my area already, so I need to make sure I don't get too much of that on the paint job. These trees are the bane of my existence every spring.

After I laid down the first coat of primer, I could immediately tell I should have gone with a filler primer and blocked everything smooth, as the spots I left the original paint on really stand out through the regular primer I used. Oh well. Maybe I'll have an itch to disassemble this mower again in five years.

As for color, I went with a bold choice, as Toro red would just be too pedestrian, and my initial color choice (A shade of grey, or charcoal grey) was too conservative IMO. Also, "Right Tool Yellow-Green" is already taken, so...I called an audible at the last second as I was in the paint aisle at the hardware store.

Primer: Rustoleum Clean Metal Primer
Base: Rustoleum Painter's Touch Seaside Gloss
Clear: TBD

A sneak peek - 









*Up next*
Clear coat when the weather allows, and order some parts for re-assembly.


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## paulwrunge (Dec 13, 2021)

Awesome build thread. I think you could find a different fabricator to correct your handlebar issue. 550 is nuts. Love the color.


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## swebbrrt (Jun 12, 2021)

Harbor Freight has a 120v welder on sale for $99 this weekend you could cut the other side down to match and just spot weld it all the way around then grind it smooth. Plus, learning how to weld is good for doing diy projects.


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

paulwrunge said:


> Awesome build thread. I think you could find a different fabricator to correct your handlebar issue. 550 is nuts. Love the color.


Thanks. eBay to the rescue for a handlebar solution!


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

swebbrrt said:


> Harbor Freight has a 120v welder on sale for $99 this weekend you could cut the other side down to match and just spot weld it all the way around then grind it smooth. Plus, learning how to weld is good for doing diy projects.


I saw that in their recent flyers. I do have a 60A 240v circuit available in the garage, so I'll pony up for a decent welder in the future. Definitely a good skill to have.


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

*4/16/2022 Update*

*Handlebar*
Snagged a used GM1000 handlebar for a very fair price on eBay. To my surprise, it was in great condition. It turns out it's practically the same size as the one for the 800, but just a touch wider at the base. Nothing a little bending can't fix later. Time to call up my electrician friend who knows his way around bending EMT.

Picture of the old one that was mangled (the one without the grip foam) vs. the GM1000 unit I got on eBay.









*Painting wrapped up*
I decided to go with a contrasting shade of grey (Rustoleum 2x Winter Gray) for the drive pulley covers, and the bellcrank cover. I had some extra Seaside Gloss, so I decided to slap some color on the gas tank, because why not?!









I got a little adventurous and decided to clear everything with Spraymax 2K in a rattle can. Expensive, but wow, this stuff sprays nicely and cures to a beautiful wet look. I'm not sure how this "pro-level" clear over "hobby paint" will hold up over time, but everything dried up nicely, and the clear hasn't lifted any of the basecoat yet.

I made sure to wear a respirator with fresh OV cartridges as the 2K clear uses an isocyanate hardener, and suited up in a Tyvek coverall so that I wouldn't end up a sticky mess after spraying everything.

















Other than some runs from applicator error, and some poor surface prep magnified through the base and clear from rushing the prep on some parts, I'm very happy with the finish. I'll post up some pictures when I start re-assembly. One more sneak peek for now.


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## swebbrrt (Jun 12, 2021)

Nice find on the handlebar! I'm liking the colors :thumbup:


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

*5/8/2022 Update*

Slight detour, as is usually the case when I tackle a restoration project.

Cracked into the bellcrank housing to discover a bunch of sand and general gunk in there from its pre-retirement life at a golf course. Will be spending some time getting this cleaned out, along with putting in fresh bearings and seals where it makes sense, and cleaning up some random corrosion trouble spots.

No better way to get to know the ins and outs of the mower than tearing it completely apart.  

















Looking forward to re-assembly sometime soon! I'm getting bored mowing with my manual five blade Scotts Classic.


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## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Cant wait to see it all back together. That blue really pops!


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## radicalad (Apr 29, 2020)

Following, looking awesome so far! Curious where you picked up that GM800... Being a fellow PNWer there's only so many that pop up from time to time. I saw a GM800 circulating last summer, I'm sure it's the same one!


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

radicalad said:


> Following, looking awesome so far! Curious where you picked up that GM800... Being a fellow PNWer there's only so many that pop up from time to time. I saw a GM800 circulating last summer, I'm sure it's the same one!


Thanks. Yeah, it was a CL find from last summer. I had to trek down to Hillsboro from Seattle to pick it up. The story I was given was that it's an ex-Pumpkin Ridge unit. I would love to stumble upon a 1000 someday. My Scotts Classic manual reel is wider than this 800 I'm working on


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

Very cool. I'd love to do something like this.

And I think it's too awesome that you went with that color rather than the red. I'm digging it a lot. Look forward to seeing more progress posts. &#128077;&#127995;


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## radicalad (Apr 29, 2020)

@fajitamondays if you want to hike down to Oregon again.... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1653483441680276/

not bad considering its a 04055.


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

radicalad said:


> @fajitamondays if you want to hike down to Oregon again.... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1653483441680276/
> 
> not bad considering its a 04055.


I did see that, along with one for sale in Walla Walla. I'm so financially invested into this build right now that I can't think of getting another one for a little while


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## fajitamondays (Nov 20, 2020)

*5/30 Update - Re-assembly kicks off in earnest!*

Starting off the re-assembly by tackling the easy part first, which is just getting the frame put back together. Also put on my new front roller today.

I'm hoping to remember to pause along the way to document anything that could be useful for future reference, but nothing really worth that effort today. I will definitely highlight some good tips when it comes to the rear drum assembly, for folks wanting to take off the transport wheel axles. I also have some notes related to sourcing bearings and bearing seals that I will put up in a future post.

*Old smooth roller, and new grooved roller from R&R*









*Just like Frank's RedHot, I put this ish on everything! Marine grade anti-seize/corrosion inhibitor.*









*It's starting to take shape again*








By the way, it seems CRC Quick Clean is just brake cleaner in a fancy bottle, with an inflated price tag. I'm not paying $17 for this again. I knew something was up when it smelled just like Brakleen (The good stuff - red can), ate through paint like Brakleen, and dried fairly quickly just like Brakleen. A quick glance at the MSDS for both shows them to be identical - 90+% of what's in the can is tetrachloroethylene (AKA PERC).


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## radicalad (Apr 29, 2020)

@fajitamondays by the way, I have a contact at Inglewood, he sharpened my reel for $150. I have a feeling once you're all assembled again you'll need a sharpen.

One thing to note, he told me that the ONLY part he wouldn't buy from R&R is their reels, he said they howl like crazy and his experience the Toro ones are far superior.


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