Jacobsen Eclipse 122F restore.

[TreySS]

Well I finally got a reel mower! I picked up this from a local shop I made a thread about. It's been sitting outside for a year so it's kinda rough but honestly it's not all that bad. I put a little gas in the tank and it fired right up and works like a charm. The electric motors function perfectly, the system display works. Everything.

My first move was to call the guys at Jacobsen and find out some do's and don'ts and to get the general run down on it. Max height of cut is 7/16" which is where I would like to start anyway. I asked them about the reel and groomer being rusted and the tech told me to just clean it up, back lap it and check the clearances. He said for what I'm doing it should be fine. I asked them about the electric motors and they said that they're water proof. I just need to clean the connections and let it ride. He wouldn't be concerned about it.

Tonight I'm going to pull the reel off of it and send it for sandblasting. The reel isn't pitted but is rusted. The groomer will get the same treatment.

Over the next few days while all that's apart I'm going to put some fresh paint on all the components, check the bearings, replace the grease fittings, clean the carb, clean the gas tank and replace the fuel line along with the air filter and give everything a good scrubbing.

My only real concern is the bed knife. It doesn't have any knicks or dings in it but I'd like to pull it off and clean it up real good. It has flat head screws that hold it to the backing plate that may or may not come off. We will see.

I will post pictures of the progress as I check items off the list. I know some of you will be interested.

Here is a picture of the mower when I got it home.

[Atc4usmc]

Congrats, looking forward to seeing the progress you make...

[Pete1313]

Congrats on the new toy! I'm looking forward to following the restore, and seeing it in action this year. Keep us posted.

[TreySS]

Last night I pulled the reel assembly off of it. I didn't take any pictures during because I was concentrating and trying to keep everything sorted. I will say that everything came apart much easier than I thought it would.

As I got deeper into it I realized that someone had been in it before. A couple of bolts were mis matched and a few were missing washers. I will have to run to the local big box store and get a couple of replacements.

The parts are in overall good condition. No sign of wear on the parts other than the layer of rust but I'm dropping the reel and groomer off today to be sand blasted and then I will start cleaning up parts and painting some stuff. The grease in the bearings was shot. Plenty of it in there but it was pretty gross.

Here are some pictures of the mower disassembled. Nothing fancy yet but I'll get there. If anyone has any questions, just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.

[Pete1313]

Your not messing around! Keep the pics coming. I enjoy seeing the differences in how different manufacturers design their reel mowers, and that 15-blade reel looks crazy compared to the 7-blades I have been staring at this winter. What condition are the reel and bedknife surfaces in? Do you have any close ups of the cutting surfaces?

[TreySS]

Well I dropped the reel off to get it sandblasted. Not much to see but a layer of rust. I'm going to have the bedknife ground to match the reel. All that will be fresh when it's done. I'm also getting the groomer sand blasted. Everything else is getting the drill with wire brush treatment and I'm just gonna rattle can it. I'm not goin too crazy. Just trying to get everything cleaned up.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep that reel or not. We will see when it gets out back together and I test it your. I'm worried it's gonna float over the grass. If it does then I'll bite the bullet and buy another one.

I'll have more pics up shortly. Working on it as I type this.

[TreySS]

Just a progress update. It's coming along nicely. Hit the rusty areas with a wire wheel and cleaned them all up. Put some paint on it and called it a night.



I will have to wait a week to get the reel and groomer sand blasted. Seems like a long turnaround but it is what it is.
On the to do list.
Clean up the grooved roller and brackets.
Clean all the old grease out of the reel bearings
Clean up misc bolts for the reel assembly.

I'm making progress. We will see if I can get it all back together HA!

[Pete1313]

It's gonna look like new when it's done, nice! As you were tearing it down, did you find anything that needs to be replaced/repaired? Or is a good cleaning all that is needed? How are the bearings and seals? Any plans on replacing them while it is torn apart? Also, check out rrproducts.com if you need parts if you haven't already.

[TreySS]

Thanks for the kind words!

Yeah I found a couple of O-rings that need to be replaced. They bearings look fine as do the shafts that they ride on and the race's. The seals are in ok condition. Some are perfect and some are just ok. Problem is that some of the deals are as much as $87 dollars. I'm going to clean them up and see how they perform. My yard is about 2500sq ft so for no more than I'm going to run the mower I think they'll be fine. I'm just going to try them out and see how they perform. For 98% of the parts, a good cleaning is all that's needed. The place I got it from said it was functioning properly when they got it in but it's just been sitting outside for a year. I'm finding that to be true.

I'll know more when I get the rest of the parts cleaned up. I'm kind of working through the big stuff and moving to the little stuff. I haven't cleaned anything that holds grease yet but I'll start on that tonight.

I'll check on that website. If they have some of the stuff that looks suspect for cheap then I'll go ahead and pick it up. Thanks for that!

[Pete1313]

Sounds like it's in really good shape.

I'll check on that website. If they have some of the stuff that looks suspect for cheap then I'll go ahead and pick it up. Thanks for that!

They have good prices, and the parts diagrams make it easy to find exactly what you are looking for. They do however charge for shipping unless you spend over $500, so if you do use them make sure you order everything you need at once. They also have good backlapping compound.

[TreySS]

I looked on that website and couldn't find anything I needed. Jacobsen prices aren't bad on the few parts I do need.

[Mightyquinn]

I can't wait to see how this all turns out!! Keep the pics coming and great job so far!!

[J_nick]

Awesome job so far! Does it have a dial to set clip rate? With a 15 blade reel the clip rate must be crazy. Depending on your HOC it could become a problem if you're not able to adjust it.

[TreySS]

Thanks for the motivation. I got the reel back yesterday. Much less than the week timeframe they told me. I'll take some pictures of it tonight. I'm going to begin the process of putting it all back together. Basically I tore just the reel assembly down and left the rest of it together. Figured I would do it 1 half at a time so I didn't get parts all mixed up.

Putting it back together may take some time. As I stated before, I think someone had been in it once already so I wanna make sure all the bolts are put back in the correct places and I think I'm gonna need a few. I know for sure I'm gonna need a couple of o rings. But as I assemble it I'll buy what I need.

The 15 blade reel is concerning. Jacobsen basically told me that it is likely that it will just "float" over tall grass. I have a guy that's going to set it all up for me and he doesn't seem to think that will be a big problem. I'll definitely have to cut it low and often and I'm going to use some primo to help regulate growth.

This year I just want to get the reel mower up and running and cut the front yard with it as it's the most level out of my yard. In the summer I'm going to level the yard so hopefully that will help some.

I definitely have a lot of learning to do and I'm prepared to buy another reel if I have to.

What exactly do you mean clip rate? Like how fast the reel turns?

[TreySS]

i can adjust the reel speed and the speed the mower moves independently from each other because it has electric motors on it so yes I can adjust the clip rate.

The reel may or may not stay. I'm not sure yet. I'm going to try it out and see how it works and go from there.

[Mightyquinn]

I think as long as you are cutting under 1" you should be just fine with the 15 blade reel. I have an 11 blade and it cuts just fine up to 1" which is about as high as I can go.

[Pete1313]

I think as long as you are cutting under 1" you should be just fine with the 15 blade reel. I have an 11 blade and it cuts just fine up to 1" which is about as high as I can go.

I agree as well. My last reel(JD 220SL) was an 11 blade and had a clip frequency of .182" and was not able to be adjusted. I believe the general rule is clip frequency should match or be close to HOC, however I maintained my HOC between .75"-1.00" and didn't notice any cut quality issues. Your reel speed can be adjusted according to jacobsen's manual so as long as you put the reel on the slowest setting and mow at a decent pace you should be ok.

From the Jacobsen Technical Manual

[TreySS]

Just a small update.

I got the reel pretty much assembled per the manual. I'm waiting on a few bolts, washers and an O-ring that is damaged. As soon as I get that stuff I can take the reel assembly to get sharpened and set up. I figured I'd post some pics of the progress.

As far as the back half of the mower I still haven't taken it apart. I wanted for the most part to have the main reel assembled and ready to go. I'm worried I'll get some stuff mixed up. However I did take the motor off as you saw and am waiting on a tune up kit for it to be delivered. It's getting a new carb, oil, coil, and spark plug. I put the front cover on it not thinking about the coil being underneath it so that'll have to come back off.

I'm just waiting on parts at this point. I'll post more pics when I get the reel head back from sharpening and assembled completely. Sorry for the slow progress but you know how it goes...

[Pete1313]

Sorry for the slow progress but you know how it goes...

It sucks waiting for parts to arrive, but I wouldn't consider your progress slow at all. Keep up the good work, and send some more pics!

[wardconnor]

Nice job and nice pictures. Looks like a project I would not mind under taking. You will not be disappointed when you start cutting with it this I can promise.

I see that light on your Jac and would like one on my machine. I have a Toro Greens Master 1000 without a light or light kit. Seeing the wiring on your machine as you tear it apart would you or anyone else on this forum know how I might install a light kit (wiring wise) on my machine? Any suggestions on a kit that is not toro branded light kit? I ask because it would be nice to have a bright LED kit that I could possibly buy aftermarket and install it. its possible toro has an overpriced LED light kit...I do not know.

My machine has the Kawasaki engine and is a 2001 year model. I love this machine and the result it gives.