Older Toro Proline 32" Single Blade T Bar Help

[EliteImpressions]

Hi,

I just purchased an older Toro as my first comercial mower. I have a few questions.

1. One of the front caster wheels needs to be replace along with one of the tires. Is there a place online to purchase these?

2. Is there an online manual somewhere because I have no idea how to properly work the mower (engaging blade properly, how to change gears, changing cut height, etc). I also need to manual for maintenance.

Any help would be great. I searched this forum but didnt see anything.

Thanks
Joe

[kayeproperties]

Wow you picked the wrong mower. T-bars were the thing years ago and still make a great walk behind machine but the 32 was a junk heap. Too much blade to turn and lotts of other issues. Try J-Thomas for parts as the traction unit is probably interchangeable with the rest as for manuals dont know. Good luck but you would be better off with a 36 of almost any brand but i do like the t-bar myself.

[Jay Ray]

1. mowmore.com 8 x 3.00 x 4 no flat smooth tire & wheel (check your tire size to be sure) $47.95 each. Do yourself a favor and get rid of those tubes. Maybe you can find something cheaper but Mow More has good prices. They used to sell the original tires, tubes and wheels but not that much less, maybe they still have them. If it were mine I would get new bearings too.

2. Get your numbers off the traction unit and off the deck. Go to the Toro site and purchase photocopy parts manual and operators manual for both. Usually about 2 or 3 bucks a manual, four manuals needed. I don't know where you would get a shop manual.

I've heard the 32 leaves a nice cut and think you will like the traction unit when you get the bugs out.

Added: If you have a local Harbor Freight store you may be able to find tires with wheels and bearing super cheap that are substitutable and just bolt them in. Worth a look. Should have it on line too.

[EliteImpressions]

Jay Ray,

I dont no what my problem is, but when I try searching for tires and the front wheels I almost always get no results. Whats the correct way to search for a particular tire size.

[Jay Ray]

At mowmore.com from home click on 'online store' and at the very bottom right of the page is a photo of a wheel and click on the wheel. That should get you started going through the pages. I don't think you can do a specific search at mowmore.com.

If you wait until you have the Toro parts manual and the original part number, it is more likely you will get the correct part because there may be some variations in bearing cage sizes. Prices at Mow More range from 36.75 with tube up to 52.99 apiece for flat-free. You never have to air up the flat-free, just grease the bearings.

If you have the bolt size that holds your wheel in the caster yoke, the width for the hub and bearing between the caster yoke flanges, and close to the tire size (slightly smaller OD is better than a little bigger OD), you can put anything in there that will fit out properly with some wear washers. That's why I suggested the local Harbor Freight store because the one here has half a wall full of cheap tires & wheels. You could conceivably get them for $4.99 apiece, if you are lucky. Would these be as good as Toro parts? Probably not, but you could get 7 to 10 for one at the prices above. I did this about 4 years ago and bit the bullet and went with the flat-free from Mow More.

There is also mowpart.com up at the top of this site, Texas Mower Parts over on the right column, and www.j-thomas.com that I know of. But you are much better off with the Toro part number.

If you google the following you should get a lot of hits:

"mower parts" toro wheel

[Jay Ray]

Got the new Harbor Freight flyer today. They got a rigid caster with 8" pneumatic tire and wheel on sale for 6.99, no info on the bearing or bolt. Could possibly work.

[EliteImpressions]

Jay Ray,

Thanks for looking out for me. Theres one about 40 minutes from my house that Ill check out on Wed.

Joe

[Jay Ray]

40 min 2X is a lot of fuel. Check this out on eBay:


Set of 2 caster wheels, 8x300-4, 1" roller bearing, new

19.99 + 7.50 shipping



eBay search on: set caster wheels


There you can compare your measurements and ask the seller for more info if you need it. For commercial parts the price is hard to beat if you can use them. Only one set available.

[LindblomRJ]

Toro has manuals for a lot of their mowers online. They area PDF file. Once the bugs are worked out the 32" is a great machine.

[LCPullman]

Here is the link to the Toro online manual source.
https://landscapersolutions.toro.com/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=232&PageID=0&cached=true&mode=2&userID=20161
You will need to know your model numbers, usually located on the carrier frame and also at the back of the mower behind the engine somewhere. There will actually be 2 model numbers on your mower, one for the carrier frame and mowing deck and the other one for the drive unit.
Once you find them, put them into the website and you can get the parts.

Be careful about getting a wheel that isn't a Toro part because it can be hard to find something that really fits right, even if its fits the same size tire.

[EliteImpressions]

Thanks to everyone with their help so far. I have everything replaced and is running great. Two more questions though.

When going slow it is difficult to stay in the straight line. Either one side or the other will "catch" and will pull to one direction or the other. At full speed I dont have this problem.

It may be me, but spending over $100 for a mulch cover (which is just a straight piece of metal) seems a little high. Is there a cheaper place online or is this the going rate?

I must say, Im glad I listened to everyone that said it cuts great. It leaves great lines and the cut is excellent also.

[LCPullman]

My experience is that new belts are especially graby. If it is critical to go slowly and smoothly in a spot, you can gear down.

[EliteImpressions]

LC,

Thanks for the tip. Ill try that the next time.

[gorknoids]

That "nose-twitching" is due to the fact that the 32" has just a couple of lbs on the front wheels. I'm sure that you notice that every time you hit a tree root, a pine cone, or a speck of pollen. I just cut my front lawn with mine tonight and even in 3rd gear it felt like I was driving a washing machine on spin cycle with a wet beach towel in it. When we used to run it all the time, I used belt dressing to ease the jumpiness.
Use air-filled tires, too. The solids are too hard for the light front and make the problem much worse.

[huskres]

Where do you get the air filled tires for these?

[artman1]

EliteImpressions,
I just purchased a proline 32. It is a little old but still has a lot of life left. Was wondering if you ever found a new tire for yours? The ones on mine will need changing soon. The only problem is I am not sure if the size is right.
The person I bought it from put them on, he said he got the tire from Farm And Fleet. They just look to small too me. What size tires do you have on yours.

Also what type of blade are you runnig.

[lawnboy dan]

ypu cannot use any front wheels on the 32 toro but the oem ones .others will trow off the cutting heights. bite the bullit and get the parts from a toro dealer. you cant get parts for the 32 online any where i know of. except for blade and filter. the good news is these are great machines.