A while back now there was a discussion on finding a suitable way of repairing a very common fault on the Sharp GF series.

Most of you will know shortly what im talking about but some of you may not have had this problem yet....... basically its the little rubber grommet that goes over a shaft that drives a small wheel when you push play.
See i know boxes !!

Anyway when this goes bad not only does it make a mess but the play function won't work.

Finally got around to fixing my 9696 and thought i would share a few pictures.

Below is a picture of the problem area...



With the shaft removed....



Now a few suggestions where made for fixing this including using a rubber fuel hose from an auto shop but i found that the smallest fuel hose i could get was still too big. Close, but not close enough.

By the way fixing this problem and replacing belts on these decks is really very easy, even for a novice like me.



So with the idea of needing an even smaller rubber hose i went to my local Clark Rubber who specialize in all things rubber. And bingo ! exactly the right size needed.



Now the piece on the left was what i removed, i dont think it is original and looks as though someone else had tried to repair it before. How they thought this would work is beyond me ??
The piece on the right is the part i have cut from the hose and will be using.



So basically after cleaning everything, i just drop the small piece in to place



and it lines up perfectly when i replace the shaft below.
note, the piece still on the shaft is of course not what im using but what im replacing.



This has worked perfectly on all my GF,s i have fixed !

Now my main reason for this post.... i went everywhere looking for the perfect fix, hardware stores and auto shops and even lawn centres for small retic hoses and found nothing.

So if you have a local Clark Rubber store or similar that is the place to go ........
but if you do not and are really having trouble finding hose of this size PM your address and i will gladly send off enough to fix a few GF's

OOPS !!! first let me confirm i can still get this same hose and if so the offer is still there !

Cheers

Hey, you really know the boxes

Very clever solution you do that Aza.

Thanks d-t.
I clearly have no idea what im talking about