New to this forum but not to snow blower forum. I liked that forum and wanted the equivalent friendly and helpful lawnmower forum to support my 1996 Woods Mow'n machine that I am trying to keep operational to avoid spending another $7500 for a similar but new mower.
My Woods mower has both a DT 61 61" mower deck and the snowblower attachment. I also had a cab enclosure but it self destructed due to metal fatique. Steel cabs work harden if left installed year round. Simply put, they get beat to death. No amount of re-welding worked to save the enclosure. This 1996 Woods only has 760 hours of run time but I have repaired and replaced quite a bit
Motor is a 20 HP Kawasaki FD620D-BS03 two cylinder water cooled motor that is like what was used in the John Deere 425 and 445. These have a beyond warranty period know failure of the composite cam gear that fails between 700 hours to 1000 hours. My concern was whether or not my Woods (made by Grasshopper for Woods) mower had the same problem with a composite. Long story short. After calling Woods, Kawasaki, Grasshopper to ask the question regarding the camshaft specified in the Woods version of the Kawasaki FD620D I found that none of these organizations had a clue. So, after posting a question to the Gator Guy he suggested simply pulling the muffler cover, muffler, and water pump to check the gear. I did and found it has a composite cam gear. Repair kits are not available from Kawasaki, but there are three sources for kits that include the camshaft, tappets (valves), springs, governor, gaskets, etc. for about $300. A replacement water pump is another $60. I suppose when done with the hoses replaced the total part costs are about $400 plus my labor. Below is a picture of the cam gear which is composite. It feels like plastic and no magnet sticks to it.
![]()
Below is the latest problem with installing new wheels and tires on the DT61 mower deck. It shows how the tires rub the deck. It appears as the though design didn't allow for normal wear and there is too much caster built into the wheel lift assembly which premits tire rub. See the picture below:
![]()
My Woods mower has both a DT 61 61" mower deck and the snowblower attachment. I also had a cab enclosure but it self destructed due to metal fatique. Steel cabs work harden if left installed year round. Simply put, they get beat to death. No amount of re-welding worked to save the enclosure. This 1996 Woods only has 760 hours of run time but I have repaired and replaced quite a bit
Motor is a 20 HP Kawasaki FD620D-BS03 two cylinder water cooled motor that is like what was used in the John Deere 425 and 445. These have a beyond warranty period know failure of the composite cam gear that fails between 700 hours to 1000 hours. My concern was whether or not my Woods (made by Grasshopper for Woods) mower had the same problem with a composite. Long story short. After calling Woods, Kawasaki, Grasshopper to ask the question regarding the camshaft specified in the Woods version of the Kawasaki FD620D I found that none of these organizations had a clue. So, after posting a question to the Gator Guy he suggested simply pulling the muffler cover, muffler, and water pump to check the gear. I did and found it has a composite cam gear. Repair kits are not available from Kawasaki, but there are three sources for kits that include the camshaft, tappets (valves), springs, governor, gaskets, etc. for about $300. A replacement water pump is another $60. I suppose when done with the hoses replaced the total part costs are about $400 plus my labor. Below is a picture of the cam gear which is composite. It feels like plastic and no magnet sticks to it.
Below is the latest problem with installing new wheels and tires on the DT61 mower deck. It shows how the tires rub the deck. It appears as the though design didn't allow for normal wear and there is too much caster built into the wheel lift assembly which premits tire rub. See the picture below:
