(ET) E20 back on the.... road? Grass?

[Chris Zach <cz beaker crystel com>]

Well, got the E20 back up and running. The new brushes work very well, 
the motor turns easily and with not much current draw even on 12 volts. 
The new bearings I put in 3 years ago are in perfect shape, no problems 
there.

Getting the E20 motor up is fun. I've found that using 12 inch long 1/4 
bolts to catch and lift the motor up is the best way to go, followed by 
replacing the bolts one at a time with the normal bolts (bit longer than 
standard, 1 inch) and then after making sure all the wires are not 
getting pinched and are in place running the front bolts down, using a 
crowbar to move the motor forward (bonus point the tractor nose down to 
let gravity help), tighten the back bolts, then tighten the front bolts. 
The belts have some deflection, but I'd rather not make them piano tight 
as that just burns the bearings out.

While looking at the motor I think it's not repairable: The series field 
goes right into that field winding plate and looks to be potted in 
place. I don't think it can be unwound and since finding that plate is a 
0% chance I may be stuck. Plus trying to bypass it doesn't work: The 
second motor armature bolt is welded onto the cable (so I'd need another 
screw bolt) and the only way I could run it would be behind the brush 
holder as it's on the wrong side of the motor. So oh well, I am stuck 
forever with a ground fault.

I may just get another motor in any condition and swap in my armature 
with perfect bearings. We'll see.

Meantime, I'm up and running again. No snow this winter, so the 
snowblower sits quietly in the shed. Soon though it will be tiller 
season, so we'll go with that. Right now it's mud season, and even with 
the chains I can get the tractor stuck in the back...

C