I dont know the ground speed of a 10550, but if it is anything close to what my 10525 is in 3rd gear you will be running across the lawn and not cutting very clean. I see no usefull purpose of 3rd gear on my mower other than to get it from one place to the other without cutting grass in rapid time.

There was once a 5 speed LawnBoy that you changed ground speed by simply shimming the pulley to different sizes. That would seem to be an easier solution. I wonder if that pulley setup would work on the 10323? I find the ground speed of the 10323 to be satisfactory for me though. I guess with a couple 3 speeds and the 10323 I am content, although I wouldnt mind having a 10550 just for grins.

On the Variable Speed 10323 I had before I got the 10550, I put about four clicks on the governor spring tension wheel which gave me much better engine performance and a decent top speed - not too fast. It was just a brisk walk for me, and I'm not tall. The 10550 is geared higher because it's Personal Pace and it's impossible to achieve top speed without squeezing the sliding handle down to the fixed cross member, so they set it up for constant belt slippage at regular mowing speeds. You couldn't actually use the mower as fast as it can be made to go, but the speed is fine if you use it normally. My 4-cycle 10684 also has Variable Speed and it seems about right as-is. It also has a ridiculously easy belt change compared to the 2-cycle, where you have to take the engine off the deck. The 10323 is a very good mower, though, and both Variable Speed and Personal Pace belts last a long time.

I have a 10323 variable and a 3 speed 22261 LB.

To me the variable speed is not really variable. It is a bit too slow for me despite giving is some more "clicks." When I release the bail, it goes way to slow. I cannot effectively create variable speed because there is not enough speed variation to begin with (from slow to even more too slow). To me, it is on or off.

I do like that trick mentioned with the gear change out...this may give it a better speed range. The 3 speed is optimal because the 2nd gear is just perfect. The 3rd gear can be a bit robust, so when I am in a hurry, I use it but will release the bail at times to cause some belt slippage to slow it down.

I recall a while ago, someone put the variable speed bail and handles from a 10323 onto a 10550. Not sure how it all worked out??

I cannot get variable speeds on a variable speed LB...what am I missing.

Check cable adjustment and belt. The mower should start to move slowly with about 1/2" movement of the bail, and increase speed until the bail is against the handle. 'Variable Speed' is apparently too complicated for many to figure out.

Variable speed is too slow to begin with, why would you want to reduce the already too slow speed.

Every LawnBoy with a bail and belt driven transmission could be considered variable speed by slipping the belt tensioner. Three speed LawnBoys could be considered variable 3 speeds in that respect. You certainly wouldnt want locked on full speed every time you engaged the transmission when working around obstacles and hazards.

pete; there's no sense in arguing about it. I, for one, do not find Variable Speed too slow, and I've had it on a 2-cycle 10323 and 4-cycle 10684. Plus, as Fordtech says, even a 3-speed can be used as a Variable Speed by clutching it with the bail. I did this intermittantly on the Honda I had. Maybe you walk faster than most people when mowing. I use Variable Speed at max speed most of the time, but there are times when I clutch it for one reason or another. I imagine if you tighten the control cable and/or increase the speed of the engine, it'll get fast enough for you, unless you like to run behind a mower.

Too bad L-B didn't adopt the SP cable that Toro used on the '96 20442. The cable adjustment is by means of a dial that is built into the throttle lever housing. You use your thumb to tighten or loosen the cable and it can be done on the fly. Really convenient.

the ground speed of the 10323 is allready fast enough for me. if anything i would rather have it go a little slower for mowing the thick fast growing st aug grass here in fla. i have one of those older lawnboys where you change the shims to get diff speeds. there is very little diff in the speeds to make it a worth while system.

I have used a Push L-B since I was a kid, so I've always set my own pace. Moved into my house in '92 and had been using my '77 7024 till '99 when I bought a 10323. Well, the SNAIL PACE of the 10323 nearly drove me nuts ... my hour of grass cutting turned into 1-1/2 hours !!

I set up a 160 ft long test and calculated the 10323 at 204 feet per minute / 2.32 MPH and my normal "pushing" pace at 320 fpm / 3.64 MPH.

I ended up making a custom adapter so I could use a std. hardware store 5/8" bore 2" dia. pulley (vs. 3" std.) and a shorter belt. This worked fine, but I wore out the cheap die-cast pulley in about 4 years time ... converted it back to SNAIL PACE so my teenage son could start helping cut the grass 2 summers ago and I bought a new 10424 for myself.

I like the gear change idea much better than my solution !!

My N-E Wisconsin yard has very sandy soil and grass rarely grows thick, so my faster pace is mostly due to lawn condition. To me, this is what dictates "speed" and is probably why we have such a diverse opinion here of what is acceptable. Also for me, the faster pace walk feels more like a good workout !!

Doug

This thread got my curiosity going, so I just compared the exploded views / parts lists for the 10323 & 10550 gear case assemblies.

None of the major components are the same ... this includes Gear Case, Bottom Cover, Pinion Gear, Pinion Bearing, Upper Pulley, Upper Pulley Spacer, Output Shaft, and of course the two gears mentioned for the swap.

For this gear swap to be possible, the design of the newer 10550 gear box had to be based on the 10323 design. Howerver "why" none of the major components are common is a mystery to me ... especially if this simple gear swap will offer similar performance (most parts also look the same in the exploded views). Since the basic function of these two gear boxes is essentially the same, the only answer I can come up with is possibly the 10550 box components are beefier to handle the extra weight of this mower.

Doug

Doug - both transmissions are single speed. The Pinion gear in both tranmissions have the identical gearing. Toro basically changed the Bevel gear and the (slave) gear to make the 10550 go faster. How variable speed is achieved using bail tension has been well described earlier.

I never liked the 10323 before because of the slow, one-speed transmission. But now it has become the mower of choice for me because it is just as fast as a 3-speed, lighter weight and cheaper to buy (used of course). Sure the handle has to be bolted to make it more sturdy, but that is pretty easy. I use mine in my lawn business, so time will tell if they'll hold up.

Finally got the new gears in my 10323 this weekend ... less than $20 for the two gears, what a difference !!

Also just picked up a "free" 10301 last week and gave it a complete cleaning and overhaul. CD Ignition was bad in it and the base-shroud (formed sheet metal between flywheel & short block) was repaired once and cracked in 3 more places since ... this free mower cost is now up to $65 in parts and runs like a champ.

Anyway, reason I mentioned the "10301" is this "GEAR SWAP" will work in it also. It is basically the same mower but with a "V" Series engine instead of a "Duraforce". Deck appears to be the same stamping but with an added cut-out so the belt can go to pulley located under the deck. The only difference in the "gear box" is the pinion gear and pulley spacer are shorter to match the lower belt location. L-B parts also show different #'s for the output shafts, but I could see why nor could I find any difference between them.

Doug

I have a spare 3 speed transmission or two around here. I wonder if I could adapt my 10323 to 3 speed... hmmm.

I'd be quite tempted if I were you !!

I am going to buy some gears and do the conversion. Any tips or "bug-a-boos" to watch out for? How long did this take?

This will make the 10323 a better performer because I can feather the bail more effectively for slower speeds. I have used 3 different 10323's now, and they all essentially creep to a stop/crawl when the bail is feathered off the handle. I checked and adjusted the cabling per the manual and gave it some "clicks", but this only does so much. In my opinion, the 10323's speed is the mowers main weak point.

Is this gear change out equivalent to the speed of a 3 speed on a 22261 or earlier 3 speed Gold? The 10550 claims to produce 4mph, but that is impossible with the way the current easy stride works.

Update ...

Picked up an Electronic Specialties #325 EZ-Tach so I could check and set the RPM's of my mowers and so I could more accurately figure the ground speed difference of this gear swap. I then set up a 150 FT. long drag-strip in my side yard.

10323 was running at 3070 RPM and did the 150 FT. in 29 seconds which equals 3.52 MPH (10550 gears in it).

10301 was running at 3080 RPM and did the 150 FT. in 40 seconds which equals 2.55 MPH (stock 10323/10301 gears in it).

Max recommended RPM for both Duraforce and "V" is 3200 RPM. At this RPM, max ground speeds would be around 3.66 MPH w/10550 gears or 2.64 MPH w/stock gears.

When I first tested my 10323 back in 1999, I figured it's stock ground speed at 2.32 MPH. To be this much slower, it would have been running at around 2800 RPM ... which I guess is within L-B spec of 2900 +/- 300 RPM.

Doug

3.5 is probably close to the max speed of the 10525 3 speed.

As for the top speed I would recommend it would be the 2nd speed of the 10525. I think its just about perfect, where 3rd gear is almost running.

However I live in and extra dry climate and the grass can be pretty thin. If you cut in a wet thick grass that alone could slow down the top speed substantially so you might want to run in 3rd gear in that situation.

I've always wondered why several 10323 owners complained about the slow speed of their mowers. I have essentially the same SP system on my Toros and the top speed is fast enough for me (and I don't like to just poke along). In fact, sometimes when I hit some really long, thick areas I need to let the bail drop a little to slow it down. Well, I've got a 10301 tranny and the pulley (which is the same as the 10323's) is larger than the Toros' but I didn't measure them to find out how much. One of these days I might test the 10301 tranny to see if it's noticeably slower to me.

I still think the reason the 'Variable Speed' 10323s are slow is that they came with the engine set slow. Another problem is, it's common for people to set the throttle too far forward and engage the choke, which also makes them run bad and slow (same thing on the 10550). I set mine about four clicks higher and it was fine. What I didn't like about it was the drive bail was very awkward and uncomfortable to use. I also have 'Variable Speed' on my 4-cycle 10684 and the speed is fine - what a sweet mower to use.
You could check the ratios by roughly counting the pulley turns required to turn the axle once. You can get more exact results by counting the pulley turns for ten revolutions of the axle, then dividing by ten to get pretty close to the ratio. The trick is accurately estimating that final fraction of a turn - figure it as per cent and show it as a decimal - 40% would be .40.

"...it's common for people to set the throttle too far forward and engage the choke..."

saxman, does the choke/throttle lever have a detent position for full throttle?
BTW, I didn't have to increase engine rpm's in order to speed up the SP. It's set at about 3050.

No, it does not have what I would term a positive detent - you have to go by ear and back it off a hair when you hear it slow down a little going into choke.
3050 is okay if it does the job for you. I would probably push it to 3200 - about two or three clicks. I think my 10550's about 4000. I put the blade on backwards once and it took off.LOL.

The choke/throttle lever of the 1993 10301 and 10201 has a detent about 1/3 of the way back. Once the engine starts, as you pull the lever back it will snap into the detent when the choke is completely open. Then, of course, you can pull it back further to reduce engine speed.

I have my 'V's running at 3050 rpm because it's what the manual recommends, plus they just sound best to me at that speed.

'The choke/throttle lever of the 1993 10301 and 10201 has a detent about 1/3 of the way back. Once the engine starts, as you pull the lever back it will snap into the detent when the choke is completely open. Then, of course, you can pull it back further to reduce engine speed.'

That's a different system than the later Duraforce models, because 1993 was the only year they used a choke-start Walbro carb on the 'V' engine. Too bad they didn't use the same set-up on the Duraforce.