I'm quite prepared to point out a few things before we get to the pictures and walk-through, and they're important if you've just bought the Flymo 1200R, Gardena R40Li or Husqvarna 305 mowers, which are all based on the same chassis:
- overbumping -- i.e. relying on bumpers rather than the perimeter wire -- will cause them to wear out;
- lack of cleaning will cause them to be ravaged by grass juice (I kid you not);
- weather likely has an affect on rubber.
So, beyond the usual care you'd expect to need to take of a sophisticated piece of machinery, regular cleaning and checking is a must.The consequences of ignoring the buildup of grass can be seen in the picture on the right.
The two relatively unscathed rubber dampers were situated under the hood, and didn't get exposed to the full wrath of built-up grass clippings or damp lawn mowing.
The others did, and were also situated near the rear, where they also tend to flex a lot. So much so, in fact, that the far left one broke.
So, what do you do if your Flymo 1200R develops the same fault?
Flymo 1200R Rubber Damper Pictures
Firstly, you need to dismantle your mower, following the appropriate spare parts guide. Here's a screen shot of the relevant page.
Note that there are actually 4 -- one in each corner -- but only two are shown in the exploded diagram, taken from the spare parts guide.
The cover is actually all that needs to be taken off, by releasing the appropriate screws on the underside of the mower.
Anyone who has already replaced wheels, or thoroughly cleaned the mower will have seen how to do this.
Again, the fixing points for the four rubber dampers are circled in red. The top left corner damper has been removed completely (it was the broken one) just so that you can see what it ought to look like.
So, how did the repair go?
Repairing the Flymo, Gardena & Husqvarna Dampers
The damper had sheared off due to a mixture of corrosion, and, I suspect, over-bumping due to a poorly designed installation on my part.
I decided it was best to replace the dampers in pairs, and set about removing them, which was just a case of removing the two screws holding the support clamp.
On the right is a close-up of the removed clamp and damper:
All that's needed is to replace the damper with a new one, put the clamp over it, and screw the screws back in.
Then, position the chassis over the cover, and secure the dampers to the chassis with the screws removed in the first step.
I also checked the screws for corrosion, too, but they seemed to have stood up to the constant abuse better than the rubber dampers.
Where to Buy Spares?
This is a tricky question: a quick online search reveals that Partmaster is a good place to start in the UK, but also that the best bet for European owners is just to go back to the vendor.Places like Amazon don't tend to stock spares, as they're quite specialist, but you could be lucky and find an eBay seller who has them. However, as always, caution needs to be exercised since it is better to pay a bit more and get a quality original, than a sub-par replacement.
Having said that, aftermarket compatible blades seem to stand up to the job, so I would be tempted to try other spares should I need to replace the dampers again!
