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FatJackDurham

Mower deck baffle rotted out - how to fix?

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FatJackDurham

So, I found A problem on the 42" mower deck on my 416-8. It commenced to making a horrible racket while backing up, so I stopped and took a look. Yup, there's your problem....

 

IMG_1007.jpg.1c584c8c4322c37ac88c5ddda5da5c51.jpg

 

I was going to cut the baffle out of the old rotten deck I had replaced with the above...

 

IMG_1009.jpg.e300bdb9e92a2c8e8648ff8c80757685.jpg

 

But a few whacks with a hammer to check how the baffle was revealed some rot in the center section....

IMG_1010.jpg.2cc4b386e4a003a584da68f6ca55e5d6.jpg

 

So, what are my options for fixing the original deck? Does anyone have a spare baffle I can weld or bolt in? Should I run without the baffles and live with the performance? What are my options here? BTW, for those of you keeping score, this is the third time I have tried to mow with the 416-8 and the third time I have had issues....

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SylvanLakeWH

Perhaps a metal plate "sandwich" with the spare old baffle in the middle? Weld / bolt together and start mowing...

 

:twocents-02cents:

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Searcher60

I think Toro stills sells the baffles by themselves. 

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857 horse

I cant believe this,,,,,,I have a 42 inch  deck,,,looks just like this one,,,,,

 

Mr Jack Where ever this repair takes you.....please include me in your notes,,,,...........

 

thanks for the post

 

                                            857Horse howard in Virginia

 

 

 

 

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ohiofarmer

  I would clean up the junction points on the rotten deck and then spray paint it [one side of the baffles] so you have an accurate pattern to reference. Once you remove the baffles, it is too late to do that. It would not be that hard to cut some better material out of the old deck to make new baffles or get sound metal to patch the old ones. If you are afrid that you might blow holes through the deck while welding on the baffles, you could weld mounting tabs to them and bolt them to your deck. If you use tab mounts, the entire deck could be rustproofed before the install of the baffles.

 

 I really like this stuff to paint on the bottom of your surviving deck. Does a great job of sealing the deck against corrosion.

http://www.agriguardcoatings.com/home.html

 

 I have two seasons on a deck [Huskee 54' by MTD} that was solid but had cheap steel with heavy, flaking rust After really pecking all the loose stuff off and wirebrushing, the Agri-Guard dried like glass and is holding up well.

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Sarge

It's not too difficult to make a set of new baffles - find a local welding shop that can roll sheet metal with a slip roll , good shops will have one . They can use flat sheet stock sheared to the right width , roll the shape into it by taking note of the blade length and determine the radius needed to clear the blades closely . A few simple tack welds and you're good to go...the shop next to me builds them quite often for older decks . I've made a few of my own here but I have all the equipment needed except the slip roll - I just use a large piece of pipe to roll the metal into the needed shape , then weld the joint where the two baffles meet . That's easier than making one large circle and bending it properly , which is how they were done originally . Btw - it's best to leave a small gap between the baffles and the deck to allow it to be fully cleaned - otherwise it will rot the deck shell in a hurry by holding moisture in that joint .

 

You could cut the welds out of that example piece with an angle grinder and a thin cutting wheel - take that to the shop as a template for new metal .

 

Sarge

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FatJackDurham

I have one space on the new deck that has rusted through, so I may tear it apart and have the whole thing sandblasted. Thanks for the tip on the paint, I'll definitely look into it.

 

I think I will fabricate new baffles from scratch and bolt them in place with tabs. I don't feel like I want to weld on this deck, unless of course I do decide to have it sandblasted completely. I don't have a MiG, just a TiG and Stick, and Gas. 

 

 

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Sarge

Well , all 3 of those welding processes work just fine , and in my opinion - better and more honest results than a mig any day . I've tig welded new steel into rotted places on a few decks in the last years - the original steel is decent stuff and welds up nicely . Works the best if you can put some copper backing on it such as a spoon or using buss bars from electrical panels - I hoard those things around here .

 

Sarge

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FatJackDurham

Oh, yeah, as a heat sink, right?

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Sarge

Primarily , yes as a heat sink . For tig work , the better you can shield the back side of the weld to trap the argon , the better . On sheet metal that is clean I also use a Furick #12 cup and run the argon at 25-30cfh to help flood the joint and keep the metal cooled . Pulsed tig works even better if your machine can handle that setup . I've also ran a CGA580 tee fitting with twin regulators and built a purge box from copper sheet to use as a backer box to feed argon to the back side - really makes a better weld on both sides of the material . If you just use the copper plate backer the back side can be a bit rough but the weld will be more than acceptable . Sheet metal really loves argon , just fyi....

 

Here's the link to the cup setup - if you do any stainless/inconel/titanium work these cup setups will change everything . Note that some are only for DC work and are limited on amps - it's also noteworthy not to use them on dirty or oily metals as it will crap up that cup in a hurry . They are lab grade glass and quite brittle , but once you use one you'll want to use it all the time , lol . I just bought the set for the #14 Moose Knuckle to do some more stainless work - still holding off on buying the more expensive BBW but I might eventually buy it - none of the tig stuff is cheap but it's a great investment for space age metals and will work in many other applications as well . Check out the Instagram pics - some of the welds these produce are amazing .

https://furickcup.com/

 

Sarge

 

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Kelsey

Currently, I have the same 42" SD deck. The baffle isn't as corrodes as the one in the photos. Mine

does have to be repaired. My question is: can fiberglass and bond-o be used? 

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