42 In Rear Discharge deck sounds bad

[nekovt 0]

Hi, I have a 15-42RC01 rear discharge deck in which I've replaced almost everything. The deck sounds so bad that that I have to wear double hearing protection to use it. It's almost unusable. I've replaced:

- All 6 spindle bearings

- Spacers

- all the Blades

- Seals

- Cut 3 squares and welded in nice thick pieces of steel to replace the cracked housing mounts.

It mows very well to.

The bearings all went in to the housings very well.

The bad sound changes with speed, and it does shake a little bit. If I run it at very low idle, the deck sounds almost normal, but spinning it up anything above idle is unbearable.

Is it possible the housings can go causing something to be out of balance?

Thanks!!

Brad

[Wilsonrl48747 0]

Have you checked the front guide rollers on it? Could they be spinning and causing a racket, rattling and making a bunch of noise? Does the engine seem to labor more than normal when you engage the deck? If not, I would look for something else rattling. What about the bearings on the PTO?

Just a few guesses. Let us know what it was when you figure it out.

[rickv1957 76]

What about mule drive bearing condition,Rick

[W9JAB 156]

:D

Maybe the blades are out of balnace?

[nekovt 0]

Thank you for the replies! I should have mentioned that I have replaced the mule drive. The noise and shaking definately comes from the mower deck for sure. It sounds like a helicopter in a way. The blades are new and even though I have sharpend them, it did it just as bad when the blades were just put in.

One more thing I just thought of it that for a little tiny while, it didn't do it after I replaced all the bearings. I'd say about 4 minutes, then ever since then, it's done it.

Do you mean the front guide rollers on the mule deck or the mower deck? This problem produces so much noise, it can only be in the blade guides, mounts, etc.

Yes, the engine does labor a little bit when I engage the deck, but when it gets up to speed it's fairly normal. I did notice that the deck slows down easier in tall grass than it used to.

More clues!

Thanks!

Brad

[W9JAB 156]

:D

try removing the blades and see if it goes away

[Doubletrouble 10]

Not to insult your intelligence but did you put the blades on upside down? I would take the deck off the tractor, remove the belts and turn each blade 1 at a time and feel for roughness in the motion. It should be smooth and quiet. Check the blade balance anyway, I bought a new set of blades for an MTD before and they were way out of balance right out of the box. Just my $.02

good luck and let us know what you find.

[gwgdog66 23]

Are your Spindles holding grease? Mine was making a hell of a racket, and the lower bearing seals were shot. Replaced all that and it is quiet now. I can't hear it spinning at all.

[hodge 6]

What kind of blades have you put on it? My GT 1600 had gator blades on it when I bought it, and anything over half throttle would shake and whine. They looked fine, but I didn't like them. I put a new set of normal, run of the mill blades on it, and it has been fine ever since.

[Save Old Iron 1,571]

One more thing I just thought of it that for a little tiny while, it didn't do it after I replaced all the bearings. I'd say about 4 minutes, then ever since then, it's done it.

One of the bearings may have suffered very premature failure and self destructed after 4 minutes of use.

Decks are really not rocket science - remove the blades as previously suggested and if it still vibrates - like a helicopter - recheck each spindle carefully for unusual noise or "looseness" in the spindle.

It's there somewhere. Just don't ignore some obvious issues just because you had "already replaced that".

you will find it - let us know what happens. :D

[Don1977 605]

You didn't mention replacing the idler on the deck it also has a bearing and they can make a lot of noise. Also check the idler slide bar if it is too lose it could cause the idler pulley to hit the deck or cover. I weld up and ground my worn slide bar, Toro wanted around $70 for a new one. I ordered the thin nylon slide that go below the bar. The Toro dealer told me that the top nylon slides were no longer available. I had some nylon and had a machinist to mill some for me. The nylon block ware on one side so I had turn them around 15 years ago, they were wore out. One other thing that can cause a deck not to cut heavy grass is the spring that hold tension on idler. The last last thing is the stamped steel pulleys I have wore out two sets. Got to where it would not cut grass that was the least bit heavy. I'm now running a set of the old Double D cast iron pulleys that I have had bored out and sleeved to fit the 17 millimeter spindles.

It now mows as good as it did 33 years ago.

[WH nut 553]

I think you are on to something Don