New Owner, deck problems

[kejo 0]

Hi folks. New Wheel Horse owner here. I

[WH nut 553]

The 42 inch deck is know for getting sprung, not much fun to fix. I have one doing the same thing. As far a not cutting, it sounds llike you PTO is slipping, or the belt on the deck is slipping. Make sure you didnt break the spring on the tensioner on the deck or the slides are gummed up.

[kejo 0]

Thanks for the quick response.

From what I was reading in the other thread, it did seem to me that the deck is sprung. I was just wondering if there is a way to be sure, before I write this deck off. Also, I'll have to pick up another one and I'd like a way to be sure that it doesn't have the same issue.

As for not cutting, I will check out your suggestions. The breaking spring I should have thought of first.

Thanks kindly.

[c175inMA 8]

As for not cutting are u sure u tightened up the blades all the way? and hey :hide:

[kejo 0]

yeah, blades are tight.

I've forgotten to put them back on before, but never forgot to tighten them.

Thanks for the welcome.

[Duff 206]

I've forgotten to put them back on before.......

Oooh - been there and done that!

Duff :hide:

[Clarkbug 0]

yeah, blades are tight.

I've forgotten to put them back on before, but never forgot to tighten them.

Thanks for the welcome.

I was going to ask the same thing, actually.

I took the blades off of my deck this weekend to sharpen them, and when I put them back on I pulled an extra spaced washer that was stuffed in there long long ago. Then when I went to cut, one big swath of grass wasnt mowed at all.

Turns out that the nut for that spindle had all sorts of grass and rust from being exposed for years (due to the extra washer on the spindle). I had tightened things down pretty well, but it wasnt enough to seat the blade properly. I cleaned out the threads, cranked down on the nut, and cuts like a champ!

[can whlvr 994]

you should take the deck off and set it on a flat level area,then take a straight edge and place it across the blades,ya you might have to lie on your belly and take notice of the position of the blades,and move them and check again,it might be a bent blade,also make sure the spindles arnt shimmed differently with washers,you may be able to shim the others to match,ive seen some decks spread at the opening over time which lowers that side,some of my decks have a brace on the opening side to stop spreading,maybe you will get lucky and it isnt the shell

[kejo 0]

Thanks Don, I will try the straight edge across the blades tomorrow. i appreciate your advice. I don't think a blade is bent, as I sandwiched them together when I had them off to sharpen. They were all pretty uniform.

Now that you mention the spread, I think that might be it. The lower side is the discharge side, and it is bowed down at the discharge chute, as if someone stepped on it to climb on and off the tractor.

[tunahead72 2,543]

kejo,

It sounds like you might be on the right track with some of the earlier sugggestions.

A couple of other simple things to check before you think about giving up on this deck:

• [*:1d8jr25k]Are your blades correctly positioned with the sharp edges closest to the ground (don't laugh, I've gotten that wrong myself );[*:1d8jr25k]Is your deck level front-to-back, or more correctly, slightly lower in the front?[*:1d8jr25k]You mentioned your deck is lower on the right side, is this in both the "transport" (raised) position and when it's lowered to the ground? When your deck is raised, there's two rubber bumpers on the mower draft bars that should touch the bottom of the footrests, and the mower should be level in this position as well. Don't know if this would affect what you're seeing, but both of these things can be adjusted.

Good luck, and :hide:

[kejo 0]

Thanks Ed.

blades are correct, front of deck is slightly lower.

I'm not sure if the deck is uneven in the raised position also, but I will check that out also.

I do know that when the deck is in the cutting (lowered) position, there is a difference in the distance between the transport level stops and the deck's draft bars on each side. The difference appears to be roughly equal to the difference in the height of each side of the deck. In other words, on the right (lower) side, the draft bar rests on the transport stop, and on the left (higher) side, the draft bar is about 1-1.5" above the transport stop.

It bothers me more that I can't figure out why the deck is uneven, than the fact that it is uneven.

In any case, thanks again for your suggestions.

[tunahead72 2,543]

I just took a closer look at my own deck. When it's lowered, I have about 1-5/8" to 1-3/4" clearance between the draft bars and the transport stops, both stops at the bottom of their slots, close enough to level for me. I'm not convinced any more that this could be your problem, but it's easy enough to check and correct.

Some other possibilities -- the leveler on your deck has two sets of slots, you might want to check for excessive wear in any of those slots, or in the shaft that goes through the front set of holes into the deck brackets. If you don't have a large washer and cotter pin at the end of the lift bar, consider installing one to eliminate some of the side-to-side movement. For that matter, it wouldn't hurt to look at that whole lift assembly to see if there's anything obviously wrong, maybe interference with the lower steering shaft.

I know what you mean about wanting to know why -- are you noticing problems when you mow?

I'll send you a PM in a few minutes.

[The Toolman 22]

Clarkbug

I pulled an extra spaced washer that was stuffed in there long long ago.

If you look at the toro diagram for your deck, it probably shows a washer on the back side of the blade between it an the spindle brg/housing. I know on my 42 rear discharge deck it shows one. I'm dead sure they put them in there for a reason.

[Guest]

My brother-in-law recently bought a 520 where one of the blades was put on upside down. The PO probably used it to scalp his bermuda grass that way for at least a season, guessing by the reverse wear on the blade. The point is, it would still cut (sort of), and it was uneven. We didn't realize the issue right off the bat untill we flipped the deck. Not to accuse you of putting the blade on upside down, but it pays to look for the obvious sometimes.

[Clarkbug 0]

Clarkbug

I pulled an extra spaced washer that was stuffed in there long long ago.

If you look at the toro diagram for your deck, it probably shows a washer on the back side of the blade between it an the spindle brg/housing. I know on my 42 rear discharge deck it shows one. I'm dead sure they put them in there for a reason.

Thanks Toolman!

I left one washer in, and pulled the "extra" one out. (there were three on one of the spindles....)

[The Toolman 22]

By the way, did you ck to see if the PTO clutch was slipping any? Mine neeed adjusted about 3 threads worth to get it where it belonged an quit slipping. It would cut until I got into a little thicker grass an then would start slipping......

[kejo 0]

Okay, well, thanks for all the suggestions. Just to follow up on them all will take me till tomorrow. Unfortunately, as it has been raining here for a good week and a half, my grass was nearly a foot tall in places. So, I took the easy, temporary way out last night. I stopped by Tractor Supply and picked up a new wheel, 1

[Guest]

Also, make sure you have plenty of friction material left on the clutch. Don't run it if it's close to the rivets. It will take more pressure to keep it from slipping when the rivets get exposed (which could be a symptom) but more important it's going to ruin the other side of the clutch. Once while mowing with my 16-Auto I think I also noticed a slug of bearing grease go up from the clutch roller bearing onto the friction material and then smoke and burn up. It stopped the mower for a bit. I learned from that to run the thick tacky stuff on these clutch hubs and keep it to a minimum. What does everyone else use to grease these clutch hubs? I wonder if I'm doing it wrong. :hide:

[Clarkbug 0]

Also, make sure you have plenty of friction material left on the clutch. Don't run it if it's close to the rivets. It will take more pressure to keep it from slipping (which could be a symptom) but more important it's going to ruin the other side of the clutch. Once while mowing with my 16-Auto I think I also noticed a slug of bearing grease go up from the clutch roller bearing onto the friction material and then smoke and burn up. It stopped the mower for a bit. I learned from that to run the thick tacky stuff on these clutch hubs and keep it to a minimum. What does everyone else use to grease these clutch hubs? I wonder if I'm doing it wrong.

I know this is going OT and a thread jack, but what is the thickness of the clutch material supposed to be when its new? I want to avoid running it down too much for sure, and Im almost out of adjustment on my PTO trunion, so I wonder if Im down to the bottom...

[The Toolman 22]

On the grease on the clutch thing, make sure that you have a seal in the pulley to keep the grease in the brg an off of the clutch. The lip on the seal should be facing in toward the brg to hold the grease from coming out. Previous owner of my c-101 didn't think it needed a seal apparently.LOL

Now about the clutch. My 79 C-101 has a bonded clutch (no rivets) and it was out of adjustment threads with 1/8" or .125 clutch facing material left still. I just took the adjustment rod loose from the pto end an run a 3/8" coarse thread die down it an made about another 1" of threads on it. All it took to stop my slipping now was another 2 turns of the adjustment that I now had. At $58 for that plate, Im gonna get my moneys worth from it.

Rivet clutch plate guys, be careful about doing this. You don't wanna cut a slot in your pto pulley an ruin it

[The Toolman 22]

Clarkbug, just take the pulley off an you can see if its rivets or bonded.

Once the little brake tab an half circle thingy is out of the way, the whole mess willl just slide right off in your hand, leaving the clutch plate bolted to the drive pulley

[tunahead72 2,543]

So, I took the easy, temporary way out last night. I stopped by Tractor Supply and picked up a new wheel, 1

[mavfreak 11]

:hide:

[d.buckeye3 0]

Thanks for the quick response.

From what I was reading in the other thread, it did seem to me that the deck is sprung. I was just wondering if there is a way to be sure, before I write this deck off. Also, I'll have to pick up another one and I'd like a way to be sure that it doesn't have the same issue.

As for not cutting, I will check out your suggestions. The breaking spring I should have thought of first.

Thanks kindly.

I have a 42" SD, 5-1010. Sadly, it cuts unevenly also. All three NEW blades cut at an angle resulting in three stripes with @ 1/2 inch ht difference. Having read all I could about 42" SD, and regularly seeing that it has a reputation for getting sprung, I completely dismantled it. I proceeded to "unspring" it with a sledge and 2 lb hammer. This involved pounding around the spindle holes in the deck and continuously cross referencing to each one with a 48" and 18" straight edge across the underneath of the deck. This actually worked rather well, but only lasted half a cutting season before reverting back to its uneven striping. Also, there is a bolt on stiffening plate available from TORO, so they obviously know there was an issue. My TORO dealer said it was unavailable, but others on the board have been able to get one. Long story short..... best wishes with your endeavor, AND be wary when purchasing another 42"SD, so that you don't inherit the same problem you already have. Personally, I'm in the market for a 42" or 36" RD deck.

[can whlvr 994]

i have a 42 deck that came with my 308 when i bought it new in 1986,i had to cut the top of the deck off,weld on a new peice of 1/4 plate,drill out the holes and bolts but its the smoothest deck i own now,worth the effort