Mower deck

[sammy b. 4]

Hey all, probably answered own question. but how to change the 2 mower deck belts on 1968 500 special. They are original only number I can see is wheel horse 5178 and who has them thanks

[adsm08 2,059]

1 hour ago, sammy b. said:

Hey all, probably answered own question. but how to change the 2 mower deck belts on 1968 500 special. They are original only number I can see is wheel horse 5178 and who has them thanks

 

Gotta just about tear the whole deck apart to get those bugger off. The whole rotating assembly has to be unbolted from the deck shell. Make sure to time your blades correctly during reassembly.

 

Any proper length set of belts will do. I think I have a pair of Daycos on mine right now.

Edited August 6 by adsm08

[sammy b. 4]

Yup answered my own question. Good thing I have the original manual with diagram breakdown and parts list. Thanks man

[adsm08 2,059]

9 minutes ago, sammy b. said:

Yup answered my own question. Good thing I have the original manual with diagram breakdown and parts list. Thanks man

 

If it helps, it really sucks the first time, and then sucks less each time after that.

[sammy b. 4]

Sometimes things suck to fix, then your a pro next time around! Peice a cake lol

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,043]

Drive belt 1577 replaced by 7430 (1/2" x 28") [8975 in belt chart is wrong]
Spindle belts 1578 (3/8" x 37" matched pair)

[sammy b. 4]

I saw those numbers in my chart thanks for info. I have original manual with deck breakdown and part numbers. My grandfather wrote down correct numbers in manual, thanks for heads up

[Handy Don 12,227]

2 hours ago, adsm08 said:

Any proper length set of belts will do. I think I have a pair of Daycos on mine right now.

@adsm08 has you nicely covered.

Only things I can add are to always replace both at the same time with belts bought together. Note that the height of the belt (inside to outside) is critical so you need the right profile or the belt will rub on the deck shell.

[ri702bill 8,321]

Fun with gear drive decks!! If you feel adventureous, remove the spindle covers, clean out the old grease and check for excessive wear on the drive and driven gear teeth. IF they have never been apart, you can swap the drive gears side to side, and flip the driven gears over. That gives you NEW contact surfaces !! Ask @Handy Don..... he is a pro with these, can strip a deck in about 4 minutes !!  Regrease and enjoy....

Edited August 6 by ri702bill

[Handy Don 12,227]

5 hours ago, ri702bill said:

can strip a deck in about 4 minutes

Then spend 20 minutes trying to find one or two of those tiny screws for the gear covers that have magically disapparated along with the 1/2" socket 

Edited August 6 by Handy Don

[ri702bill 8,321]

2 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Then spend 20 minutes trying to find one or two of those tiny screws for the gear covers that have magically disapparated along with the 1/2" socket 

Look for the missing 10MM socket - the 1/2" is probably nearby!!  

[Handy Don 12,227]

8 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Look for the missing 10MM socket - the 1/2" is probably nearby!!  

I rarely use my metrics and when I do I keep close tabs on that 10mm. 

I finally bought a bag of those pesky screws so I’d always have them. That killed their fun and so they stopped disappearing (the ones I gave you are from that bag!)

[ri702bill 8,321]

Been working on a couple of "needs work" walk behind mowers for the other house. I finally added a 10 mm socket to my S-K 1/4" drive fractional set as it seems there are a mix of sizes on these Tecumseh and Briggs engines!! A true PITA.

[adsm08 2,059]

4 hours ago, ri702bill said:

Look for the missing 10MM socket - the 1/2" is probably nearby!!  

 

4 hours ago, Handy Don said:

I rarely use my metrics and when I do I keep close tabs on that 10mm. 

I finally bought a bag of those pesky screws so I’d always have them. That killed their fun and so they stopped disappearing (the ones I gave you are from that bag!)

 

 

I am always loosing my 7/16. The part that makes me mad is that all of my 11mm disappear at the same time.

[ri702bill 8,321]

8 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

 

 

 

I am always loosing my 7/16. The part that makes me mad is that all of my 11mm disappear at the same time.

Ya think they wander off to somekind of an international "Fastener Fest" ??? 

[adsm08 2,059]

27 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

Ya think they wander off to somekind of an international "Fastener Fest" ??? 

 

Maybe.

[adsm08 2,059]

23 hours ago, sammy b. said:

Sometimes things suck to fix, then your a pro next time around! Peice a cake lol

 

It's not even that they are that hard. I've broken down three of these decks now, and my experience with all of them is that aside from the blades being removed for sharpening the state of the hardware suggested that they had not been taken apart in several decades, if ever, so you have to deal with all that.

 

Once you get it apart the first time you can replace the hardware that needs replacing and hopefully things aren't as bad the next time.

[Handy Don 12,227]

15 hours ago, adsm08 said:

Once you get it apart the first time you can replace the hardware that needs replacing and hopefully things aren't as bad the next time.

Exactly what I discovered. Clean hardware but lots of grease--grab those nitriles and the end-of-life rags! 

[adsm08 2,059]

6 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Exactly what I discovered. Clean hardware but lots of grease--grab those nitriles and the end-of-life rags! 

 

 

The one you just walked me through doing the bearings, I think I used two whole rolls of paper towels.

 

I'm out of cloth rags.

[Handy Don 12,227]

1 hour ago, adsm08 said:

I'm out of cloth rags.

My rags largely come from clothing that my spouse declares “no longer wearable” but between this tractor hobby and the charity that's now getting the frayed cotton towels and sheets (there is apparently a pretty decent market for stuff without synthetics--maybe to make shop rags!), I’m getting low myself. Hmmmm. 

 

[adsm08 2,059]

3 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

My rags largely come from clothing that my spouse declares “no longer wearable” but between this tractor hobby and the charity that's now getting the frayed cotton towels and sheets (there is apparently a pretty decent market for stuff without synthetics--maybe to make shop rags!), I’m getting low myself. Hmmmm. 

 

 

 

I used to just  borrow from work, take them back for wash, and bring a few others home as needed, but the uniform company that supplies our shop rags switched to a plant based detergent about a year ago and it doesn't get them clean at all. At this point most of our rags are water resistant.

[sammy b. 4]

I repurpose my work shirts, say they got dirty get brand new ones. Cotton rags, if you turn inside out they're clean baby! Goodwill has great shirts for rags get 20 for 3 bucks