locked up deck

[Elkskin's mower junkyard 1,117]

ok my dad has 2 or 3 32 or how ever big the small decks are (we havent found the 3rd deck hope we didnt scrap it) well 2 we do know where they are at are locked. blades sort of move so know thats not problem problem is the shaft between the boxes are not moving. these are the early decks for like the 502 and 754.

how would we go about freeing them up one deck had new bearings 10+ years ago.

[squonk 41,018]

You need new tower bearings and possibly a cross shaft.

[953 nut 55,054]

Best bet is to remove the shafts the blades are attached to and inspect/clean and lubricate/replace the bearings. As Mike said, the cross shaft also has bearings. Nothing magical here, just basic maintenance. Here is a manual, they are all about the same.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by 953 nut

[oliver2-44 9,678]

Several days before and as you disassemble them soak the bearings, gears, moving parts with a penetrating oil like PB Blaster. if they haven't moved in 10+ years they could just be locked up by hardened grease. There a change those 10 year old new bearing could be OK, but you could damage them by forcing them to turn.  With that said bearings are usually not that expensive so if you actually take it all apart, the cost of new bearings might be worth the labor you are going through.

 

PS Never spin a dry bearing if you think you might reuse it.   

[Elkskin's mower junkyard 1,117]

i got them both freed up. one is now a parts deck due to bad pulley on shaft between boxes (and shaft is all pitted badly and flaking). both decks had the what i beleive are part of lift assembly rusted to the shaft. i would of been on last night to reply but had tech issues. got it straightened out this morning

Edited August 19, 2016 by craftsmanmowerfreak