Underside mower deck protection

[jeff lary 171]

Just wondering,.. is there  a consensus of what to use to protect the underside of your mower deck ?

 I have a 3-14-8 tractor (new to me last summer) and today just took the deck off today flipped it cleaned it and welded a few cracks up. I cleaned it very well putty knife , wire cup and wheel. Then I painted it with 3 coats of CRC Rust Converter. I have Fluid Film on hand that I can use,.. on my 3-12-8 deck I have used a 3-M Under Coating before that seems to work ok. Is there a better best product out there to try? Thanks for you opinion's,.. Jeff

[peter lena 8,580]

hello Jeff,  probably the most important thing you can do Is , FREQUENTLY CLEAN IT , I drop and clean mine twice during cutting season, clean/scrap down, most important is oil spray down and air and sun drying. that kills of the crud , the oil, I use chain and cable spray, made for brutal industrial chain system's.  LUBRIPLATE CHAIN AND CABLE, really stands up and soaks into metal. end of season , do it again and leave deck upside down , cleaned, oil sprayed, blades sharpened , leave it upside down to dry out and soak in the oil.  I like fluid film also, key is to regularly clean deck, that moist grass sitting and building up for months is a guaranteed rotted deck. Break the cycle , wheel horse decks are a 5 minute drop, its easy to stay after it. I never liked the idea of having a sealer on metal that is constantly in a wet environment , regularly breaking that cycle , will make your deck live.  it works for me , pete

[1940willys 120]

I'll putty knife and wire cup wheel at the end of the season. I have been useing Rustolium Rusty metal Primer and a top coat of Rustolium Regal Red on the two  RD decks I have. I swear by the brush on paint, it's bullet proof. During the mowing season I'll remove the deck and use a plastic putty knife and a air hose to clean the clots out. My complaint is the wheel horse designed the two decks I have with places in the baffling that you can't get inside of. I was pondering hole sawing so I could get in there. The best I can do now is a coat hanger to hook the crud out, and blow it out with the air hose.  

[jeff lary 171]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will at least do the Fluid Film if I cannot think of something better.

[peter lena 8,580]

8 hours ago, 1940willys said:

I'll putty knife and wire cup wheel at the end of the season. I have been useing Rustolium Rusty metal Primer and a top coat of Rustolium Regal Red on the two  RD decks I have. I swear by the brush on paint, it's bullet proof. During the mowing season I'll remove the deck and use a plastic putty knife and a air hose to clean the clots out. My complaint is the wheel horse designed the two decks I have with places in the baffling that you can't get inside of. I was pondering hole sawing so I could get in there. The best I can do now is a coat hanger to hook the crud out, and blow it out with the air hose.  

 

[peter lena 8,580]

used 1, 1/16 " hole saw in center of baffle triangle, to vent /clean and oil spray. it works , pete

[lynnmor 7,302]

I pull up on a ramp and clean with a garden hose after EVERY mowing.  Whenever the deck is off, I scrape off any remaining buildup, then apply Fluid Film.  I find that that the Fluid Film is pretty much gone after a couple of mowings, but I like the way it penetrates between parts.

 

I do need instruction on how to remove or install a 60" deck in five minutes.

[1940willys 120]

Brilliant minds think alike. Ha Ha

[jeff lary 171]

Back after a  hard day's work ha ha, I will go with the fluid film I guess.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I'm all ears but I'll share what I've done.  Clean, dry (even torch to speed things up!) WD-40, next day motor oil.  Wipe off the excess and spread on some grease.  

[mrc 810]

hi jeff, all good suggestions above.  the key is you can never clean it too often! best regards mike in mass.

[jeff lary 171]

I agree, clean often and welI, I was really surprised how much heavier it is compared to my 37" deck on the 3/12/8. I had my son help me get it up onto a big rolling table I have. That way it was at least waist height to work on. Now I have to sharpen the blades and fluid film it up.

 I am thinking of hooking up the tiller and running it through the garden some before I put the deck on anyway. First I have to see if the boys mower is up to snuff to mow lawns while I have the tiller on. He bought an old yard man I think it is last summer.

 I rigged the 3/12/8 to keep the tiller on and the mower deck at the same time so maybe I will do the same with this 3/14/8. My original 3/12/8 is rigged for snow blowing with a cab so that one will stay that way.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I'm pleased to hear "Fluid Film" so often.  I think it is a much underused product.

Edited May 7, 2018 by DennisThornton

[jeff lary 171]

I use it in the winter inside the blower to keep the snow from sticking. Works very well.

[jeff lary 171]

Well I finished up the deck this morning sharpened the blades primed and painted the welds and the rest of the deck. I coated the underside in Fluid Film then under coated the small area that in the photo still appears to be dirty ( after I took the photo). I took one picture of a blade while it is in good shape I recorded it's measurements for future reference. This deck does not have a Model or Serial decal on it so I figured knowing what the almost new blade looks like and measurements will be a help someday when I need new.

After I finished that I went to the garden and pulled last years cornstalks and tomato vines. Then I came home and hooked up the tiller to the 3-14-8 while I had the deck off. I went back to the garden and gave it a tilling.

 

 I do however have a question on the low range selector. This tractor is new to me as of last summer and I have not used Low range before today. The tiller works best I think in low range 1st or 2nd gear. The issue is the low range lever keeps popping out into the neutral position between hi and low. The lever is at the absolute far left in the deck shift pattern cut out and cannot move further to the left like I think it should / needs to.

 What causes this? I generally never use low but tilling it's a must. I will till the garden maybe once or twice more then I will put the mower deck back on for the rest of the summer..I have a Cub Cadet rear tine tiller for the rest of the tilling as it is needed  I am just wondering why it wants to pop out of low , not constantly but every pass in the first few feet it pops out then I put it back and most of the time it stays in till the next pass. The garden is maybe 100' long 40' wide.

[peter lena 8,580]

good going on that deck, you are making it live on . both fluid film and chain and cable spray will stain and feed that underside, after I clean underside and oil spray down , I leave it in the sun , like you have, give it a chance to dry out and heat up in the sun, just the opposed of the life it lives. I also do this in the fall ,to winter over   , upside down soaking in the oil, cleaned ,greased and checked out. most of the decks I see are garbage, spider cracks from spindle impacts, no lubrication what so ever, squealing bearings and frayed belts. how can you do that?  pete

[jeff lary 171]

yea I agree I don't understand either these things work well and cost a lot of money to buy,.. in my book that means take care of them. I saw your response and was hoping you may have an answer concerning the Hi / Low transmission issue.

[1940willys 120]

Post the transmission Question in the Transmission  threads for more info on that  Question. My guess is Transmission experts reside there.

[jeff lary 171]

I had been thinking the same thing. Now it's mowing season so I will not be using low range till at least next spring. I been wondering if where the shifter connects to the transmission if maybe it is splined? If so maybe I could remove it and reposition it one tooth to the right.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,033]

22 minutes ago, jeff lary said:

I had been thinking the same thing. Now it's mowing season so I will not be using low range till at least next spring. I been wondering if where the shifter connects to the transmission if maybe it is splined? If so maybe I could remove it and reposition it one tooth to the right.

There is a roll or split pin that connects the shifter to the vertical shifter shaft. Wondering if you removed it and bent the shifter back where it goes on the shaft or perhaps it is already bent causing the problem.

 

Garry

[ronhatch 406]

IMHO Popping out of gear is usually worn splines or shifting fork. Sorry!

[jeff lary 171]

could be anything I suppose