Reconditioning mowing deck

[porschpow 7]

Good Morning everybody!

 

I am in the process of sharpening the blades for my mowing deck (Model 78360 - Serial 7904987) and I noticed that the deck has a crack in it right where the bracket to the mounting hardware (to the tractor) is. SO I know I have to get that repaired.

 

But while I was at this, I thought I could do a good quick once over on the deck to make sure I am ready for the season.

What I would like to do is the following:

Change the bearings for the spindles (or pack them with more grease)

Get new rear tires (since they squeak)

And that's about it

 

If anyone here thinks I should do anything else, I would love to hear it!

 

Where does everyone get the hardware (bearings, wheels for these rebuilds?)

[pacer 3,169]

Cracks there - and several other places - are quite common on these decks, so give a good inspection of all the mounting points.

 

About the bearings, there was a recent post about replacing these, debating whether to retain the open type that has to have grease forced into them, or go to sealed bearings (I have gone to sealed personally)

 

As for tires, ebay has so many types/sizes/shapes/and price ranges that a guy could get dizzy going through them. Just go to search and put your size in and set back and peruse them.

[porschpow 7]

What else needs to be addressed on these decks that I should worry about?

[1940willys 120]

Cup wire wheel and putty knife off all the crud/ matted grass. Prime, rustolium rusty metal primer, recoat rustolium regal red. Every year at the end of the season.

 

[porschpow 7]

Even though my Serial Number is 7904987 and is after the 7900001 in the manual, I am assuming it is the same thing

 

For the Bearings, I have art number 109966 and it calls for 6 bearings

For the Wheels, the part number is 110506 and it calls for 2.

For the Belt, which I am guessing one should change, the part number is 1594, and it call for 1.

[roadapples 6,983]

Always been told to drill a small hole, about 1/8" at the end of a crack to stop it from going further...then have the crack welded....

.

[porschpow 7]

All right folks, so I had managed to take apart the deck, question:

 

How do you get the bearings out of the spindle?

 

I had also noticed, the right most spindle (closest to the clippings ejection area) has a piece of the spindle come off (where it bolts onto the deck) I take it that cannot be repaired and its probably just easier to buy a new one right?

[lynnmor 7,303]

If the spindle housing is broken, I would replace it.

 

The bar that connects to the belt tension spring can wear at the bolts.  The plastic bushings on the bolts wear as well. 

[porschpow 7]

[porschpow 7]

Also in the pic below shows the hole that was ripped out from wear and tear!

[porschpow 7]

[porschpow 7]

Anybody know how to get a bearing out of the spindle.

[porschpow 7]

And where can I find a spindle for a good price? I take it I shouldn't buy a used one?

[cleat 5,894]

Used is fine so long as it is in good shape.

 

I have bought on ebay, Kijiji etc.

 

Sometimes it is best to buy a junk deck with a couple of good spindles and assorted other parts.

On 5/3/2018 at 8:50 AM, porschpow said:

Anybody know how to get a bearing out of the spindle.

 Remove the lower snap ring and the bearings just tap out from the opposite side.

 

[porschpow 7]

Okay, it took a while, but I rebuilt the deck and linked it up to the tractor to give it a try.  I guess the grass is really high (first cut in the season) since it didn't cut right (it left mohawk's of taller grass if you know what I mean).

 

I have two questions (keep in mind I don't have a mulcher):

  If the grass is really tall 6+ inches, what is the best way to cut the grass?

  Even on the highest setting, it seems like it cuts pretty low.  Am I missing something here?

 

I usually do the circling of the lawn and end up with piles of grass clippings, but I know I am going to have mountains of grass clippings to deal with (my back hurts just thinking about it). I was thinking of going up and down (striping I guess its called), but I am wondering if its just going to be a mess with the clippings and all.

 

I properly set the deck slope with it being 1/4 inch lower in the front. However, it is still 2.75 inches which I think is too low!  Any help would be appreciated

[stumplifter 9]

On 5/4/2018 at 12:28 PM, porschpow said:

And where can I find a spindle for a good price? I take it I shouldn't buy a used one?

 

I should be able to post a 2d mechanical drawing this weekend of the spindles from my deck in this thread:

 

It is for the two outside (shorter) spindles on a 48” deck.  If there is a machine shop near you or if you have machining skills you can make your own.

Edited May 24, 2018 by stumplifter

[Sarge 3,463]

The best way to cut tall grass is in stages - never cut more than about 2.5"-3" of grass at a time, otherwise, you'll have a yard looking like a mowed hay field. If it is that tall, I'd do it in 2 stages and get it knocked down. WH decks are notorious for cutting short, and their airflow pattern seems to prefer it as well. Either way, if the green stuff has gotten away from you it's going to take picking up at least some of the clippings after cutting it down to a normal height or you'll be fighting it for weeks. 

 

Striping pattern mowing has some benefits - one being the clippings are recycled through the blades a second time, making them finer and easier to be turned to fertilizer. Mowing in a circular pattern and only cutting the stuff on one pass makes for a lot more clippings that take much longer to degrade and go away. The two main keys to using these decks are to keep those blades sharpened and the deck very clean, these are low rpm designs and cannot disperse heavy clippings like the more modern commercial units with much higher blade tip speeds and better airflow designs. It will take longer, but with some effort, there's no reason a good WH deck can't produce the same results as units that are 40+yrs newer.

 

Sarge

[porschpow 7]

5 minutes ago, Sarge said:

The best way to cut tall grass is in stages - never cut more than about 2.5"-3" of grass at a time, otherwise, you'll have a yard looking like a mowed hay field. If it is that tall, I'd do it in 2 stages and get it knocked down. WH decks are notorious for cutting short, and their airflow pattern seems to prefer it as well. Either way, if the green stuff has gotten away from you it's going to take picking up at least some of the clippings after cutting it down to a normal height or you'll be fighting it for weeks. 

 

Striping pattern mowing has some benefits - one being the clippings are recycled through the blades a second time, making them finer and easier to be turned to fertilizer. Mowing in a circular pattern and only cutting the stuff on one pass makes for a lot more clippings that take much longer to degrade and go away. The two main keys to using these decks are to keep those blades sharpened and the deck very clean, these are low rpm designs and cannot disperse heavy clippings like the more modern commercial units with much higher blade tip speeds and better airflow designs. It will take longer, but with some effort, there's no reason a good WH deck can't produce the same results as units that are 40+yrs newer.

 

Sarge

 

 

I figured I would have to go in stages.  Only thing is the deck is at its highest level.  I don’t know what else I could do to heighten the deck. I didn’t know that WH decks cut notoriously low. But the highest I can cut is 3 inches. Is that normal??

Only other way I can do it is raise the deck all the way up and cut. Is that frowned upon?

So when I stripe, what is the best way to do it? I had never done this technique before.

When you say these mowers are low RPM designs, what is the suggested rpm I should stay at and not exceed? The manual says to just go maximum throttle for best results. Pretty vague

[clueless 2,976]

1 hour ago, porschpow said:

Okay, it took a while, but I rebuilt the deck and linked it up to the tractor to give it a try.  I guess the grass is really high (first cut in the season) since it didn't cut right (it left mohawk's of taller grass if you know what I mean).

 

I have two questions (keep in mind I don't have a mulcher):

  If the grass is really tall 6+ inches, what is the best way to cut the grass?

  Even on the highest setting, it seems like it cuts pretty low.  Am I missing something here?

 

I usually do the circling of the lawn and end up with piles of grass clippings, but I know I am going to have mountains of grass clippings to deal with (my back hurts just thinking about it). I was thinking of going up and down (striping I guess its called), but I am wondering if its just going to be a mess with the clippings and all.

 

I properly set the deck slope with it being 1/4 inch lower in the front. However, it is still 2.75 inches which I think is too low!  Any help would be appreciated

So did you get the deck welded were it was cracked, you said you needed new back wheels, did you get them, if so are they the right size? New blades, are they the right length, and are they on correctly, beveled side up? It doesn't take much to get the things out of adjustment. Sounds like you've done a fair amount of work to the deck, that almost always means you need to readjust ever things. If you don't have the manual on how to adjust it, get one, it's really the only way to do it right, with out allot of frustrating guessing .

[porschpow 7]

Yes deck was welded. The guy did a FANTASTIC JOB.  He even found cracks that I didn't see! The wheels I believe are the right size.  I ended up not changing them (for now). Blades are the right ones! All nice and sharpened, UNTIL I Scalped A rock!  I was so pissed!  The blades are on right. I responded to Sarge here he had some good points, like you, but I asked him some follow up questions.

 

[lynnmor 7,303]

When mowing, you run the engine full speed which is about 3600 RPM.

 

To get maximum mow height, level the deck so that it doesn’t angle down in front like the manual might specify.  That alone will raise it up a bit, more than you might think.  I have one original manual that actually says to be 1/8” higher in front, but that may be a mistake.  Of course when adjusting level, be sure that tire air pressure is correct.

[Sarge 3,463]

Always run the engine at full rated rpm when mowing - that rpm is needed to make the power and cool the engine properly. You can indeed mow with the deck at transport height - it won't hurt anything as long as all the brackets are working correctly. For models that use the stops that rest against the tractor's frame, those can be set to hold the deck fairly level in transport mode - it should go up to around 5" or more in mowing height.

 

Striping is easy - cut one direction, turn around and make a pass along what you just cut while allowing about a 6" overlap. It's just a simple back and forth - watch one of the commercial guys in the area in how they mow a property - they do it this way for a reason.

 

Sarge

[clueless 2,976]

Most grass cutting decks require a 1/8 inch drop in the front for the best cut. Since the blade only has one side beveled, (that side up) the drop make the blade cut at the optimum angle. You can level the deck and it will cut okay just not as well. The maxs cutting height on these things is around 3 and 1/2 inches, you can cut higher, your just not going to get a great cut. A strip of tall grass (mohawk) is not the same as striping, it mean you have a blade, a RPM, or an adjustment issue. As far as cutting tall grass, a little at a time is best.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,039]

All manufacturers are bound by the regulated 19,200 feet per minute blade tip speed. Have never heard this has changed.

 

Garry

[porschpow 7]

I think I was around there, I was darn close to 4,000rpm.  I just didn’t want to blow the engine ha-ha-ha!

 

Yeah, When I measured, I used the blade by the chute and measured the front and back, it was around 1/4 inch lower in the front. I guess I can go closer to 1/8 or level. Am I doing it right?

 

Ok, I guess the overlap is so the clippings get distributed finer, so the key is that 6inch overlap! Really, 3-1/2 inches? That’s it? Wow! I know the Mohawk things is not striping, I just notice that I get that Mohawk strip of grass when the grass is really high. The blades are sharp, I just don’t get it.  Maybe it’s too high? I guess I need to go slooower.  I was going around 3700-3900 rpm, I guess I should back off the throttle!

 

19,200 feet per minute??? How does that convert to RPM?