Spindle damage.

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

So, as some of you may know, I finally got around to replacing my rusted, welded mess of a mower deck on my 310. 

If you look closely at the spindle nearest the shoot, you’ll see it has a chunk missing. And that chunk just so happens to be where one of the four bolts should be. Would it be possible to rob a spindle off my old 42 rear discharge? They seem to have the same dimensions. 

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

Also how would y’all go about getting the stuck spindle pulleys off? I’d like to save as many parts as possible as my budget wouldn’t allow for many replacement parts. 
Also, would any of you recommend even using this deck in its current state? I don’t really think the spindle will come flying off unless I hit anything. Besides many new mowers only have 3 bolts to begin with.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Ifixoldjunk

[Stepney 2,325]

Long as it lines up you'll be fine. WH was very universal.
For what it's worth, I've been running a similar bad spindle on a 48SD for many years. I placed the broken hole opposite of the direction the belt pulls. It's never bothered it. 

[Handy Don 12,170]

If it were my deck, I'd be happy to have a spindle "in the bin" that fits and works. I'd have it in there ASAP and then enjoy a nice cup of coffee as a reward.

[76c12091520h 3,608]

Spindle housings will share the same bolt pattern and can be swapped from one deck to another; the pulleys may or may not not interchange depending on what vintage your decks are. 

[daveoman1966 3,745]

Remove the pulley.  With pulley off, remove the four (3) mounting bolts and turn the 'chunk' so that it is on the side toward the chute.  Bolt it back on in that position and reinstall the pulley.  This is the best way to maintain stability of the spindle under belt tension.  It should last for years and years...and years.  You could, of course, swap out the spindle from another 42 (or 48") deck, but the pulleys may or may not interchange....depending on vintage.

    

[pacer 3,168]

[71_Bronco 1,072]

 

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

@71_Bronco @Handy Don Thank y’all for your help. I ended up following your advice and pulled the spindle off the parts deck. After getting them swapped, I sat back and enjoyed some coffee too.😅

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

So I swapped over the spindles tonight, as it turns out the bearings were shot too, so swapping them was a necessity. It has a pretty nasty chunk missing off it.

[kpinnc 11,934]

Wet grass is the most corossive stuff on earth. Even steel spindles fall to it eventually. 

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

10 hours ago, kpinnc said:

Wet grass is the most corossive stuff on earth. Even steel spindles fall to it eventually. 

Yeah, it’s some nasty stuff. But this was caused by the previous owner trying to mow his rock garden.🤣

[kpinnc 11,934]

37 minutes ago, Ifixoldjunk said:

Yeah, it’s some nasty stuff. But this was caused by the previous owner trying to mow his rock garden.🤣

 

Can't imagine that being an issue...

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

11 hours ago, kpinnc said:

most corossive stuff on earth

 

A lot of the aluminum damage I've seen appears that it could be from electrolysis.

 

Aluminum is sometimes used as a sacrificial anode.

 

Put aluminum and steel together in the presence of an electrolyte (the acidic wet matted grass) and you get an electrolytic reaction.  The aluminum 'sacrifices' itself to protect the steel.  Of course it's not supposed to do this as it would in a water heater for example.

 

It's all about 'ion exchange'.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_anode

 

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

8 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

A lot of the aluminum damage I've seen appears that it could be from electrolysis.

 

Aluminum is sometimes used as a sacrificial anode.

 

Put aluminum and steel together in the presence of an electrolyte (the acidic wet matted grass) and you get an electrolytic reaction.  The aluminum 'sacrifices' itself to protect the steel.  Of course it's not supposed to do this as it would in a water heater for example.

 

It's all about 'ion exchange'.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_anode

 

 

Wow, never knew that. That’s probably why some of these decks are still so nice. The aluminum eats itself first. Thanks man.

[Jeff-C175 7,199]

2 hours ago, Ifixoldjunk said:

The aluminum eats itself first

 

The weird thing is why are SOME decks steel all rusted out and the spindles OK?  

 

And others the opposite...

 

If the aluminum IS in fact acting as a sacrificial anode, why does it not do so on ALL decks?

 

And some, no problem at all?  Presumably these are the ones that get maintained, the one I rebuilt last year didn't suffer from the aluminum corrosion at all, but the spindles WERE all ground off on the bottom from what I believe to have been sand and grit and 'stuff' packed into the bottom of the cup at the bottom of the spindle.  

 

 

[Ifixoldjunk 778]

57 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

The weird thing is why are SOME decks steel all rusted out and the spindles OK?  

 

And others the opposite...

 

If the aluminum IS in fact acting as a sacrificial anode, why does it not do so on ALL decks?

 

And some, no problem at all?  Presumably these are the ones that get maintained, the one I rebuilt last year didn't suffer from the aluminum corrosion at all, but the spindles WERE all ground off on the bottom from what I believe to have been sand and grit and 'stuff' packed into the bottom of the cup at the bottom of the spindle.  

 

 

Honestly I think it comes down to mowing habits and grass type/soil conditions. I’d imagine someone with more acidic soil would probably go through more mowers than someone without that. More so, does the owner mow damp grass frequently? Do they clean the build up? Probably thousands of variables to how the decks weather the years.