LX266 mower making strange noises when PTO (Mower) engaged

[Bota4me]

David, thats a great idea with the two decks if you can do that. I understand your frustration tho. On a different note i had a friend just tell me his friends 25 year old daughter had a freak accident while driving her 2 month old baby was crying in the back of car , she took off her seatbelt when her husband got distracted went off the road and she was ejected from vehicle and died. Absolutely horrible. Very nice people.
It makes my problems seem pretty trivial for sure.
I am praying for that family. Best of luck david

 

[SSdoxie]

David,
I think the noise you are hearing is that brace across the discharge, with it broken loose it can move just enough for the end of the blade to hit it. I had the same noise you described a couple weeks ago on my sears mower and that brace had twisted so the end of the blade was draging on it.

Give the small engine repair guy a call, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a small wire feed welder and could put it back together for you.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

David,
I think the noise you are hearing is that brace across the discharge, with it broken loose it can move just enough for the end of the blade to hit it. I had the same noise you described a couple weeks ago on my sears mower and that brace had twisted so the end of the blade was draging on it.

Give the small engine repair guy a call, I wouldn't be surprised if he has a small wire feed welder and could put it back together for you.

Dennis,

THAT Makes sense! I will check it out.

I'm looking for a new small engine guy (actually I've decided to start doing all my own maintenance again).

But I will check it out.

David

 

[Yellowfever440]

A 266 only has 16 hp, with that mower the biggest deck you would want would be the 48c. The 54c is a little big, it would work as long as you go slower but it would be under powered. Usually when a garden tractor or lawn mower has too big of a deck the engine wears out much faster. Like the 425 Deere tractors, 60 inch usually only 1500 hrs or a few more, 54 deck usually 2000 or so and 48 inch deck usually 2200-2700 hrs. So if you going to upgrade go with the 48c.

 

[Yellowfever440]

But even a decent welder would fix your original deck and strength the cracks a little and it will run for a really long time.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

But even a decent welder would fix your original deck and strength the cracks a little and it will run for a really long time.

So... How do I find a "decent Welder"?

Unfortuantely I don't know of one for sure amongst my associates, and I will be reduced to going through the phone book or similar.

Any suggestions?

David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

A 266 only has 16 hp, with that mower the biggest deck you would want would be the 48c. The 54c is a little big, it would work as long as you go slower but it would be under powered. Usually when a garden tractor or lawn mower has too big of a deck the engine wears out much faster. Like the 425 Deere tractors, 60 inch usually only 1500 hrs or a few more, 54 deck usually 2000 or so and 48 inch deck usually 2200-2700 hrs. So if you going to upgrade go with the 48c.

YellowFever440,

THAT is solid and reasonable advice, it even makes sense.

Now the question is, will 6" extra width be worth the investment of ~$750?

Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.

David

 

[Yellowfever440]

Well finding a decent welder good be difficult, if you have a local John Deere dealer or agriculture dealer in the area they would know of a good welder in the area, they may weld themselves, but a professional metal worker would be the better choice. I would probably just find a good welder over spending 750 bucks on a deck. Eventually they wont have replacement decks available for that series of tractor. It could be 10 years or 30 years before they stop producing that deck, no one knows, they will just stop. I wouldn't worry so much about that though. When ever your driving the mower and loading it on a trailer or driving into the shed, make sure your deck doesn't hit anything unless the gauge wheels roll across the top of whatever they hit, if the deck bounces or springs front to back that will crack the deck out faster. If you don't hit the deck on stuff it will last a very long time. Even trimming around stuff, if you hit the side of the deck on trees or landscaping edging, it will break or bend the linkage that connects the deck to the tractor. I know I'm jumping around a bit but, when your asking a dealer for a good welder, just tell them you want it to look good and you want it to last, they probably have a guy or company they use when a repair is too much for them. Also what state are you located in.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Yellow,

I'm in Virginia, near Ladysmihlth and Fredericksburg is nearest real city.

 

[beenthere]

I'd look for the welders in the country (called a blacksmith shop around here), and talk to some locals in small towns (hardware store, implement dealer, car shop) or at cafe's where some older farmers may be hanging out.
When you find one that is good, they will be very busy (at least that is the way around here and I've resorted to doing some personal favors for my welder just to avoid long delays on projects - plus he is a great kid).