Mowing vibration when mower is engaged

[mhampton]

I will check the spindles and replace the blades. Probably a good time to change the oil and filters as well. Based on the condition of the home, maintenance was not the previous owners forte.

 

[mhampton]

Update: Snow started flying back in Nov so this got put off until now. Went ahead and pulled the deck off and gave it a thorough cleaning and visual check. Not any more buildup than I would have expected but it looked like it has never been cleaned. The blades were in pretty bad shape so i pulled them off for replacement. Rotated all the spindles manually with belt and the middle one had a very slight off center spin. Other two looked fine. I will try the new blades and see if the vibration is gone. Also, is there a chance that the belt is stretched and causing the vibration? It took almost no effort to let off the tension bar so my thought is the belt is not very tight.

 

[2458n]

The spindle with,"slight off center spin"will be the problem. Stretched belt will cause slipping not vibration. New blades will help if they were not balanced - but if vibration is still is there after replacing the blades it is time for a new spindle.

 

[mhampton]

That is my thought too. Is the "spindle" the entire assembly? I see in parts diagrams that there is a shaft, mandrel housing, bearing ring, mandrel pull, etc. I am thinking the shaft is what would be bent. I suppose I should just go a head and pull the whole thing a part while I have the deck removed to see if the "spindle?" is in fact bent.

 

[art]

Buy the spindle! Don't go any further! When spinning the other spindles when spinning slow did they spin freely or did there seem to be catches or small lumps or stops?

Look at the sides of the belt for wear, take the belt down to sears and see if they have one there for you to compare the length. Look at the pulleys for belt build up. It doesn't hurt to have a spare driive belt.

 

[mhampton]

They spin pretty freely with no hangups. Also no sign of belt wear on the pulleys. So what exactly is the spindle. I don't see in parts diagram.

 

[2458n]

Spindle will have a pulley on top and a place to attach your blade on the bottom. It will be mounted vertically thru the deck with parts on top of the deck and under. SPINDLE SPINS ON BEARINGS -these may be bad.

 

[mhampton]

Thanks, I kind of assumed that after further research. So now the question is how much should I expect to pay for a spindle? there is a huge difference in price online. I have seen anywhere from $65 for a single spindle without screws and such to $85 for a three pack with all screws included. I don't want to buy junk so any recommendations on where to buy and how much one should be?

 

[mhampton]

Replaced the blades and the vibration is gone. Cuts like butter now.

 

[JerryK]

Great.. !!!! [ remember in the future, that you can get badly ballanced blades from the factory, too.. ]