Mowing Mower problem

[deadstick]

I thought I would ask this here to see if anyone has run into this or has any ideas....

My 60" mower has been working great and then all of a sudden while I was mowing I heard this huge clanking noise. I shut her down and then turn her on and it starts clanking again. So I stop the tractor and move the blades by hand and notice that one of the side blades is now rubbing on the edge of the mower casing. The opposite side blade has about 1/8" space between it and the casing while this one now rubs. The blade is bolted on through a center hole so there is no wiggle room there.

I swap the two outer blades and the new blade still rubs. It looks like to me that the spindle must have moved but for the life of me it looks just fine. This thing is bolted on and doesn't look like it could move...

I don't think the casing has been bent because it is very thick and looks just like the opposite side. I opened the top part where you can see the pulleys and belt and everything looks normal, the belt is tight and when I hand rotate the blades everything seems to work ok.

I'm kind of confused how this blade is now rubbing. Any ideas?

 

[MossRoad]

I think you are looking in the right direction. If the blade moved, it would be off center and create a horrible wobble. Also, isn't the center hole the same size as the bolt? If so, it can't move, so that isn't it.

Next it could be that the deck is bent. But I think you'd be able to see it.

How does the spindle mount? Look for marks where it might have been and moved. If it is mounted in bolt holes, it couldn't have moved.

You'd know if you hit anything hard enough to bend the deck.

This IS a puzzler. Let us know what you find out.

 

[pajoube]

Check the inside of the deck (usually front end) and see if you have a seperate piece of metal going across the front end. This is sometimes used to created the rounded curve that is needed to get the grass thrown out the side or back.
This is welded and will come lose causing the blade to strike and give the noise you mention.
PJ

 

[deadstick]

I had a closer look this morning and noticed the bracket that you bolt the blade to (on the spindle) wasn't as straight as the opposite one. I took the whole spindle off and after looking at it from a few different angles and rotating it I could see it had been bent....

Looks like the mystery is solved and I will be talking to Power-Trac on Monday. Hopefully the whole spindle/pulley part is covered by warranty...

I obviously hit something to bend it, but I'm kind of surprised it bent so easily. By the looks of how it's put together you would think the blade would bend before they did..

Anyway thanks for the suggestions and I will let you know how it turns out (ie: is it covered by warranty, how much the part costs etc...)

 

[MossRoad]

Glad you found the reason... sorry it is a bent part. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

 

[deadstick]

Well talked to Power-Trac and they were surprised that I bent one as well. Unfortunately, warranty doesn't cover this as I obviously hit something. The good news is the complete assembly is $50 + shipping. I was expecting atleast double that... Should be back to mowing real soon /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[MossRoad]

$50.00! Hey, that's not too bad /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Any idea what you hit?

I have a corner of my sidewalk that I hit and it just loosened the blade up. It started making the noise that you described. All I had to do was tighten the bolt. Surprised that I didn't bend something up. Good to know the part is reasonably priced.

 

[deadstick]

Future reference for people that might need to replace this part:

$50 for the part
$7 shipping to Austin, TX

The part is the complete unit from the pulley to the bracket that holds the blade.

The part comes without the grease zerk and the four nuts to bolt it to the mower (it does come with the bolts)