Re: 1050 with 50\" mower problem
At this point after reading what has already been checked and mentioned, I would (safely and carefully of course) drive the tractor up on a set of car ramps to where you can run the deck and actually see what is going on with that center blade- it would involve temporarily bypassing safety switches, etc. I kind of suspect its spindle is binding, but it's very hard to tell unless you can actually watch it. I noticed when rebuilding my 44C that the MTD made aluminum spindle housings are sensitive to the blades being properly torqued, if too tight the bearings will not spin freely. (And too loose the blades fall off- you can't win /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif)
The deck belt tensioners on the CC's haven't changed much since the beginning, so I'm fairly safe to say its not a design flaw there.
This is one weird problem! Hopefully you'll get it straightened out- CC decks have always been known for great cut quality on the FIRST pass!
-Fordlords-