GT2544 Underside of Deck

[ratherbefishing]

I bought my GT2544 in early spring 05. It has 50hrs on it and am a little dissapointed on how fast the underside of the deck lost the paint & started to rust. I live in the NW, so the grass is frequently wet when mowing & I only mulch at this time. Also found that I was better off not using the "deck washdown-system" as it only made the grass stick even worse. Pulled my deck off 4 or 5 times last year to keep it clean, but it always seemed caked with grass. Anyone else experience this? Is it just to be expected? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[ducati996]

Unless its made out of stainless steel that will be a universal problem with any brand or make...

Regular underside cleaning is a necessity in those conditions
sorry

Duc

 

[GreenQuality]

Try cleaning your mower deck more often. the build up of wet grass on your mower deck will in time cause moisture and will rust. no paint job is going to last in the forces that be under the deck. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[wojnaroski]

I have always had the same problem. Saw a thread somewhere about using spray-on truck bed lining under the mower deck. Anyone have any info on this?

Alan

 

[JTKub]

All the mowers I've ever owned; GT's, LT's or pushmowers blast most of the paint off the underside of the deck w/in one season. I give them a quick scrape after every use and do a removal and clean a few times a season. I dunno of any coating that wont get blasted off. Even a neglected deck will last ~5-10yrs (from a rust-thu standpoint). Keep it clean and it will last longer.
Joel

 

[e36m3]

You can also use a product from the POR 15 store, I believe its called hard nose paint. I have used their rust eliminating product with great results, which you can also use in this application since it won't be exposed to UV. Once its been applied it won't come off unless you sandblast it, moisture actually helps it cure faster too.

rlm

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Also live in the PNW and this is typ of what you'll find. Not sure what size deck you have but would advise not to try and mulch during the spring. The grass needs lots of room to get from under the deck and the mulch plug makes things worse. Real early in the spring I need to remove and clean the deck every week.

You need to keep the deck as clean and dry as you can to keep the rust in check. Certainly don't want to leave clumped on grass under the deck over winter.

 

[Fordlords]

Just for giggles I had the bottom of the new 44" deck I put on my 682 coated with a smooth spray of truck bed liner material. I'll see how it holds up. The old deck housing lasted 25 years, and what we did to clean it was after every 2-3 uses drove the tractor up on a set of ramps and blew all the grass out with compressed air, and re-sprayed it with fresh paint every 2-3 years. It was still in OK shape, mainly had to be replaced due to a large growing crack after it hit a tree stump one time. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Grass left up in the mower deck is acidic, and holds moisture for a very long time. That's why it rots out decks so quickly- it is the equal to leaving road salt on your car.

-Fordlords-

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

I had a 1978 CC 1450 with 44 inch deck. I used to remove it every fall and scrape all the dead grass out (sometimes more than once per season). I had to replace the deck shell in 1995 after brazing many patches over the rusted out sections. That was 17 years I got out of it. After installing the new shell (about $400) I started raising the deck and hosing it off underneath every other mowing. I traded it in for a 3235 in 2004 and it already had a small hole rusted through. I don't know if the original International Harvester deck was better or if hosing it off was a bad idea.. My 54 inch deck on the 3235 stays much cleaner underneath and I've rinsed it out only a couple times in 2 seasons of mowing an acre and removed it only once to disable the reverse mow switch. It's not too much fun to remove at 280 pounds.

Bob B.

 

[Fordlords]

If you have access to an air compressor, I highly recommend it for under-deck cleaning over spraying water. Using water will only add additional moisture to the areas of crud you can't get at under the deck, and is also no good for spindle bearings or other deck mechanicals.

We have even used the ramps and compressed air with a small hand scraper on a 5 year old cheap Craftsman LT we have, and I pulled the deck off last season figuring it would need to be repainted underneath, and it was in great shape- not even worth pulling off the tractor. Like what was said in an earlier post, if you can't avoid cutting wet grass, it will mean either shorter deck life or much more frequent cleaning.

I know a lot of people don't even like cutting their grass none the less cleaning their mower decks, but for the few and proud who do it means having to buy a lot fewer lawn tractors /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

-Fordlords-