JD Brush Hog: Can’t access bolt to take blades off.

[JDAOWNER]

WHAT DO THE BLADE EDGES LOOK LIKE? SOME PRO'S SUGGEST YOU NEVER SHARPEN BRUSH HOG BLADES IF CUTTING BRUSH AND STALKY GRASS. IF YOU WANT MORE OF A LAWN LOOK, MAYBE. GO TO "ASK MIKE" .COM, HE HAS A COUPLE OF VIDEOS ON THE SUBJECT. I DID MINE LAST YEAR, --MY STUMP JUMPER CAME LOOSE-- I TIPED IT UP AT ABOUT 45 DEGREES WITH THE FEL, BRACED IT WITH A CHANNEL IRON, SAT ON A STOOL AND WORKED ON IT.

 

[jmccaughan1939]

I have a Frontier RC2072 cutter and the blades need to be sharpened badly. Manual says take the tail wheel bar off to expose the access port, turn the blade pan by hand to locate the 1 1/2” bolt to remove the blade.

I’m guessing there is a small dent in the pan because I don’t have enough room to fit my socket over the bolt.

Will I need to replace the pan or can I get a few more seasons out of it? If I don’t have to replace it, what’s the quickest way to get those bolts off so I can sharpen those blades? Also, manual says “I must replace mounting hardware when reattaching the blades”??? Not sure which hardware it’s referring too exactly.

If I have to take the pan off with the blades attached, how heavy is it? (I’m a 120lb woman doing this alone. Upper-body strength isn’t exactly my forte lol)View attachment 691908


View attachment 691909

Don't take the Pan/flywheel off unless it is bent, it weighs around 50lb an most likely will have to be heated. On mine I put the 3/4 socket in the hole and then work it over the nut then add the extension.

I have a Frontier RC2072 cutter and the blades need to be sharpened badly. Manual says take the tail wheel bar off to expose the access port, turn the blade pan by hand to locate the 1 1/2” bolt to remove the blade.

I’m guessing there is a small dent in the pan because I don’t have enough room to fit my socket over the bolt.

Will I need to replace the pan or can I get a few more seasons out of it? If I don’t have to replace it, what’s the quickest way to get those bolts off so I can sharpen those blades? Also, manual says “I must replace mounting hardware when reattaching the blades”??? Not sure which hardware it’s referring too exactly.

If I have to take the pan off with the blades attached, how heavy is it? (I’m a 120lb woman doing this alone. Upper-body strength isn’t exactly my forte lol)View attachment 691908


View attachment 691909

I can see the nut in your picture and it looks ok, I don't understand why socket wont fit in the hole and on the nut if it was centered in the hole. On mine I have to put the socket in side of the housing and work it over the nut and hammer it on. Taking off the Flywheel the blades attach to can be a major job. The thing weighs around 50 lb and the last one I bent and had to replace, we stood it on its end and had to heat with a torch to get the nut off and the splines loose. Lucky the gearbox shaft wasn't bent,

 

[Rowalker]

I sharpen mine on the mower with an angle grinder

 

[RancherGuy]

On my 72", I've replaced the blades twice because I hit logs a few too many times, causing them to break. I've also removed the whole stump jumper. I've also tried to sharpen the blades in situ. This is my summary - good to see others cover some of these points. From your pictures it looks like the blades are still holding the OEM bends - good news. Stump jumper looks great, thus you are not hitting hard objects - good news. Hard to tell in the picture but the edges of the blades don't look that bad. They should never be as sharp as a lawn mower.

Regardless of what is needed, I always use my FEL to tip the mower on it's side until it is standing upright. Need something to keep it from falling.

If you cannot get to the bolts from above the deck with a socket and extension bar, use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel. 3 cuts to the deck take out one side of the round deck hole. Don't worry - nothing is going to come up through that hole when you mow. The cheapest angle grinder I have is $17 HF and it has been through some tough use for 5 years now. More money gets you more power.

Before loosing the blade bolts, add penetrating spray - I don't care what brand, other than WD-40 which is designed more for other uses than as a penetrant. If possible, give the nuts a shot 2 days before, then 1 day before, then the day of to give it time to work. If you don't have that luxury, do it before you start tipping, bracing or messing with the mower on the day of.

Expect to use your impact driver or long pipe with a 3/4" breaker bar.

If you use heat on the blade bolts, definitely replace them. If not, inspect for wear and consider re-using. I keep re-using mine. For 23 years with 4 different mowers from 60 inches to 180 inches including many broken blades, I have may have replaced 2 bolts because they can wear. The wear surface is where the blade hole rides the bolt side closest to the mower center. Or if before removing, your blade tip can "wobble" up and down more than a couple of inches, consider new bolts, but even that is not necessarily a problem because centrifugal force will keep them stable.

If you decide you need to remove the whole underside unit, the stump jumper, my weight estimate with blades is 60-80 pounds. However I was about the tear my hair out once when I removed my stump jumper because I could not remove the cotter pin on the central spindle that held the big castle nut. There was no room to work it out.

Best to you.

 

[crashz]

I'm a 300lbs Gorilla. I still struggled with this until I used my brain. You can do this.

I replaced my blades on my JD brush mower last year. Same thing as yours but I was able to wiggle the socket on and then attached the extension. No amount of static force (used a torque multiplier, giant cheater bar, etc) would loosen the bolts. I couldn't attach it to the tractor at the time, and I was just moving the mower around my yard. I tried some heat with a MAP torch, but that didn't work. Got my Milwaukee 1/2" impact gun on it and after some very loud moments, broke the nuts loose. Once they spin, stop and make sure the bolt is supported with a block so it will not drop out of place. Even a 1/4" drop will allow the shoulder to fall out and it will spin freely.

Some thoughts:
- An angle or die grinder will help open the hole at the top. If you are going to take the blades off, you need to remove the nut from the top. But as others have said, if you are just cleaning the blades up, you could do that from the bottom if they aren't in bad shape. Mine were round and about 3" too short. They had to be replaced.
- You'll never get the bolts out if you cut them off with an angle grinder on the bottom of the stump jumper. The hex shoulder is inside the stump jumper.
- I used a bar in the U Joint at mower to limit movement.
- I was able to find the bolts, nuts and washers on Amazon. TS had the blades but not the right bolts.

 

[Gord Baker]

I have a Frontier RC2072 cutter and the blades need to be sharpened badly. Manual says take the tail wheel bar off to expose the access port, turn the blade pan by hand to locate the 1 1/2” bolt to remove the blade.

I’m guessing there is a small dent in the pan because I don’t have enough room to fit my socket over the bolt.

Will I need to replace the pan or can I get a few more seasons out of it? If I don’t have to replace it, what’s the quickest way to get those bolts off so I can sharpen those blades? Also, manual says “I must replace mounting hardware when reattaching the blades”??? Not sure which hardware it’s referring too exactly.

If I have to take the pan off with the blades attached, how heavy is it? (I’m a 120lb woman doing this alone. Upper-body strength isn’t exactly my forte lol)View attachment 691908


View attachment 691909

Dear Piaffe:
Get a small Angle Grinder with a coarse Flap Wheel. Raise the blade to maximum height and prop it in position with chunks of wood or Axle Jacks. Cement blocks can crumble.
There is only a few inches at each end that needs to be sharpened and not knife sharp either. Leave a 1/16" flat at the edge. Try to take the same number of passes on each side to keep balance. You may need a Vise Grips to hold the blade for you. Safety GOGGLES.
Regards,
Gord.

 

[motormike]

I have a Frontier RC2072 cutter and the blades need to be sharpened badly. Manual says take the tail wheel bar off to expose the access port, turn the blade pan by hand to locate the 1 1/2” bolt to remove the blade.

I’m guessing there is a small dent in the pan because I don’t have enough room to fit my socket over the bolt.

Will I need to replace the pan or can I get a few more seasons out of it? If I don’t have to replace it, what’s the quickest way to get those bolts off so I can sharpen those blades? Also, manual says “I must replace mounting hardware when reattaching the blades”??? Not sure which hardware it’s referring too exactly.

If I have to take the pan off with the blades attached, how heavy is it? (I’m a 120lb woman doing this alone. Upper-body strength isn’t exactly my forte lol)View attachment 691908


View attachment 691909

This is what I use to remove the bolts. Works every time. That's a harbor freight air gun 3/4" Never had to cut anything. I've replaced the blades twice and sharpened them 6 times.

 

[Cameron Smith]

When you finally get it apart, clean and coat your bolts with never-seize any place you see rust. Remember that the next poor schnook that has to remove them might be YOU! I've done this for almost 40 years and the removal and reinstallation is a snap!

 

[beenthere]

What would be the best way to enlarge the opening?

Torch, or plasma cutter.

Or a round file and a bit of time would make a notch that the 3/4" drive would likely fit.

A 3/4" breaker bar from Harbor Freight with a cheater pipe will (should) break those loose.

Even a woman can do that. You sound to be up to the task, without a doubt.

As far as accessing the stump pan underneath the deck and/or sharpening the blades with an angle grinder, I'd suggest using your FEL on the JD tractor to lift the cutter via chain and stand it up on edge. Keep safety in mind when doing this, but do not risk being under attachment.

 

[Williy]

why get a hernia trying to remove the blades? If you have a hoist find a tree or something to hoist up the cutter and harbor freight has cheap grinders that would work for sharpening the blades. Even block and tackle would work to hoist the cutter up. If all else fails find a tree and throw a rope over a BIG branch tie it to the cutter and the bumper on your truck

willy