New Scag zero turn - did I just bend a spindle?

[Jeff59Va]

The last time I mowed I clipped a cedar stump that I had cut almost flush to the ground. I forgot to raise the deck a little higher than the yard when I mowed that area like I usually do and got into it. Anyway it did not stall the mower, just heard it chipping on it and I stopped.

When I mowed yesterday evening the cut quality was bad - like a sawtooth deal between passes. Look at it today hoping it was just a blade, but no, the blade looked fine. Now when I rotate the one blade 180 degrees that same side is about 1/2 inch low, so it appears that either the spindle or deck is bent.

So how do I check this? It seems to me that if the spindle shaft was bent, it would be low on the same blade tip and rotate around and it is not - it is low at the same point. Could I have bent the deck on this?

Machine is a new this spring Scag Patriot with 61 inch commercial (not Velocity) deck.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would change the blade first, maybe from another spindle for the fun of it. I think your troubleshooting ideas are spot on, it sounds like the deck, my opinion from my recliner.

 

[Buxus]

I'll bet it's the blade. Did the same thing 2 weeks ago with my Grasshopper, but it didn't stall. I looked over the blades with them still on the deck and all three looked fine. But every 15 min or so I'd get a vibration which would go away after about 10 seconds. I checked the blades again and they looked fine. Finally I took them all off and only by stacking all three was I able to see one blade was bent by about 1/2 inch on one side. Very subtle difference from the other two that I could not appreciate without removing all three and comparing. If you haven't done it already, I'd start with removing the blades and comparing side by side or stacked.

 

[mrmikey]

I clipped a stump with mine and unfortunately it was the deck. I got it straightened but it was a real pain. Took it off, took everything off the deck and flipped it upside down on some benches. I used a straightedge across the bottom of the deck and measured to the mounting surface of the spindles in multiple spots. Used a strongback across the deck and either clamped up or jacked down the bend area with an occasional hit with a dead blow hammer against a heavy maul on the other side.
Once i thought I was done, I reinstalled the spindles, bolted a straight piece of flatbar in place of the blade so it just missed the perimeter of the deck and measured from the edge of the deck down to the flatbar. it wasn't a hard job but it was tedious.......Mike

 

[Jeff59Va]

So I ended up swapping the questionable spindle with the known good one from the other side and the good spindle behaved the same, so it is the deck that is bent. With both spindles out I could throw a straightedge over the opening and yeah, you can see the issue - it's almost like it tried to pull the spindle out of the deck downward with more bending on the outer edge

I put my anvil with some wood shims underneath and tried to straighten it back last night, but no luck. Need to ponder some and try again today.

But the bigger question in my mind is did I buy something substandard? I had a JD D170 that mowed the same areas before this Scag and I hit a few things with it (including grazing stumps), and never had any sort of failure. This recent stump incident was pretty minor in my mind and for it to mess the deck up I am not really happy. Swapping the spindles and seeing the bearings stamped "Made in China" did not help either. Folks recommended not going box-store cheap and I spent $6500 at a dealer, but I feel like I got a crappy mower. Do I have too high expectations for a "pro-sumer" model?

 

[Gary Fowler]

How thick is the deck on that mower. I would have thought that a spindle would bent or break or more likely a blade would have bent before the deck bent. It must be a stamped steel deck to bent that easily. Did you do the blade stacking idea to confirm that all the blades are identical?
If it is a fabricated deck (flat top) then straightening would be an easy thing to do if you have a flat surface to set the deck on. Just have to remove everything attached to it, lay it on a substantial flat surface and beat it back into shape.

 

[Jeff59Va]

The deck is fabricated, 10 gauge top with 7 gauge sides. The next level up has the Velocity deck which has a reinforcement plate around all 3 spindles.

I did check the blades - stacked the 2 I had off and used a 24 inch straightedge and they seem fine.

 

[Deere Dude]

SCAGs seem like they are built like tanks. Solid. It must have just been a fluke for that deck to bend.

 

[Tomtint]

I have 2 Scags, both with Velocity decks... they are probably the most rugged mowers on the planet...you must have hit something hard to bend a deck...real hard...

 

[Ford850]

So you have a 10 ga top with no extra reinforcement? I suppose that will make it a little 'easier' to flatten it. If all else fails I think you'll need to strip the deck and flip it upside down so you can press the deck on a flat surface. If you have to go that far, you might want to add reinforcement plates while you have it stripped. That all seems crazy when I think of the Scag decks I've seen.