Mower deck repair

[Dan Dubeau]

This is the type of stuff that gets in the way of the fun projects I'd rather be doing..... 60" Mower deck from my mid-late 90's F2400 kubota, not too bad of shape considering the age, but something that needs fixing. It's still surprisingly structurally sound due to all the reinforcing plates in the important areas. These holes fall between those, and I'll be patching with 10ga. I would have rather found a nice one in better shape, but I've been looking for 2 years with no results.

Last weekend I cleaned it all up with the help of some little hands, and a needle scaler, made a couple posterboard templates of the worst areas, and
this morning after watching the motogp qualifying and sprint races, I went out and started slicing up some steel with the plasma cutter.



New bending brake working well.






First bend in, mark the 2nd.


I missed it by a little, but wasn't too bad. A couple trips back and forth to the blacksmith shed for some anvil work, had the bend realigned to where it needed to be. Then it was time to mark the opening, and slice out the bad. Rain started moving in, so I didn't really get any great pics, just trying to get done. Light sprinkle to start, but I got a bit wet near the end.....

Getting there, still sitting up on the old material. Terrible plasma cuts......


Some work with the grinder, and it fits pretty good now.



Pretty flush all around, and gaps I'm not too worried about filling. Only 1 spot that will need some persuasion, but that should be no big deal as I start welding, I can push them closed. Sky opened up as I was finishing, so I broke for lunch, and decided to post my progress now. I really need a couple shipping containers and a garage tent to work in......

Waiting for a break in the rain to go out and weld it in. The flat areas should go quicker, but I was surprised this one only took about an hour. Having the plasma and brake make easy work of stuff like this. Almost makes it enjoyable......

 

[mmcmdl]

I'm currently doing a JD 54" deck restoration Dan . I have an un-used 60" Kubota deck off my 7510 I can drag up next time I'm up in Canada .

 

[Susquatch]

I'm currently doing a JD 54" deck restoration Dan .

I started down the path of restoring an old 62" Deere deck that hit some steel pipe that jumped out 10 ft from the hedgerows in front of my grandson when he was cutting grass. After calling about parts the service guy suggested a brand new deck might be cheaper. Chazzam! He was right by a thousand dollars! Brand new deck plus new blades, new belts, and a new PTO shaft for 1k less than the parts I needed. Wow!

 

[Dan Dubeau]

I'm currently doing a JD 54" deck restoration Dan . I have an un-used 60" Kubota deck off my 7510 I can drag up next time I'm up in Canada .

Oh sure, now you tell me..... Thanks for the offer. Once repaired this one should do me for the life of this machine though. I'd like to replace it with a zero turn, and put the flail mower on this one for the trails and rough stuff out back. This will probably be it's final year for grass duties.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

This is turning out to be a battle with mother nature today. Had a break in the rain, and got about 3/4 through burning this in, before she dumped on me again lol. Powered through and got it done. Wont win any beauty pageants but she's real sturdy. 3/32 6013 rod. Blew through in a few spots, a little cold in others, but not too bad. It'll work.



Coming down pretty good now, this might be all I get done today. Might head out to the smithy and light the forge to stay warm and dry...

 

[Ironman]

Pretty flush all around, and gaps I'm not too worried about filling. Only 1 spot that will need some persuasion, but that should be no big deal as I start welding, I can push them closed. Sky opened up as I was finishing, so I broke for lunch, and decided to post my progress now. I really need a couple shipping containers and a garage tent to work in......

Waiting for a break in the rain to go out and weld it in. The flat areas should go quicker, but I was surprised this one only took about an hour. Having the plasma and brake make easy work of stuff like this. Almost makes it enjoyable......

Are there times like this when you wish you had a mig welder?

 

[140mower]

Are there times like this when you wish you had a mig welder?

Ya, but then he needs the sea cans and tarp shelter to keep the wind away. Could use flux core, but that would be sacrilege.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Are there times like this when you wish you had a mig welder?

have one. Sometimes I like doing things the hard way though.

It's actually a pain in the ass to get the welding cart over to the back door so I can mig outside. Much easier to just run cables out and stick everything. I "could" lift my mig off the cart and bring it out if I really wanted to, but generally don't go through the trouble for junk projects like this.

 

[140mower]

This is turning out to be a battle with mother nature today. Had a break in the rain, and got about 3/4 through burning this in, before she dumped on me again lol. Powered through and got it done. Wont win any beauty pageants but she's real sturdy. 3/32 6013 rod. Blew through in a few spots, a little cold in others, but not too bad. It'll work.
View attachment 47302
View attachment 47301View attachment 47303View attachment 47304

Coming down pretty good now, this might be all I get done today. Might head out to the smithy and light the forge to stay warm and dry...

Looks good...... Sucks being handy though, keeps us from getting new things.

 

[YotaBota]

With the price of new ones I'll be rebuilding mine as well when the time comes, that and I'm cheap.

Could use flux core, but that would be sacrilege

Careful, I'll come over there and flux core your,,,,,,,,, never mind.

 

[kevin.decelles]

My old cub cadet had many pounds of mig wire in her. Had the hubs come out and finally the entire deck just dropped.


Sold my old acreage and the buyer requested the ol zero turn in the agreement. Sadly (not really) I let her go and bought a new JD zero turn last year……. Heavenly.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

Looks good...... Sucks being handy though, keeps us from getting new things.

The "handy" comes from not having enough money to buy new stuff . It's hereditary......

 

[Susquatch]

Sold my old acreage and the buyer requested the ol zero turn in the agreement. Sadly (not really) I let her go and bought a new JD zero turn last year……. Heavenly.

I left my 30 year old Deere 188 at the old place too. Cut about 3 acres there. Still going strong today! I love zero turns too. I had a loaner and in three days, I could waltz with it! Even @jcdammeyer would have been impressed! Was all set to buy it for the farm but ran into a string of guys who said no-way. Zero turns and ponds don't get along. Sooner or later the zero turn will go swimming. It's not if, it's only when.

Although I didn't really understand it at the time, the stats were overwhelming. So we got a small garden tractor instead.

My theory is that the front wheels go wherever they want. If you are moving, both drive wheels are turning. If the pond side drive wheel slips, the upside wheel keep going and nothing you do will stop it from diving in. She goes for a swim before you can bat an eye.

A few years ago, we inherited a Toro ztrak so we can have two mowers going at once. We stay away from the pond with the Toro.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

My only issue here with a zero turn is a few wet spots and hills they don't do well with those. I really like the front decks like my f2400. Just as fast as a zero, but with 4wd on demand I can go anywhere. They're also very stable on the hills. I only cut about 4 acres, but I think a zero would do most of that a bit quicker. My f2400 is getting old, and I'll have to replace it with something in the next few years for main grass duty. It'll probably be down to what is available at the time.

 

[trevj]

I started down the path of restoring an old 62" Deere deck that hit some steel pipe that jumped out 10 ft from the hedgerows in front of my grandson when he was cutting grass. After calling about parts the service guy suggested a brand new deck might be cheaper. Chazzam! He was right by a thousand dollars! Brand new deck plus new blades, new belts, and a new PTO shaft for 1k less than the parts I needed. Wow!

At least you could still get the parts, let alone a new whole deck!

My JD 425 lawn tractor, 54 inch HD deck has a few warts but not any severe corrosion issues. But it's getting harder to find original parts. I have been pretty happy with the aftermarket spindles and such that I have found out in the wild though!

On the Zero Turn front, my cousin had his turn turtle on him, as he was trying to load it onto his truck for a trip to the dealer for some work. Said he never since, has regretted the cell phone bills he was paying! Wasn't injure directly in the debacle, but was thoroughly trapped under the machine, and helpless! You kinda never know...

 

[Susquatch]

On the Zero Turn front, my cousin had his turn turtle on him, as he was trying to load it onto his truck for a trip to the dealer for some work. Said he never since, has regretted the cell phone bills he was paying! Wasn't injure directly in the debacle, but was thoroughly trapped under the machine, and helpless! You kinda never know...

This is a side of cell phones we seldom think of. They saved my bacon once and my neighbour at least once too. Coincidentally, both incidents involved rolling tractors.

Mine was lifting a tote of liquid fertilizer high enough to gravity fill my planter tanks on soft ground. As my loader started rolling on the soft ground, I got out on the top of the wheel to stop it. Trapped there, I phoned for help. I was sure glad to be big and heavy that day!

Neighbour had the same thing happen when his plow hitch broke and tried to flip his tractor. He couldn't move lest it roll. Called me to help.

 

[Ironman]

I have spent too much time repairing second hand old mowers and decks. I finally bought a Hustler 54" Zero Turn and I regret not doing it 20 years ago.
They have 1/8" thick welded steel decks, not the pressed tin ones with round corners. I mow 3 acres of "sort of" lawn, rough ground that gets smoother with use. Only thing I've replaced was the discharge chute, wife wrapped it around one of our haskap bushes learning to drive it.

 

[kevin.decelles]

has a few warts but not any severe corrosion issues. But it's getting harder to find original parts

Sold my 430 to a young guy just outside Edmonton. He had about 12 400+ series units and probably 15-20 decks on pallet racks. Hobby of his. He even had an obscure articulated JD model.

Bought my tractor for the grills which were original and in good shape.

 

[That-Guy]

I had a Kubota F2100, loved it. That thing would cut a hay field if needed. Now I've got a John Deere 1600 Turbo. Huge, Fast, and a massive headache.... The time I save cutting grass, I spend making hydraulic lines or troubleshooting the "computer". Miss that old Kubota.

Nice fix on the deck!! For rusty stuff like that I always prefer the old arc welder. The mig always seems to bring up the crap from down under and make porous welds.

 

[mmcmdl]

Just finished up with the GT235 other than installing the new seat springs . This evening I'll break out the buffer and get the hood and cowling looking like new . The deck is not in bad shape at all but needs a little love . Total for the project including tractor and deck is $393 so far . I had all the paint down the basement from when I was doing these regularly . Beer costs are not included in the total or it would be tripled at least .