Repairs Troy Bilt Mustang 42 Deck Removal

Mustang Atlanta

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My Mustang 42 is almost new (15 hours on it.) It runs great, but this afternoon, I came slowly down a short fairly steep hill (about 6 feet long) and at the bottom, where the grade went flat again, a blade started tipping the deck suddenly. I shut off the PTO and got off to look. Somehow, the front of the cutting deck had bent in, right in the center front of the deck.

I have to say I'm not very pleased. That must be pretty thin steel. I was moving really slowly, yet I did't feel any sort of hesitation or reaction from the mower as it happened-- I only stopped because of the sound after the damage was done. In fact I thought it was a bent blade, but again, there was no sound of a collision with anything to explain that either.

At this point, all I know to do is remove the deck and straighten it out. Any suggestions? Where can I find the procedure to pull the deck (and reinstall)-- I don't want to make things worse...

Suggestions are welcome...
 

SeniorCitizen

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Did you try going back up the hill in reverse to straighten it? :laughing: Ok, so you tried that and it was a failure so try this.

Drive a piece of pointed 2x4 in the dirt, but not over your utility lines, leaving about 3-4 inches protruding. Drop the front of the deck over it with the blades perpendicular. Put that puppy in R and bump that piece of tin against the 2x4 just a little or a little harder until you like the shape and the blade doesn't hit the deck anymore.
 

Jack17

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In the recent years National Institute of Lawn Mower Collision Impact and Crumple Zone Safety (NILMCICZS for short) passed a new legislation forcing all manufacturers of lawn equipment to implement new safety guidelines. Lawn mower crumple zones are designed to absorb the energy from the impact during a collision by controlled deformation. This energy is much greater than is commonly realized. A 600 lb lawn mower traveling at 6 mph, before crashing into a thick grass, is subject to the same impact force as a drunk 180lb male nose-diving on to a solid surface. :wink:

I mean...come on? It's a new mower just take it back and exchange it.
 

SeniorCitizen

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I'm so glad my 1984 Murray doesn't fall under the NILMCICZS guidelines. I use the front of the deck as a dozer to flatten gopher mounds.
 

Jack17

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I'm so glad my 1984 Murray doesn't fall under the NILMCICZS guidelines. I use the front of the deck as a dozer to flatten gopher mounds.

Off-season I take my deck off, flip it up side down and use as a BBQ grill! Comes Spring I put it back ON and mow away.
 

Mustang Atlanta

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Did you try going back up the hill in reverse to straighten it? :laughing: Ok, so you tried that and it was a failure so try this.

Drive a piece of pointed 2x4 in the dirt, but not over your utility lines, leaving about 3-4 inches protruding. Drop the front of the deck over it with the blades perpendicular. Put that puppy in R and bump that piece of tin against the 2x4 just a little or a little harder until you like the shape and the blade doesn't hit the deck anymore.

That's actually an interesting idea. I guess I'm a bit concerned about tugging at the rear mounts that way. The front just hangs from a threaded rod through a plate, but the rear hangs from the height adjustment mechanism. I suppose if I can get enough traction to move it without a really abrupt pull, it should be pretty safe. I'd love to have a u-shaped heavy bracket I could pull with from a chain anchored to something like a receiver on a truck where the tires could stick to concrete.

Maybe this metal is not thinner than my past mowers but either way, I can't believe it bent so easily. Guess it could be that I just got the perfect angle but this was no 6mph "crash" I'm thinking I was going less than 1 mph. All I can figure is I just perfectly caught the edge for maximum leverage. The deck edge sort of scraped onto/into either a big tree root or else the stump of a small tree-- really hard to tell there, near what must be an 80 or 100 year old tree. I had never noticed that wood there-- it was the same color and nearly the same level as the ground beneath the grass, but once scraped the white wood was extremely evident.

Guess I'll experiment tomorrow and see what works...

Thanks!
 
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