John Deere L118 Blades hit together

Jake L118

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John Deere L118 Replaced blades and belt. Mowes great but every so often I get a terrible noise for approximately 3 seconds when the blades strike each other. This happens approximately every 30-45 seconds. This is an older model and I don’t see anyway to set the timing. Do I grind the blades down so they can’t touch?
 

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MParr

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You need to find out what’s causing it.
Are both blades actually for your mower?
Is your deck bent?
Are your spindles in good shape?
I see that you have installed aftermarket Gator style blades. 🤦‍♂️
 

MParr

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Jake L118

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Thank you all for the advice and direction! Spindles are tight and I fear the blade just needed to be ground down, just a little too long. Are the Gator style blade bad? 😬
 
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bertsmobile1

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When they work properly they are great, just nit suited to some decks
you grind blade tips at an angle so the back is shorter than the front
Have a good loot at the edges of your blades.
Where they are striking will be obvious.
And remember blade lengths are diagonal as previuosly mentioned
 

MParr

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Thank you all for the advice and direction! Spindles are tight and I fear the blade just needed to be ground down, just a little too long. Are the Gator style blade bad? 😬
If you go grinding on those blades, you may run into a balance problem.
Do you have the part number for those blades?

Gator Style blade: Personally, I don’t like using them in the growing season. The slightest bit of moisture in your grass will pack the deck with clippings and leave clumps everywhere. They are pretty good in the fall and for early spring cleanup.
 

StarTech

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Measure the blades diagonally. If they are 21.5” diagonally, they are too long. They should be 21.465”. In other words, they should be a hair over 21 3/8” measured diagonally.
Your OE blades are GX 20433.
Boy I just didn't know the JD was picky that 1/32 of an inch would cause a problem. Actually 1/64" if measured from the center. Now I would that blade or blade center hole could off center a little cause but not a 32nd of inch overall length difference.

Take the current blades and from the center to tip of the leading cutting edge of both halves. They should be equal in length, about 10.75". I have had blades over the years to be slightly longer on one half than other and it cause blade tip to contact each other.
 
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MParr

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Boy I just didn't know the JD was picky that 1/32 of an inch would cause a problem. Actually 1/64" if measured from the center. Now I would that blade or blade center hole could off center a little cause but not a 32nd of inch overall length difference.

Take the current blades and from the center to tip of the leading cutting edge of both halves. They should be equal in length, about 10.75". I have had blades over the years to be slightly longer on one half than other and it cause blade tip to contact each other.
I’m thinking he has the wrong blades for that mower.
 

PTmowerMech

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John Deere L118 Replaced blades and belt. Mowes great but every so often I get a terrible noise for approximately 3 seconds when the blades strike each other. This happens approximately every 30-45 seconds. This is an older model and I don’t see anyway to set the timing. Do I grind the blades down so they can’t touch?

Not hitting every round doesn't sound like a blade problem. If the blades were hitting each other because they're too long, it would sound more like a machine gun.
Remove the deck belt and re-check spindles.
 
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