take off or not?

[sss]

it has come to the end of the season and under the deck of my mower neads cleaning do i take the deck of and clean it that way or take it onto car ramps?

 

[benski]

For a bang-up, thorough job, take the deck off, pressure wash it, dry it, inspect for paint defects, and go from there. If you just want to treat your mower better than 99% of the world's population, leave it in place, wash it, dry it, sharpen the blade, balance the blade,spray it down with metal protectant, and relax.:biggrin: Just my $.02.

 

[sss]

thanks for the reply:thumbsup:

 

[Dangeroustoys56]

Personally, i like to remove the decks ( as much as a pain that it is) and go thru them- you do find alot of things that can go wrong , believe it or not- its good for preventitive maintence.

One MTD i have ive had some issues with, had to pull the transaxle out, so i pulled the deck and noticed one of the mandrel berings was seriously wobbly - if i had left it in, then i wouldnt of been able to fix it before it came apart.

You can clean the deck better, take care of any rust, inspect for any holes or cracks in the metal, ect.

 

[KennyV]

I always remove mower decks... for the reasons mentioned and to also mount other implements...
It's (almost) time to put the snow blower on the front of my ZTR... not quite ready yet... I want to let all the leaves fall before I remove the mulching ability...
That has always been the challenge.... how long can I postpone the switch to the snow blower...
Seems as tho a switch to the blower insures no snow... but if I don't switch, and be ready, we get a big snow... Right now I'm figuring the snow will hold off ... for awhile anyway... :smile:KennyV

 

[sss]

Thanks all i am sorry i have taken a while to get back to you. After reading the replies i have decided to take off the deck there is split pins and a metal bar to hold it on and a spring which moves it up and down when i pull the lever (could it be a fast attach deck?) Any advice on how to go about taking it off? (mtd ha 4145 30")

 

[benski]

Thanks all i am sorry i have taken a while to get back to you. After reading the replies i have decided to take off the deck there is split pins and a metal bar to hold it on and a spring which moves it up and down when i pull the lever (could it be a fast attach deck?) Any advice on how to go about taking it off? (mtd ha 4145 30")

Break out your flashlight, Vise-Grips, and a set of sharp eyes and see what is actually attached to the deck. I'll usually lower the deck as far as it will go to gain clearance. Upon reassembly, I take some never-seize and lube up everything associated with getting the deck attached. I also use "hairpin" style pins rather than cotter pins for putting things back together. Any ?s, take a couple of digital photos before you tear into it to aid reassembly. Please don't ask why I have found this handy...:ashamed::wink::biggrin:

 

[geezer]

Take the deck off and clean it well , wait until it dries and spray a heavy coat of pam on it. It won't rust and the grass won't stick to it next spring when you mow.

 

[Giles]

I always remove my deck but it is an older Wheel Horse and requires no tools or parts to remove but the belt, and that is easy :smile:
Amazing engineering and has never gave a problem--Wish I could buy new again today:thumbsup:

 

[sss]

The job is now done just needs to be cleaned now!:thumbsup: