Jinzo Ningen
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 27, 2011
- Threads
- 44
- Messages
- 127
I have finally finished up the cleaning/detailing on my recent used 721D purchase. Now, I have been going over the entire mower, upgrading where I can to make things better or fix what, IMHO, are design "oversights" on this rig. LOL. This has mostly involved sawing off all of the rusted out carbon steel bolts (deck shields, battery box & lid, seat, etc.) and replacing them with all stainless steel hardware to help eliminate or at least greatly reduce any future rusting. The bolts that attach the battery cover to the tray were trashed due to corrosive spillover from previous power cells. I had to use a hacksaw to cut them off. Then I took my grinder with a wire wheel to remove the large crust/gunk, then hand-sanded the floor area of the tray. I plan to re-paint it this weekend. Picking up new S.S. hardware for everything after work today. I'm also placing nylon washers between the cover & tray to eliminate any rattling and prevent metal-on-metal wear.
The mounting bolts for the Trim Master roller thingamajig that mounts to the leading edge of my deck were rusted beyond salvage as well. I had to remove all 4 of them with my grinder and install new S.S. hardware. I picked up some foam/rubber weatherseal material and installed it along the inside edge of the two smaller outer deck shields, lightly sanded the the bottom edge so that the foam strip's tacky adhesive would have a little better purchase, then pressed them into place and let them set for a day. Afterwards I took an X-acto knife and trimmed out the slotted mounting holes. To help totally eliminate any rattling from the deck shields I lightly sanded the outside edge of each mounting hole as well, brushed on a thin coat of Krazy Glue gel and then permanently glued rubber fender washers over each hole. I bought S.S. pan head bolts, fender washers & lock washers to secure everything in place. Now not only will they NOT rust, there is also no more metal-on-metal vibration noise when mowing.
This afternoon I am going to replace all of the factory foam that's on the underside of the big main deck shield; it's pretty wore out and is missing in a few spots. I will apply some new, thicker foam pads to replace the beat up stuff and install a large piece of Dynamat sound insulation material that I had leftover from a upgrade project on my Jeep Cherokee, to the entire underside area of the center shield. It should really deaden down the roar from the deck spindles while mowing from now on. I also used another section of Dynamat and applied it to the underside of the engine hood. It helped quiet down the motor a bit; much more pleasant now - with my MP3 player on I don't have to crank it up as loud to hear it!
I can post pictures of what I did if anyone want to try these tricks themselves.:biggrin:
The mounting bolts for the Trim Master roller thingamajig that mounts to the leading edge of my deck were rusted beyond salvage as well. I had to remove all 4 of them with my grinder and install new S.S. hardware. I picked up some foam/rubber weatherseal material and installed it along the inside edge of the two smaller outer deck shields, lightly sanded the the bottom edge so that the foam strip's tacky adhesive would have a little better purchase, then pressed them into place and let them set for a day. Afterwards I took an X-acto knife and trimmed out the slotted mounting holes. To help totally eliminate any rattling from the deck shields I lightly sanded the outside edge of each mounting hole as well, brushed on a thin coat of Krazy Glue gel and then permanently glued rubber fender washers over each hole. I bought S.S. pan head bolts, fender washers & lock washers to secure everything in place. Now not only will they NOT rust, there is also no more metal-on-metal vibration noise when mowing.
This afternoon I am going to replace all of the factory foam that's on the underside of the big main deck shield; it's pretty wore out and is missing in a few spots. I will apply some new, thicker foam pads to replace the beat up stuff and install a large piece of Dynamat sound insulation material that I had leftover from a upgrade project on my Jeep Cherokee, to the entire underside area of the center shield. It should really deaden down the roar from the deck spindles while mowing from now on. I also used another section of Dynamat and applied it to the underside of the engine hood. It helped quiet down the motor a bit; much more pleasant now - with my MP3 player on I don't have to crank it up as loud to hear it!
I can post pictures of what I did if anyone want to try these tricks themselves.:biggrin:
