I've checked the blade level on mine and it appears to be just fine. There is no way that merely leveling the blades will lower the deck height enough to keep from grinding the drive pulley against the deck bracket in tight turns. It grinds on the left side of the bracket because the pulley sits in the bracket slightly offset to the left. ie. closer to the left side of the bracket than the right.
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Simplicity Regent deck question.
- Thread starter BrianSki
- Start date
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
So you have checked the height adjusters shown in post # 11 and all of your bolts are there and in place.
You are not trying to drop the front so it is lower the the pulley you are trying to raise the back which changes the angle of the bracket.
If the mower did not do it when new then it is a wear problem.
Not trying to defend what would appear to be a design shortcoming just stating the obvious.
So something has worn sufficiently to allow the pulley to rub
In Brian's case it was due to the mounting bracket for the height adjustment which he photographed in post # 11.
Being that there has been 3 people with the same problem one can safely say it was not a good design .
OTOH there were thousands of them sold and to date there are just the 3 of you with the problem so it might also be something with the way the mowers are used or maintained.
With heavy decks the condition of the deck wheels / rollers can be critical but as a repairer it is a difficult sell to get some one to replace anti scalp / deck rollers that should have been replaced 10 seasons ago till the deck starts to smash up their trailer floors or they continually smash blades.
You are not trying to drop the front so it is lower the the pulley you are trying to raise the back which changes the angle of the bracket.
If the mower did not do it when new then it is a wear problem.
Not trying to defend what would appear to be a design shortcoming just stating the obvious.
So something has worn sufficiently to allow the pulley to rub
In Brian's case it was due to the mounting bracket for the height adjustment which he photographed in post # 11.
Being that there has been 3 people with the same problem one can safely say it was not a good design .
OTOH there were thousands of them sold and to date there are just the 3 of you with the problem so it might also be something with the way the mowers are used or maintained.
With heavy decks the condition of the deck wheels / rollers can be critical but as a repairer it is a difficult sell to get some one to replace anti scalp / deck rollers that should have been replaced 10 seasons ago till the deck starts to smash up their trailer floors or they continually smash blades.
I realize this thread is a year old but thought I would post anyway.
I am brand spanking new here, and here mainly because my deck does the same thing. When cutting a hard left around a tree the deck swings wide right and engages the deck bracket against the PTO pulley. This was my dads mower and I think he purchased it around 2009. Not certain about that but I have the receipt for it at home. Anyway, I inherited is after he passed in 2011 and this tractor has always done this. It is a bit scary watching a shower of sparks as the PTO pulley is tearing away at the deck bracket. This tells me it is not a wear problem but as I think Brian said a design flaw. The length of mower deck from the front attachment to the rear rollers is way too long for the 9" wide attachment at the front to prevent it from swinging. The thing that stumps me is that it doesn't do it when making a hard right. Does this mower not turn as hard right as it does left?
I will double check the bolts at the rear height adjustment, and also the rollers for excessive wear but as I said it has done this since brand new. The best thing I have dreamed up is a way to attach a cable from left side frame of the tractor to the right side of the mower deck, to limit just how much it can swing right. I have not attempted this yet as I am recovering from Bi-Lateral knee replacement and not quite ready to crawl around on the garage floor.
I am also fighting mower belt issues at the moment and suspect worn bearings on the spindles and possibly the idler pulley, although the failed belts do show signs of getting into the deck bracket which will chew them up pretty quickly.
I love the concept of this Mower along with the easy removal of the deck, but the grinding pulley, destroyed belts and the Courageous to own a Kohler Courage have me wondering is it is worth the time and effort.
I will let you know what I find.
I am brand spanking new here, and here mainly because my deck does the same thing. When cutting a hard left around a tree the deck swings wide right and engages the deck bracket against the PTO pulley. This was my dads mower and I think he purchased it around 2009. Not certain about that but I have the receipt for it at home. Anyway, I inherited is after he passed in 2011 and this tractor has always done this. It is a bit scary watching a shower of sparks as the PTO pulley is tearing away at the deck bracket. This tells me it is not a wear problem but as I think Brian said a design flaw. The length of mower deck from the front attachment to the rear rollers is way too long for the 9" wide attachment at the front to prevent it from swinging. The thing that stumps me is that it doesn't do it when making a hard right. Does this mower not turn as hard right as it does left?
I will double check the bolts at the rear height adjustment, and also the rollers for excessive wear but as I said it has done this since brand new. The best thing I have dreamed up is a way to attach a cable from left side frame of the tractor to the right side of the mower deck, to limit just how much it can swing right. I have not attempted this yet as I am recovering from Bi-Lateral knee replacement and not quite ready to crawl around on the garage floor.
I am also fighting mower belt issues at the moment and suspect worn bearings on the spindles and possibly the idler pulley, although the failed belts do show signs of getting into the deck bracket which will chew them up pretty quickly.
I love the concept of this Mower along with the easy removal of the deck, but the grinding pulley, destroyed belts and the Courageous to own a Kohler Courage have me wondering is it is worth the time and effort.
I will let you know what I find.
In Brian's case it was due to the mounting bracket for the height adjustment which he photographed in post # 11.
Being that there has been 3 people with the same problem one can safely say it was not a good design .
OTOH there were thousands of them sold and to date there are just the 3 of you with the problem so it might also be something with the way the mowers are used or maintained.
Just replying back. It is a lot better. I need to stop over and get another look at it. I believe there are a lot more people with the problem. I think most don't care. I am very mechanical so I look out for things that are not right. My Mother never did notice it, sparks, grinding and all. Of all the people with the mower and deck combination, who notice it, and make it to this forum, I think 3 is a pattern.
tmyers, I would take the deck off. Clean the sharp edges of the deck. (file or small grinder) Careful they are really sharp. Make sure all the bolts are in place and tight. Make sure the spindles and idle pulley are free. I think you have to set the deck on a block of wood to spin them or they sit on the ground. It is a pretty decent mower. It is still running now.
Strange it only hits the bracket turning one direction.
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
Just replying back. It is a lot better. I need to stop over and get another look at it. I believe there are a lot more people with the problem. I think most don't care. I am very mechanical so I look out for things that are not right. My Mother never did notice it, sparks, grinding and all. Of all the people with the mower and deck combination, who notice it, and make it to this forum, I think 3 is a pattern.
tmyers, I would take the deck off. Clean the sharp edges of the deck. (file or small grinder) Careful they are really sharp. Make sure all the bolts are in place and tight. Make sure the spindles and idle pulley are free. I think you have to set the deck on a block of wood to spin them or they sit on the ground. It is a pretty decent mower. It is still running now.
Strange it only hits the bracket turning one direction.
Not strange it is a torque reaction because the engine rotates clockwise when looking down from the drivers seat.
The deck is belt driven so the belt will pull the deck forward on the left side.
At a wild guess it could very well be that the deck was originally designed as a shaft drive belly deck or a deck with hydraulic motors on the spindles for use on a compact or sub compact tractor.
Neither of these would have a torque reaction that rotated the deck towards the front left, the drive shaft would tend to lift one side rather than rotate it.
I pulled the deck last night and did note that the right bolt on the mower hitch piece was loose. I tightened that. I also cleaned the accumulation of grass on the rollers and checked them for wear. They still spin freely and do not appear to have any slop. Next I checked the Spindles and they are solid and spin freely. There is a minute amount of play in the idler pulley but I wouldn't characterize it as sloppy at all.
I put an old slightly worn belt back on it and mowed the back yard with no issues. I may have contributed to the recent thrown belt by raising the mower too high. I have been out of commission with the knees and mowing has suffered. The front yard is normally mowed with the Troy Built Walk Behind but I thought it better to raise the deck and cut it with the Regent.
I will figure out how to get proper clearance between the deck and the PTO pulley and will post what I do. There are two additional sets of holes in the mower hitch, any idea what they are for?
While I had things apart I pulled the engine cover and checked my sump bolts. All were still tight, YAY.
I did not have the same issue as Brian did in post 11.
I put an old slightly worn belt back on it and mowed the back yard with no issues. I may have contributed to the recent thrown belt by raising the mower too high. I have been out of commission with the knees and mowing has suffered. The front yard is normally mowed with the Troy Built Walk Behind but I thought it better to raise the deck and cut it with the Regent.
I will figure out how to get proper clearance between the deck and the PTO pulley and will post what I do. There are two additional sets of holes in the mower hitch, any idea what they are for?
While I had things apart I pulled the engine cover and checked my sump bolts. All were still tight, YAY.
I did not have the same issue as Brian did in post 11.
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
Press dies are very expensive so it is cheaper to make one of them than 3 of them
So a part that is common to 3 decks but requires a different mounting position will be pressed with redundent holes so it becomes universal.
From a production point of view it is also a cost saver as every deck gets part XYZ123, so only 1 stock bin, only 1 part to make & no chance of assembly with the wrong part.
Get under the mower & you will see holes in the chassis everywhere, because the same chassis is used for a dozen different variations of a dozen different models.
Because the deck is 3 to 5 times wider than the chassis, a very small amount of wear in the mountings can make a very big amount of movement at the end of the deck.
These linkages are supposed to be lubricated very regularly but I am yet to find an owner who actually does this till as mentioned before , the deck suddenly fouls on trailer ramps or fails to clear lawn edging .
The thing I fear most hearing from a customer is "It has worked flawlessly for X years"
This translates out to "it has not caused me any grief so I have never looked at it, let alone lubricated it "
I then find 15 different parts that are worn sufficiently enough to be causing the problem & the customer baulks at replacing them because they do not want to spend the money, calls me a thief because they can see only a tiny amount of wear then storm off to another shop.
So a part that is common to 3 decks but requires a different mounting position will be pressed with redundent holes so it becomes universal.
From a production point of view it is also a cost saver as every deck gets part XYZ123, so only 1 stock bin, only 1 part to make & no chance of assembly with the wrong part.
Get under the mower & you will see holes in the chassis everywhere, because the same chassis is used for a dozen different variations of a dozen different models.
Because the deck is 3 to 5 times wider than the chassis, a very small amount of wear in the mountings can make a very big amount of movement at the end of the deck.
These linkages are supposed to be lubricated very regularly but I am yet to find an owner who actually does this till as mentioned before , the deck suddenly fouls on trailer ramps or fails to clear lawn edging .
The thing I fear most hearing from a customer is "It has worked flawlessly for X years"
This translates out to "it has not caused me any grief so I have never looked at it, let alone lubricated it "
I then find 15 different parts that are worn sufficiently enough to be causing the problem & the customer baulks at replacing them because they do not want to spend the money, calls me a thief because they can see only a tiny amount of wear then storm off to another shop.