Decks Rusting Out Everywhere

konakid

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I'm just an inexperienced homeowner with a 6-7 year old LT 160 JD with 120 hours on it - and the deck is just about rusted out enough that I can't use it anymore. It is a 42" Freedom mulching deck, which I guess they don't make anymore. And even if they did, the price for decks seem so high that it would make sense to buy another LT style mower. I have 2/3 acre - easy mow. The LT 160 has never had a problem, and believe it or not, I haven't even sharpened the blades, changed the oil, etc. - that is how light duty I use it (and how lazy I have been). Only bought a new battery once, that's it.

When shopping around at the big boxes, I ran into four guys I started talking with who were all buying a new mower for the same reason - their decks had rusted out - all of them John Deere's.

So what's the deal? Is the life of my Light Duty lawn tractor going to be determined by the life of the deck? And with my needs, and in this Hawaiian weather, is that it - six years and 120 hours? So why take care of it if the deck is going to rust before there would ever be any engine, tranny, or other problems.

I notice the new decks all have washing ports now. I never once cleaned this one. Is that why it rusted? Anyway, I'm sure you can understand what I am trying to figure out here. Thanks for any help or info.

BW - This has always been parked under a car port - so never left out in the weather.
 

KennyV

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WELCOME to LMF...

Your the one I read about every now & then... Run an engine for 6 -7 years on the same original oil.:frown:

Don't feel too bad about the deck rusting out... you Couldn't have had much life left in the engine. If there is enough moisture in the air to rust the deck away, then there is enough moisture to ruin the oil...

Getting back to your problem... Your Right, they should be using a better grade & thickness of steel in the deck... There is No excuse for the deck rusting away. With or without cleaning under the deck, it should not have eroded away in 120 hours.... (BTW cleaning the top is more important than the underside... I've never cleaned the underside of my mowers, some I have had since the early 70's)...

On your replacement mower... look closely at the deck... if it is thin stamped, light wt material get a different brand... Oh also change the Oil Once a year... :smile:KennyV
 

konakid

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Thanks for the reply.

I know I'm bad in the eyes of all you mechanic type guys. :smile: I'll be better from now on - promise. I intend to change my JD Gator oil tomorrow, thanks to your prodding.

But if the decks are going to rust out before a totally neglected engine goes, and replacing the deck is so expensive as to make a new mower the logical choice, why bother to take pristine care of it? Perhaps these light duty tractors should be considered "disposable."

You are right about the moisture here in Hawaii - mostly high humidity. I was having a ton of trouble keeping the mower going at times until I found out it was the ethanol in the gas that was absorbing the atmospheric water. Ever since I went to the boat docks to buy ethanol free gas did it start running totally trouble free.
 

redfish9

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Kenny V and Koakid are both right on the problem but don't forget Hawaii isn't just damp air it is salt damp air as it is here in florida ,after use rinse mower deck with fresh water [NOT THE ENGINE] to wash salt off.I solved the problem buying a commercial mower with heavy decking
 

jimrs

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The fact that you never washed out under or on top of the deck, plus the fact that you live in the middle of the Pacific ocean was what rusted out your deck. When you mulch your grass it's trapped under the deck and a lot and I mean a Lot of it sticks to the deck. Things that cause rust Humidity, or Water, dirt, or grass, and air. You had lots of all these things to work with and selected to keep mowing without maint. Now your facing spending big bucks. When we lived in Hawaii we had to watch our cars as they rusted out real fast. But that was back in the '50's.
 

konakid

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Thanks again for the feedback guys.

So I guess the question I need to answer is - with a easy mow 2/3 acre, do I just purchase a sub $2000 unit and know it's a 6-7 year life, or will buying a $4000 plus unit be the long term better solution? I could purchase two light duties and get almost 15 year usage (with a brand new everything half way through).

But I'm afraid that if I invest in a "real" lawn tractor for around $4000, I still could be facing a rusted deck in 10 years. And I'll have a big strong bulkier unit when I don't have any use for the other tasks such a unit might be able to do.

BTW - I'm am also guessing that with a mulching deck that fertilizer may play an additional role in the rusting issue. As I understand it, these decks provide more lift and may be lifting and trapping some of the fresher fertilizer in with the cut grass that sticks to the underside. I believe that it (or some types of fertilizer) can be somewhat corrosive. Does this make sense?
 

hitmanharleyk

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I have seen it work, I work for the company that sells the above. I was only showing it to you as a suggestion and I'm sure other companies sell a similar product, I wouldn't try to sell it to you thru this forum. I only come here to get answers about my mower issues.
 
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