D100 (maintenance and repairs)

biodiesel

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I bought a D100 new in 2012. It's been a great machine. I live in the mountains at 7,000' feet and only mow once per year. This fall my mower deck sounded really bad and it got louder and louder until it finally made a horrible sound, threw a belt, and the PTO stopped working. I pulled the deck and found one spindle that was bad. I also noticed that the main pully underneath the engine doesn't spin. So, I'm now worried that I may have damaged the main shaft/pully/PTO mechanism. The engine runs fine, but I can't get the PTO to manually engage. Did I do damage to the PTO system? If so, how can I diagnose? Hopefully it's repairable. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

Scrubcadet10

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So the engine is running, but the PTO pulley that is on the crankshaft isn't spinning, you said it's a manual PTO (so i assume not electric with a button you push to engage the blades),,, that pulley should be spinning if the engine is running.
we're talking about a pulley similar to this, right?
1642214497038.png
 

biodiesel

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So the engine is running, but the PTO pulley that is on the crankshaft isn't spinning, you said it's a manual PTO (so i assume not electric with a button you push to engage the blades),,, that pulley should be spinning if the engine is running.
we're talking about a pulley similar to this, right?
I stand corrected. I just turned on the mower and the pulley is spinning. This is good news. Perhaps my only problem is that the spindles need to be replaced. I'll report back once I get all the parts and reinstall the deck.

s4CTweQ.jpg


M6O0hQ2.jpg
 

StarTech

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Replacing the bearings is usually a lot cheaper than paying over $60 a piece at JD for the spindles. I think they are 6203-Z C3 bearings but not 100% as it been a few years since my last time I rebuilt a set for a customer.
 

biodiesel

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Replacing the bearings is usually a lot cheaper than paying over $60 a piece at JD for the spindles. I think they are 6203-Z C3 bearings but not 100% as it been a few years since my last time I rebuilt a set for a customer.

Thank you for the reply and useful feedback. The spindle cracked therefore it's not repairable. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I'm smart enough to know how to replace the bearings. I'll be doing good to figure out how everything goes back on. :unsure:

With that said, I bought replacement spindles off Amazon for $27.99 each. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09684656S?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
 

Scrubcadet10

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Replacing the bearings is usually a lot cheaper than paying over $60 a piece at JD for the spindles. I think they are 6203-Z C3 bearings but not 100% as it been a few years since my last time I rebuilt a set for a customer.
Yep, i amazed a guy when i rebuilt a spindle for him on his Cub Cadet that used a 6204RS bearings, i used some Timken bearings ,for $18 for 2 of them, , (removal, disassembly, reassembly, and reinstall) , instead of paying $80 for 1 spindle from Tractor Supply.
 

bertsmobile1

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If you can make those nice mower ramps then you can replace spindle bearings
The only real trick is to leave them in the deck because removing the housing usually causes one of the bolts to break off .
When you fit them use some never sieze on the threads.
The slowest part is generally removing the pulley from the top, blades stay on the spindle
If I use the air hammer to knock out the old bearings it takes about 10 minutes per spindle .
 

biodiesel

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If you can make those nice mower ramps then you can replace spindle bearings
The only real trick is to leave them in the deck because removing the housing usually causes one of the bolts to break off .
When you fit them use some never sieze on the threads.
The slowest part is generally removing the pulley from the top, blades stay on the spindle
If I use the air hammer to knock out the old bearings it takes about 10 minutes per spindle .
I'm a visual learner. If I can see it done, then I can do it. Otherwise, I really don't have a clue.

I'll be sure to add Permatex anti-seize when I install the new spindles.

Here's what my broken spindle looks like:

eHuLAVA.jpg
 

StarTech

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I haven't seen one broken like. Definitely not repairable. Even someone that weld aluminum would have problem doing it. I wonder what caused it.
 

bertsmobile1

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That has been cracked for a very long time
Failure to properly grease the spindle eventually cause the bearing to collapse and the balls hammering around inside finished the job.
So quite some time back it coped a big bang but kept on running till it ultimately failed .
 
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