Hit a brick! Close call.

[Zenmower]

I managed to ride over a brick that was covered in grass clippings the other day. Sparks flew and I was able to hit the disengage switch fairly quickly and then turned off the mower (Husky 42" riding). I pulled the brick out from under the deck and cranked the mower back up - fearing the worst, but it cranked fine and ran perfectly. Engaged the blades, again fearing the worst... but vrooommm... no porblem! So I finished mowing the yard and it seemed to be cutting just fine. Phew!

I still have not had the courage to look under the deck and check the blade (it only got hit by one to my knowledge) for signs of damage. Kind of afraid to look, but I know I must!

If I find that the blade has some knicks or dings, but the mower runs, engages and cuts just fine still.... should I take anuy particular action yet? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?

 

[reynoldston]

I have a second home in the mountains. The lawn has a lot of large unmovable rocks in it. This is the reason I have a old well used mower to mow the grass with. This mower has been hitting these large rocks since 1995 and still mows today as good as it always did. The blades get beat up bad and I just replace the blades every few years. This is the reason I am going to say don't give it a second thought about hitting the brick.

 

[mistermowerman]

I have a second home in the mountains. The lawn has a lot of large unmovable rocks in it. This is the reason I have a old well used mower to mow the grass with. This mower has been hitting these large rocks since 1995 and still mows today as good as it always did. The blades get beat up bad and I just replace the blades every few years. This is the reason I am going to say don't give it a second thought about hitting the brick.

I have a customer who picked up a small log which jammed his deck on a Cub Cadet ,he used it not noticing he was not cutting grass ,he only stopped when the belt caught fire which also ruined his pto clutch ,not bad for two month old machine.:confused2: Gary

 

[Zenmower]

I have a second home in the mountains. The lawn has a lot of large unmovable rocks in it. This is the reason I have a old well used mower to mow the grass with. This mower has been hitting these large rocks since 1995 and still mows today as good as it always did. The blades get beat up bad and I just replace the blades every few years. This is the reason I am going to say don't give it a second thought about hitting the brick.

I'm inclined to go with the "don't give it a second thought". I am mowing nearly 2 acres of old, country style land/yard. I had tenants here for about a year who used my old, used Poulan riding mower and pretty much cleared out most everything bad that could be hit by a mower - either by picking it up and disposing of it or by flat out mowing over it, then disposing of it... lol. That mower basically got ruined in the process of making the yard mostly safe for use with a new mower. But I have to be aware that I will still find hazards from time to time and sometimes a bit late.

I know most mowers are built fairly tough. It's just mine is so new, it is still like my baby. I just have to get used to the fact it is going to be used.

 

[possum]

And that is how so many riders get bad mouthed by their owners. They hit such items ten minutes after they get it home new and then forget about it. A couple months later the unit starts tossing belts every ten minutes and they take it in for warranty work and get presented a bill for the work. They are upset. If it were me I would take a good look at my belts, idler pulleys, springs, mounts, blades, spindles, deck. If everything seemed to be right I would then begin using it again. Hitting things happen. So does damage.

 

[Zenmower]

And that is how so many riders get bad mouthed by their owners. They hit such items ten minutes after they get it home new and then forget about it. A couple months later the unit starts tossing belts every ten minutes and they take it in for warranty work and get presented a bill for the work. They are upset. If it were me I would take a good look at my belts, idler pulleys, springs, mounts, blades, spindles, deck. If everything seemed to be right I would then begin using it again. Hitting things happen. So does damage.

Certainly a prudent approach. I did examine the pulleys and belts (pretty much everything on top of the deck) and they appeared unharmed. It is under the deck where I haven't looked yet. I will pull it up on my ramp blocks before mowing next time - just for peace of mind.

 

[reynoldston]

I have a customer who picked up a small log which jammed his deck on a Cub Cadet ,he used it not noticing he was not cutting grass ,he only stopped when the belt caught fire which also ruined his pto clutch ,not bad for two month old machine.:confused2: Gary

I would think most people who mow would know when the mower isn't mowing grass. The only thing I have ever seen on my camp mower from hitting rocks is that the blade gets beat up after a couple of years use. Never seen a pulley or belt go bad from hitting something. I have seen bent crankshafts on push mowers but then the blade is mounted right on the crankshaft. I sure wouldn't lose any sleep over hitting the brick, new mower or not. Sure its something you are not going to do on a regular every day thing if you can help it.

 

[exotion]

Thing about riders is the blade isn't attached to the engine lots of signifcantly cheaper parts between blade and engine to fail before crank.

Your blade is prolly shot but that's prolly like 20 bucks and check the spindle make sure its fine which it probably is