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John Deere L118 Blades hit together

#1

J

Jake L118

John Deere L118 Replaced blades and belt. Mowes great but every so often I get a terrible noise for approximately 3 seconds when the blades strike each other. This happens approximately every 30-45 seconds. This is an older model and I don’t see anyway to set the timing. Do I grind the blades down so they can’t touch?

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#2

M

MParr

You need to find out what’s causing it.
Are both blades actually for your mower?
Is your deck bent?
Are your spindles in good shape?
I see that you have installed aftermarket Gator style blades. 🤦‍♂️


#3

Scrubcadet10

Scrubcadet10

make sure your spindles are tight (bolted to deck)


#4

M

MParr

Measure the blades diagonally. If they are 21.5” diagonally, they are too long. They should be 21.465”. In other words, they should be a hair over 21 3/8” measured diagonally.

How to Measure a Lawn Mower Blade - USA Mower Blades

usamowerblades.com usamowerblades.com
Your OE blades are GX 20433.

GX20433

GX20433
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com

Search | Oregon Products

www.oregonproducts.com www.oregonproducts.com

Search results for "GX20433"

www.stens.com www.stens.com


#5

J

Jake L118

Thank you all for the advice and direction! Spindles are tight and I fear the blade just needed to be ground down, just a little too long. Are the Gator style blade bad? 😬


#6

B

bertsmobile1

When they work properly they are great, just nit suited to some decks
you grind blade tips at an angle so the back is shorter than the front
Have a good loot at the edges of your blades.
Where they are striking will be obvious.
And remember blade lengths are diagonal as previuosly mentioned


#7

M

MParr

Jake L118 said:
Thank you all for the advice and direction! Spindles are tight and I fear the blade just needed to be ground down, just a little too long. Are the Gator style blade bad? 😬
Click to expand...
If you go grinding on those blades, you may run into a balance problem.
Do you have the part number for those blades?

Gator Style blade: Personally, I don’t like using them in the growing season. The slightest bit of moisture in your grass will pack the deck with clippings and leave clumps everywhere. They are pretty good in the fall and for early spring cleanup.


#8

StarTech

StarTech

MParr said:
Measure the blades diagonally. If they are 21.5” diagonally, they are too long. They should be 21.465”. In other words, they should be a hair over 21 3/8” measured diagonally.

How to Measure a Lawn Mower Blade - USA Mower Blades

usamowerblades.com usamowerblades.com
Your OE blades are GX 20433.

GX20433

GX20433
www.rotarycorp.com www.rotarycorp.com

Search | Oregon Products

www.oregonproducts.com www.oregonproducts.com

Search results for "GX20433"

www.stens.com www.stens.com
Click to expand...
Boy I just didn't know the JD was picky that 1/32 of an inch would cause a problem. Actually 1/64" if measured from the center. Now I would that blade or blade center hole could off center a little cause but not a 32nd of inch overall length difference.

Take the current blades and from the center to tip of the leading cutting edge of both halves. They should be equal in length, about 10.75". I have had blades over the years to be slightly longer on one half than other and it cause blade tip to contact each other.


#9

M

MParr

StarTech said:
Boy I just didn't know the JD was picky that 1/32 of an inch would cause a problem. Actually 1/64" if measured from the center. Now I would that blade or blade center hole could off center a little cause but not a 32nd of inch overall length difference.

Take the current blades and from the center to tip of the leading cutting edge of both halves. They should be equal in length, about 10.75". I have had blades over the years to be slightly longer on one half than other and it cause blade tip to contact each other.
Click to expand...
I’m thinking he has the wrong blades for that mower.


#10

PTmowerMech

PTmowerMech

Jake L118 said:
John Deere L118 Replaced blades and belt. Mowes great but every so often I get a terrible noise for approximately 3 seconds when the blades strike each other. This happens approximately every 30-45 seconds. This is an older model and I don’t see anyway to set the timing. Do I grind the blades down so they can’t touch?
Click to expand...

Not hitting every round doesn't sound like a blade problem. If the blades were hitting each other because they're too long, it would sound more like a machine gun.
Remove the deck belt and re-check spindles.


#11

B

bertsmobile1

PTmowerMech said:
Not hitting every round doesn't sound like a blade problem. If the blades were hitting each other because they're too long, it would sound more like a machine gun.
Remove the deck belt and re-check spindles.
Click to expand...
No that is exactly what happens
They strike each other for a few revolutions then they get in time because one blade slips on the belt till eventually it catches back up again when they will start to strike each other again.


#12

M

MParr

I still believe that he has purchased the wrong replacement blades. The OP has only replied once and was talking about grinding some length off of the blades.


#13

StarTech

StarTech

PTmowerMech said:
Not hitting every round doesn't sound like a blade problem. If the blades were hitting each other because they're too long, it would sound more like a machine gun.
Remove the deck belt and re-check spindles.
Click to expand...
Not necessary PT I had a Murray rider that one blade was tad too long and it randomly tagged the other blade due to slight difference in spindle pulley size.


#14

J

JD_Driver

Buy new blades, they are cheap.


#15

eldowdy

eldowdy

Buy a new set of blades. Those are too long.

Ed


#16

L

LMPPLUS

Jake L118 said:
John Deere L118 Replaced blades and belt. Mowes great but every so often I get a terrible noise for approximately 3 seconds when the blades strike each other. This happens approximately every 30-45 seconds. This is an older model and I don’t see anyway to set the timing. Do I grind the blades down so they can’t touch?
Click to expand...
Deere shows this is not a timed deck, you may have a deck that's warped or bent.


#17

G

Gord Baker

I recently helped a neighbour with this problem. He had the blades on upside down and the tips hit.
I didn't check but the Ends may not be 90°. Don't grind off the cutting tips, grind off the back side end if you decide to go that route. I suspect you have a loose spindle or Blades are not mounted correctly and tightened on the Spindle.


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