44A Deck spindles

[Stevenovick1]

How do I take apart my spindles. Want to regrease Bearings by hand. Is this complicated or easy?

 

[Stevenovick1]

Wheel bearing grease? Regular or mobile 1

 

[Stevenovick1]

The housings seem hard to separate. Need some insight

 

[dschwandt]

I don't think they are meant to be taken apart for service.

 

[digger]

Depends on what style bearings you have.
If they are the one piece ST-745's, they don't come apart.

 

[Stevenovick1]

Ok I lost my mind. They all have grease fittings. So scratch what I asked. My 149 deck has no grease fitting on the center spindle. Nor does it have a hole for a grease fitting. Got confused on my decks

 

[Stevenovick1]

 

[Stevenovick1]

 

[Stevenovick1]

I applied slip grip No.1 underneath saved the rest for the snow thrower

 

[hydroharry]

hmm, here we go again Steve. How about posting a pic of that center spindle on the deck for your 149. I don't recall ever seeing a correct center spindle for an IH deck that did "not" have a center spindle with a grease fitting (or hole for one).

 

[Stevenovick1]

Thanks for the info on this stuff. You know who you are. That stuff is thick

 

[Stevenovick1]

Ok Harry I will later today

 

[hydroharry]

Steve - that "Slip Plate" is terrific on a snow thrower. You will probably have to touch it up every year or 2. I never used it on a mowing deck so don't know how well it holds up. Maybe some others on here can speak up to durability on a mowing deck.

 

[dfrisk]

HARRY - I used Slip Plate on my 38" & 44" decks a couple times. Twisted wire brushed everything under the deck to bare shiney steel and after 3-4 mowings even with multiple coats on high wear areas bare steel started showing. I've read a couple posts that say brush-on pickup bed liner coating, something that drys to a slick shiney surface and builds up a thick coating works pretty well, I haven't used it myself.
I found mowing DRY GRASS, after the sun evaporates any dew, and definently NOT after any rain, that dry grass would not stick under the decks. And actually wears any accumulated build-up off and polishes up the underside of the deck above the blades and along the discharge tunnel.
I've followed that same process with my zero turn, on my SIXTH SUMMER of mowing and I have NEVER cleaned out under the deck. It does have a couple places I should clean, and have only sharpened the blades TWICE. I think next time I'll spend the $75 for new blades and have the local shop sharpen them.
I tried the IH hard coated blades several times and finally decided they were not worth the cost, hit a rock or something and you chipped a piece off the cutting edge. I had standard blades on my 44" deck on my 129 that I sharpened a lot and they still lasted 15 years.
I'm not sure what the new price is on the "waterpump bearings" on the newer decks, the ST-745's, I bought one one time at my local dealer, had to get the top & bottom housing halves too, and a new zerk and drive key and cost me a bit over $180 about 10 years ago. I probably could have got by with just the top & bottom housing but there was some wear on the outer race of the bearing too.

 

[snicklas]

HARRY - I used Slip Plate on my 38" & 44" decks a couple times. Twisted wire brushed everything under the deck to bare shiney steel and after 3-4 mowings even with multiple coats on high wear areas bare steel started showing. I've read a couple posts that say brush-on pickup bed liner coating, something that drys to a slick shiney surface and builds up a thick coating works pretty well, I haven't used it myself.
I found mowing DRY GRASS, after the sun evaporates any dew, and definently NOT after any rain, that dry grass would not stick under the decks. And actually wears any accumulated build-up off and polishes up the underside of the deck above the blades and along the discharge tunnel.
I've followed that same process with my zero turn, on my SIXTH SUMMER of mowing and I have NEVER cleaned out under the deck. It does have a couple places I should clean, and have only sharpened the blades TWICE. I think next time I'll spend the $75 for new blades and have the local shop sharpen them.
I tried the IH hard coated blades several times and finally decided they were not worth the cost, hit a rock or something and you chipped a piece off the cutting edge. I had standard blades on my 44" deck on my 129 that I sharpened a lot and they still lasted 15 years.
I'm not sure what the new price is on the "waterpump bearings" on the newer decks, the ST-745's, I bought one one time at my local dealer, had to get the top & bottom housing halves too, and a new zerk and drive key and cost me a bit over $180 about 10 years ago. I probably could have got by with just the top & bottom housing but there was some wear on the outer race of the bearing too.

Denny,

Same here. I run with the “rule of thumb”, if I walk though the grass and the toes of my boots get wet, the grass doesn’t get cut. Done that for years on the 44/50A decks on the Cubs and my 1.5 Year old Cub ZTR. I had to get under the deck recently, to remove a cloth like “thing” that was hiding in the grass and the hi-vac deck sucked it right in and killed the engine. Underside of the deck is still nice and clean. Just a couple of places with a bit a thatch.

The amount of air these new decks move, I think if you could turn the air around, they would fly………

 

[Lee Arnold]

I have found cleaning the deck and soaking it with used moor oil to be the best - it turns into a shinny black coating if you do it whenever you have the deck off -I do mine once a year

 

[dray]

HARRY - I used Slip Plate on my 38" & 44" decks a couple times. Twisted wire brushed everything under the deck to bare shiney steel and after 3-4 mowings even with multiple coats on high wear areas bare steel started showing. I've read a couple posts that say brush-on pickup bed liner coating, something that drys to a slick shiney surface and builds up a thick coating works pretty well, I haven't used it myself.
I found mowing DRY GRASS, after the sun evaporates any dew, and definently NOT after any rain, that dry grass would not stick under the decks. And actually wears any accumulated build-up off and polishes up the underside of the deck above the blades and along the discharge tunnel.
I've followed that same process with my zero turn, on my SIXTH SUMMER of mowing and I have NEVER cleaned out under the deck. It does have a couple places I should clean, and have only sharpened the blades TWICE. I think next time I'll spend the $75 for new blades and have the local shop sharpen them.
I tried the IH hard coated blades several times and finally decided they were not worth the cost, hit a rock or something and you chipped a piece off the cutting edge. I had standard blades on my 44" deck on my 129 that I sharpened a lot and they still lasted 15 years.
I'm not sure what the new price is on the "waterpump bearings" on the newer decks, the ST-745's, I bought one one time at my local dealer, had to get the top & bottom housing halves too, and a new zerk and drive key and cost me a bit over $180 about 10 years ago. I probably could have got by with just the top & bottom housing but there was some wear on the outer race of the bearing too.

If you are or know someone that’s a good welder, weld a bead down the edge of your blades and sharpen it, makes a great blade that stays sharp and it tough to dull

 

[dware]

Mower blades are tempered steel . Any welding on then will remove the temper thus softening the steel UNLESS you use a hard surfacing rod.

 

[Stevenovick1]

Fertilizer is the biggest problem with Decks rotting

 

[Stevenovick1]

Phosphate’s