Wondering if anyone else has had experience linking up a RC72-30BB mid-mount mower to the LX3310.
I got my new tractor in October. It arrived with the mower already mounted from the dealership. I did some late Fall mowing with it, then detached it over the winter.
So yesterday was my first adventure hooking the mid-mount mower back up to the 3310. I was well familiar with doing this for my old B2620, and so thought it would be fairly similar.
Things went pretty much as expected... except for a massive headache trying to get the universal joint onto the mid-PTO. The issues I encountered were:
1) The mid-PTO is heavily shielded so that you can’t see it at all unless you can put the tractor on a lift. So everything had to be done by feel.
2) The mower deck is constructed in a way that makes it difficult to lie down on it or alongside it; and it’s also difficult to reach in past the various lifts and shields. (That’s even with me having long arms.)
3) I thought about sliding under the tractor from the back... But I’m a big guy, and also had visions of me winding up as a “man crushed by tractor” story in my local newspaper.
4) The slip on the universal joint has very little “play” to it, and doesn't seem to want to stick in the retracted position for sliding onto the mid-PTO. Without being able to properly see anything and with the limited access, holding everything in place and lining it up was a nightmare.
5) I finally was able to get the two parts aligned and slide the joint just barely on. Again, this was all being done by feel, with no visuals of what was occurring.
6) Due to the shielding and obstructions around the mid-PTO, it was hard to get any leverage to push the joint onto the shaft. After much straining and grunting and cursing, I thought I finally slid it somewhat on—but I did not hear the familiar “click” to indicate it was firmly attached.
I then started things up and (with the deck covers off), and could see that the belts were spinning. Yay. I took it out for about 10 minutes of test mowing. This was successful... But I am dubious that the joint is actually truly attached, and not going to slip off the mid-PTO once I hit some rougher terrain.
So... Phew. Long message. I’m hoping someone else has gone through this struggle and might have some tips.