Resurrecting a RCB60 Mid Mount Mower

[cmyoch]

I inherited my uncle's 1987 B8200 with a RCB60 mid mounted mower and a 3pt tiller. My uncle purchased these brand new in early 1987. He recently passed away at the age of 81. He parked the tiller about a year ago when he wrapped a garden hose in the tines and didn't have the time or energy to cut it out. That's an easy fix. As for the mower, he dismounted it a couple years ago and let it sit on the edge of his driveway with a bucket over the gearbox. Today, I pulled it out of the weeds to give it a good assessment as I would like to put it back into service. At first glance, the blades are completely shot which was a given that I planned on mounting new blades. I plan on wire wheeling the underside of the deck to remove the rust and give it a good coat of POR-15 to seal it up and prevent further rust damage. On the top side, I plan on replacing the belt, draining and replacing the gear oil, and lubing all the grease points. The driveshaft is locked tight. I am going to soak it in penetrating oil and try pulling it apart to give it a good once over as well.

I've never dealt with a pto driven belly mower before. Once i service the deck, will the blades turn with me turning the driveshaft by hand? As of now, nothing seems to be moving. I don't want to cause any damage by forcing anything. I want to make sure I'm not missing any steps here. I'm looking for input to make this resurrection as smooth as possible.

The tractor has about 820 hours on the clock. I ran the machine a bit early this spring and it seems to run fine. I plan on making this a pasture mower and using it to maintain a rock driveway for now. There are a few maintenance items on the tractor I want to get taken care of then I hope to keep his machine going strong for another 35 years.

 

[BAP]

Other than the issues from sitting, the mower looks like it is in good shape.

 

[imnukensc]

It'll be easier to try turning the blades by turning the blades themselves instead of trying to turn the drive shaft. Takes a lot of force to get the blades moving by using the drive shaft. It'll still take some effort by using the blades to turn them, but assuming all is well, it'll be easier than using the drive shaft. As mentioned earlier, that deck looks in pretty decent shape.

 

[SDT]

I inherited my uncle's 1987 B8200 with a RCB60 mid mounted mower and a 3pt tiller. My uncle purchased these brand new in early 1987. He recently passed away at the age of 81. He parked the tiller about a year ago when he wrapped a garden hose in the tines and didn't have the time or energy to cut it out. That's an easy fix. As for the mower, he dismounted it a couple years ago and let it sit on the edge of his driveway with a bucket over the gearbox. Today, I pulled it out of the weeds to give it a good assessment as I would like to put it back into service. At first glance, the blades are completely shot which was a given that I planned on mounting new blades. I plan on wire wheeling the underside of the deck to remove the rust and give it a good coat of POR-15 to seal it up and prevent further rust damage. On the top side, I plan on replacing the belt, draining and replacing the gear oil, and lubing all the grease points. The driveshaft is locked tight. I am going to soak it in penetrating oil and try pulling it apart to give it a good once over as well.

I've never dealt with a pto driven belly mower before. Once i service the deck, will the blades turn with me turning the driveshaft by hand? As of now, nothing seems to be moving. I don't want to cause any damage by forcing anything. I want to make sure I'm not missing any steps here. I'm looking for input to make this resurrection as smooth as possible.

The tractor has about 820 hours on the clock. I ran the machine a bit early this spring and it seems to run fine. I plan on making this a pasture mower and using it to maintain a rock driveway for now. There are a few maintenance items on the tractor I want to get taken care of then I hope to keep his machine going strong for another 35 years.

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Mower looks to be in decent shape.

Aside from a decent cleaning, proper lube, replacing the blades (and probably belt), and addressing the driveshaft issue, little more is needed.

Don't waste time and energy on the underside of the deck if you plan to use the mower.

 

[cmyoch]

Thanks guys, this gives me peace of mind that I still have a decent deck and it's worth putting back into service. I'm going to start hitting that pto shaft with penetrating oil to get it freed up and get her going. Any idea what size blades these decks take?

 

[skeets]

Yep a weekend with some elbow grease drain the gearbox and refill, a couple shots f grease in the spindles your golden,,, NOW to the drive shaft,, try to get it as up right as you can and PB blaster let it soak in for a bit and it should move Im sure the grease on the splines has turned to glue,, When removing the blades remember they have cupped washers watch how they come off Im not sure about the nut but I think it is 19mm. And before you take off the belt DRAW a diagram of how it goes on,,, yes lots of time and naughty words have been spoke over this belt!
The underside I wouldnt worry about to much, grass dirt and dive way gravel will take care of all of it. Enjoy the wee beasty and welcome to the orange

 

[N3BP]

These Kubota MMM decks are fully rebuildable and worth rebuilding. They were constructed well and hold up over time. I did a full rebuild on my two years ago, and all the bearings, belts and wear parts were available through Messcisk. Given the age, I suggest you check for bearing play by giving all the shafts a wiggle. If the oil level is low, the top gearbox bearing may be in question. This is a problem for the gearbox if it wasn't checked yearly.

 

[cmyoch]

Yep a weekend with some elbow grease drain the gearbox and refill, a couple shots f grease in the spindles your golden,,, NOW to the drive shaft,, try to get it as up right as you can and PB blaster let it soak in for a bit and it should move Im sure the grease on the splines has turned to glue,, When removing the blades remember they have cupped washers watch how they come off Im not sure about the nut but I think it is 19mm. And before you take off the belt DRAW a diagram of how it goes on,,, yes lots of time and naughty words have been spoke over this belt!
The underside I wouldnt worry about to much, grass dirt and dive way gravel will take care of all of it. Enjoy the wee beasty and welcome to the orange

Are the centers of the mower blades smooth or notched in a gear like pattern? Hope that makes sense. I will document as much as possible with pictures. Especially the belt diagram.

 

[cmyoch]

These Kubota MMM decks are fully rebuildable and worth rebuilding. They were constructed well and hold up over time. I did a full rebuild on my two years ago, and all the bearings, belts and wear parts were available through Messcisk. Given the age, I suggest you check for bearing play by giving all the shafts a wiggle. If the oil level is low, the top gearbox bearing may be in question. This is a problem for the gearbox if it wasn't checked yearly.

Very nice. This gives me peace of mind that I'm not working with a worn out deck. As for shaft play, am I looking for none whatsoever or is a minimal amount acceptable? I'll check that out when I soak down the PTO shaft.

 

[N3BP]

Are the centers of the mower blades smooth or notched in a gear like pattern? Hope that makes sense. I will document as much as possible with pictures. Especially the belt diagram.

They are smooth and held in place by friction washers. Yours should be replaced as I'm assuming they are badly rusted.

 

[N3BP]

Minimal shaft play is expected and acceptable.

 

[N3BP]

Not sure which version of the RC60 you have, but the attached image is from the service manual and can give you a better idea of how the blades are secured.....

 

[cmyoch]

Well, this project may be on hold for a bit. I think I may have a blown head gasket. I'm posting a new thread to the forum now so I can make sure I tackle this one properly.

 

[skeets]

One step one day

 

[Russell King]

Take the pto shaft off the deck and put it inside the garage. Prop it vertically with the smaller (inside) size shaft pointing up. Spray the smaller shaft with something like PB Blaster. That will then run down into the joint over time. Spray it every few days and see if it will move. Repeat until it starts moving again or you can’t stand it anymore.

Good luck with it all.

 

[GrizBota]

Looks like a well built deck. I second checking the bearings for the spindles of each blade.

 

[D2Cat]

That deck is a finish mower. Using to for pasture mowing may be a challenge.