Mower Blades Hit RCK54P

[Henro]

You were right. I had already taken the deck to the dealer before I got your email. I was surprised how fast they diagnosed and fixed it. They said the deck was bent “ever so slightly”. They shaved the center and right blade and all is good now. They only charged for 1/2 hour labor. I brought it home and remounted the deck and made a test run. It cuts fine.

I still don’t understand why both ends of the right blade don’t hit the center. I would think that if the deck is bent, but the spindle assembly isn’t, that the blades would hit on both sides when rotated.

I also don’t understand how I could have hit something that bent the deck, but did not bend/damage the blade, shaft, and/or the bottom flange/holder assembly.

Thanks for the reply and verifying the problem.

Dan

So it sounds like they did what common sense said to do to eliminate the problem at the beginning of this thread.

Did the dealer happen to mention how he determined the deck was bent?

Only charged a half hour labor. Probably did not do much except grind a bit off the blades so they don't hit. As was suggested by someone previously.

The true reason for the situation still seems to be elusive without some kind of measurements to back up the conclusion...easy answer: Deck is bent. Grind off the ends of the blades as needed and don't worry about it...

 

[D2Cat]

Perhaps the dealer is familiar with that particular deck having a flex problem and solved it the way they have in the past. We did have another tech state he had serviced other decks with this problem.

 

[Dandick]

dang my head is hurting trying to figure out WHAT is REALLY wrong with that deck.
it doesn't make ANY sense that only ONE side of a blade could hit, after all BOTH have to be same length for balancing.
also curious as to HOW the deck got 'bent ever so slightly', to cause the problem,seeing how Kubota decks are 'built better than MTD ones'.

Then there's this diddy...
"I still don’t understand why both ends of the right blade don’t hit the center. I would think that if the deck is bent, but the spindle assembly isn’t, that the blades would hit on both sides when rotated. "

I'd love to hear THAT explained...

I’m glad you see things the way I do. I just don’t understand it, but the dealer says they have shaved blades before, so I am somewhat comfortable with that solution. The mower is put away for the winter now. When I change blades mid season next year, I’ll do as whitetiger said and lay a straight edge across the flange on the spndles.

Merry Christmas. .

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I had a bent deck this summer, took off the wheels and blades, laid the shell onto my 4by8 plywooded bench. YES it's bent ! About 1 1/2" ,on the diagonal ,funny thing it didn't look THAT bad, Removed the spindles(heat screws,lightly turn,more heat,whew, got them all out) Steel screws in aluminum housings is a bad thing..corrosion 'welds' them in tight ,real tight ! Used chains,blocks , comealong to pull deck 'level'. Got to within an 1/8" and called it a success, reinstalled everything,replaced the one dinged blade, it's back to cutting grass...
so 'bottom line'.. when you're totally bored, toss deck onto a known flat workbench and see if the deck lays flat.

 

[Dandick]

I had a bent deck this summer, took off the wheels and blades, laid the shell onto my 4by8 plywooded bench. YES it's bent ! About 1 1/2" ,on the diagonal ,funny thing it didn't look THAT bad, Removed the spindles(heat screws,lightly turn,more heat,whew, got them all out) Steel screws in aluminum housings is a bad thing..corrosion 'welds' them in tight ,real tight ! Used chains,blocks , comealong to pull deck 'level'. Got to within an 1/8" and called it a success, reinstalled everything,replaced the one dinged blade, it's back to cutting grass...
so 'bottom line'.. when you're totally bored, toss deck onto a known flat workbench and see if the deck lays flat.

I guess I was lucky with my spindles. All of the nuts came right off and I was able to remove the spindle housings real easy. Maybe I’ll do the complete deck removal after next season. I just want to forget about it for the winter, and it’s all set up to cut in the spring. Changed oil, filter, transmission filter and fluid, gear oil, grease - the works.

 

[Dandick]

So it sounds like they did what common sense said to do to eliminate the problem at the beginning of this thread.

Did the dealer happen to mention how he determined the deck was bent?

Only charged a half hour labor. Probably did not do much except grind a bit off the blades so they don't hit. As was suggested by someone previously.

The true reason for the situation still seems to be elusive without some kind of measurements to back up the conclusion...easy answer: Deck is bent. Grind off the ends of the blades as needed and don't worry about it...

I didn’t think to ask them how they determined the deck was bent. The more I think about it, a bent deck is the only answer. Different blades and spindles have been swappe, so the deck is the only thing left.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

If you can lay the deck on a good known flat surface, it's EASY to spot what's wrong. problem is most don't have a totally cleared off 4by4 FOOT clean workbench !

 

[Dandick]

If you can lay the deck on a good known flat surface, it's EASY to spot what's wrong. problem is most don't have a totally cleared off 4by4 FOOT clean workbench !

I’m lucky if I can get a 4 inch by 4 inch clear space! I definitely have not totally given up on this project. Like I said before, it will probably be the end of the next mowing season.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I have to admit it is RARE to have any 'free' space on the bench but at least once a week I have to 'cleanup', 'reorganize'..'start fresh'.....
Still puzzled as to how ONE tip of a blade can hit.Oh well, something to mull over as the days are now getting longer and Spring will soon be here....

 

[John T]

White Tiger already told you how to check to see if the deck is bent.


The dealer / repair shop (or whoever) also told you it was bent...

But the Pissah is, THEN they proceeded to grind the blade for clearance....
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? what a half azz solution. Did they even bother to balance the blade after the put it to the bench grinder??
who was doing the work... Moe &Curley?? good grief.

sorry, thats unacceptable to me.

I would double check the deck for damage (bent) and then bend it back.

If it got "bent" it can certainly get "unbent"


this ain't difficult stuff.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

..but white Tiger's method wouldn't have showed the bend in the deck I fixed during the summer !
All the blades spun fine BUT the left rear wheel area was bent up about 1 1/2". Funny thing is it didn't LOOK that bad. I thought maybe 1/2-3/4" wonky..... yeah, I could almost slide a 2by4 underneath it....!!!

 

[whitetiger]

..but white Tiger's method wouldn't have showed the bend in the deck I fixed during the summer !
All the blades spun fine BUT the left rear wheel area was bent up about 1 1/2". Funny thing is it didn't LOOK that bad. I thought maybe 1/2-3/4" wonky..... yeah, I could almost slide a 2by4 underneath it....!!!

I think the OP is trying to diagnose why two of his blade tips are hitting each other, not why one of the anti-scalp wheels is too high.

 

[Henro]

I think the OP is trying to diagnose why two of his blade tips are hitting each other, not why one of the anti-scalp wheels is too high.

This is true, but his report says only one of the blade tips is hitting the other...not two.

Of course two blade tips are hitting each other if anything is hitting, but really 4 tips should be hitting if two tips are hitting.

I think this is the main question and point of confusion.

 

[PaulL]

I have to admit it is RARE to have any 'free' space on the bench but at least once a week I have to 'cleanup', 'reorganize'..'start fresh'.....
Still puzzled as to how ONE tip of a blade can hit.Oh well, something to mull over as the days are now getting longer and Spring will soon be here....

It was only just hitting, and I guess the blades weren't symmetrical - one a tiny bit shorter or a tiny bit shallower.

 

[whitetiger]

The blades have a large hole in the center which a hub is inserted into. A bolt then goes through the hub so the blades can be moved .025" or more in each place.
Typically, only one end of the blade contacts the next blade on one end. If the deck is bent far enough they can contact on both ends but the vibration and noise are unbearable.

 

[Dandick]

Thanks for all the replies and comments - I think. I took the deck to the dealer before I saw whitetiger’s post. The dealer shaved the blades and I did a test cut. So, whether that was a half fast fix or whatever it worked. I am not going to take that deck and the spindle assemblies off until the end of next season - hopefully. Then I will determine how bad the deck is bent and try to straighten it out.

This was a new experience for me. There was no evidence of the deck being bent and I don’t remember hitting anything. I know I‘ve “bumped” into things before, but never dreamed I hit anything hard enough to bend or twist the deck, but I guess that’s what happened.

 

[PaulL]

I treat the deck on my B2601 pretty mean, as I mow quite a bit of roadside. That mows the dirt quite often, and often mows stumps, stones, wires and other things. It wasn't mowing so well, but I replace the blades with ones that weren't worn short, and it goes great now. But it's entirely possible that the deck itself could be bent. Maybe I should check it one time.

 

[Dandick]

I treat the deck on my B2601 pretty mean, as I mow quite a bit of roadside. That mows the dirt quite often, and often mows stumps, stones, wires and other things. It wasn't mowing so well, but I replace the blades with ones that weren't worn short, and it goes great now. But it's entirely possible that the deck itself could be bent. Maybe I should check it one time.

Based on my experience, if the blades aren’t hitting, I’d leave it alone. My blades were just barely touching, but it was enough to make a real racket.

 

[Mmanders6]

The blades have a large hole in the center which a hub is inserted into. A bolt then goes through the hub so the blades can be moved .025" or more in each place.
Typically, only one end of the blade contacts the next blade on one end. If the deck is bent far enough they can contact on both ends but the vibration and noise are unbearable.

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having a very similar problem on my 54" pro deck. I bought the mower secondhand and the cut quality has been terrible. I tried a set of new OEM blades today and the center blade is rubbing/touching one side of the right blade as they pass. There is also about a 3/16" difference between the height of the blade tips on both sides as far as I can eyeball it. The spindles feel and sound fine but I haven't tried disassembling them so far.

There are signs that the deck took a hard hit at some point. One of the gauge wheel brackets was badly bent. So... I'm thinking I probably have a bent deck too.

Can you give any further advice about how to measure the deck for flat? Where do I lay the straight edge on the spindles? Once diagnosed, what's the best way to try bending it back? This looks like 7 gauge steel so I'm thinking I'll need a hydraulic press or porta power to get it moving...

 

[whitetiger]

Remove the blades and lay a straight edge across the blade hubs on the spindles. They should all be flat and even.
You will have to devise some method using a hydraulic jack and attempt straightening it.