Re: (ET) mower deck questions

[Jim Coate <jbc coate org>]

Well, I got a wide variety of responses as I think there was some 
confusion as to what parts I was referring too. I took a few pictures 
and posted at http://www.coate.org/jim/lists

But what people said did help as I have a plan:

 - the black sleeves are indeed needed to keep the metal from wearing 
thin, so I need to replace or for now just rotate so a different spot wears.

 - the "c" clip on the right side is indeed missing. Although since the 
sleeve seems to stay put I don't feel much urgency to replace it.

 - since I have baffles under the deck, that is my first line of 
defense against flying rocks. But the rubber strip is a bit less than 2" 
so that is on the list to be replaced too.



Garry & Terry Freese wrote:
>  It sounds like you have a rear discharge mower.
> The black rubber strip should be 2 plus inches wide, this is just used
> so the grass does not go flying out from under the mower deck. Bill
> has these at least he did when I bought some.  In my opinion it does
> NOT add to the performance of the mowing.  The rubber strips normally
> fall off just below the long narrow strip of metal that bolts it to
> the rear of the mower deck.


Don Cohen wrote:
> I am not sure what the sleeves look like because my deck didn't come with 
> them when I got it.  I found out after about 2 years of using the deck 
> without them that they are very necessary.  I happened to look down one 
> day and saw that the point of contact between the deck arms and the front 
> mower guide was in bad shape.  Actually, the rubbing action had worn the 
> right guide arm down to the point of almost getting through the thickness 
> of the arm's steel and piercing it through.  The left arm wasn't as bad, 
> but that is probably due to my turning pattern - tend to mow counter 
> clockwise most of the time.  The guide was also worn by 1/3 to 1/2 of its 
> original diameter.  Since my wife does most of the mowing, I didn't notice 
> it till it was almost too late.  Anyway, I couldn't figure out why that 
> happened, but I didn't know until recently that there was supposed to be 
> some sort of protector sleeve.  I came up with my own solution before I 
> found out, and it is very simple and proba
bly much cheaper than purchasing them from Bill (I have bought a LOT of stuff from Bill, so don't think I am knocking him). Just cut 2 pieces of 1 1/2" PVC pipe about 12-18" long and slip them over the deck arms.  They don't need any securing, because the weight of them keep them from moving up the arms at all. This approach probably doesn't look as good as the originals, I'm sure, but from what I can tell by the way they are wearing, they will last a long, long time - plus, they can be replaced in a moment's notice if necessary!  
> The retaining rings you mention are for keeping the mower arm wear sleeves in 
> place.  According to the mower manual, they are supposed to be installed 
> 1/2" from the lower end of the main tube of the arm.


Steve S wrote:
> I think it's a safety thing. With the metal baffles inside, it may be of
> small use, but it's amazing how a rock can ricochet and find it's way 
around
> barriers. Without the baffles it becomes much more important I think.




_________
Jim Coate
1992 Chevy S10
1970's Elec-Trak
http://www.eeevee.com