One of those days.....

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  • Knottscott
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2004
    • 3815
    • Rochester, NY.
    • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

    One of those days.....

    We've all had them....those days, or group of days when we're working hard, and everything just goes to #$%!

    Last Thursday night we pulled the pool cover off above ground pool for the season. Put the cover away, then decided to mow the back yard. Within a few minutes I managed to wrap 90 feet of pool cover cable around the mower blades....I overlooked picking that cable up! I spent the rest of Thursday evening pulling off the mower deck and cutting tiny segments of wire off the mower spindles (90 minutes), then spent the better part of Friday morning trying to remount the 48" deck on my trusty Wheelhorse 266H (4.5 hours, and a total PITA). I got the mower up and running around lunch time and proceeded to mow the lawn....it cut like crap, and didn't sound right. Something was obviously not right. Refusing to pull the mower deck off again, I elevated the mower enough to work under neath, and found 2 blades were upside down, and one was loose. That was a relatively easy fix... an hour later I was back in business, and started mowing the back yard again. We have a tire swing hanging off an old ash tree in the back yard. For the past 8 years, I've slowly pushed the front of the tractor into the tire, it swings out of the way, and I mow under it. Today, I did the same thing, but the tire caught on the hood. The Wheelhorse has a foot activated hydrostatic drive on the right floor board....it's been a wonderful thing up until today. I first realized the tire was caught on the hood by the sound of cracking plastic. Instead of hitting the brake, I instinctively mashed the hystrostatic drive all the way forward with my right foot thinking it was the brake, and darn near yanked the hole hood off that tractor! It's badly cracked and mangled, and it managed to break the cruise control off the dashboard (no big loss for my yard, but still). It's been a rough 36 hours since I fed the mower that pool cover cable!

    Thanks for letting me vent!
    Last edited by Knottscott; 05-31-2014, 04:37 PM.
    Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.
  • jdon
    Established Member
    • Feb 2010
    • 401
    • Snoqualmie, Wash.
    • BT3100

    #2
    Ouch! At least you didn't step on a rake

    Comment

    • dbhost
      Slow and steady
      • Apr 2008
      • 9209
      • League City, Texas
      • Ryobi BT3100

      #3
      Ouch... Sorry to hear it.
      Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

      Comment

      • leehljp
        Just me
        • Dec 2002
        • 8429
        • Tunica, MS
        • BT3000/3100

        #4
        I feel your pain. Grandkids come over and leave things all over the lawn that Grandma gives them. I pick up all that I can see, but rope and wire and stuff that falls flat gets caught up in the mower.

        I had a similar mower problem a month ago. On my 42" lawn tractor, a bearing went out on a spindle, the belt broke, the cable that engages the mower broke - all at the same time. Replaced all and both spindles and added new blades; working great now, almost like a new mower.

        While waiting for parts, I got out the trim push mower; it ran wide open and two wheels were wobbling. Just bought it a year ago. I usually ride the lawn tractor and a young fellow helps with the push mower. I think he has been "borrowing" it. The wheels look like they are 5 years old and almost wore out. Cleaned the carb out and it is doing fair now. Going to make sure the mower is chained from now on.
        Hank Lee

        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

        Comment

        • Knottscott
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2004
          • 3815
          • Rochester, NY.
          • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

          #5
          Several hours later, I'm still not happy about the damage to the hood of the tractor, but all in all it was really nothing that a trip to Dairy Queen couldn't fix! If that's the worst thing that happens on any given day, it's still a good day.
          Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

          Comment

          • tfischer
            Veteran Member
            • Jul 2003
            • 2343
            • Plymouth (Minneapolis), MN, USA.
            • BT3100

            #6
            Sorry to hear.

            I did something very similar to the hood of my Deere SST16 a few years back. We have a "porch" swing under our deck. I'd always done the same as you, slowly pushing it out of the way so that I could mow right up against the "deck line" with the mower deck. But one day it caught on, and made a huge crack in my hood. Fortunately I was able to repair it pretty well using a fiberglass auto body repair kit from the inside of the hood. Unless you're up close and looking for it, you can't really even see the damage anymore.

            These days I now BACK into the swing instead of push forward lol.


            One thing about my Deere which is nice - I can have the mower deck off in about 2 minutes, and back on in about 5 more... both with no tools at all. 4.5 hours to put your mower deck on??? wow.

            Comment

            • Knottscott
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2004
              • 3815
              • Rochester, NY.
              • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

              #7
              Originally posted by tfischer
              ....

              These days I now BACK into the swing instead of push forward lol.


              One thing about my Deere which is nice - I can have the mower deck off in about 2 minutes, and back on in about 5 more... both with no tools at all. 4.5 hours to put your mower deck on??? wow.
              10/4 on the backing up technique!

              The 266H has been a wonderful mower....it purrs like a kitten, never ever bogs down, mows well, has an incredibly tight turning radius for a lawn tractor of this size, rides beautifully, feels solid, and does everything a lawn tractor should do... it's got tilt, cruise control, and a cup holder....love it.....but, that mower deck is a super PITA to install. It comes off ok....the directions are simple, however executing those directions takes all kinds of finesse and persuasion. It's a tough job with two people, it took clamps, levers, jacks, pedestals, and a whole lot of chin rubbing to get it on myself, and I've always thought I was mechanically inclined! You can't reach much between the deck and tractor, and the deck is heavy. A technicians mower lift would probably help! It was much easier to lift it up and work underneath the deck!
              Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

              Comment

              • Pappy
                The Full Monte
                • Dec 2002
                • 10453
                • San Marcos, TX, USA.
                • BT3000 (x2)

                #8
                Damage to lawn tractors through operator error seems to run rampant. I've picked up rope, wire and plastic netting in the blades that should not have been on the ground. The 'bumper' on my Deere LT155 got destroyed when I hooked it on a post backing up. At least it was relatively cheap to replace.

                Ditto on the busted hood. Leaned out over the front of my tractor to swing open the gate. Lost balance a bit and hit top center of the hood with my hand. Busted a big hole in the top half of the hood. Took the upper half off and kept all the pieces, but never tried to repair it.

                Irritating item on my Deere is the button you have to hold down to back up with the blades engaged. The concept is a safety feature I don't see a need for. The switch isn't sealed and fills with dirt, then fails. After the second time I unplugged the sensor on the axle.
                Last edited by Pappy; 06-01-2014, 08:20 AM.
                Don, aka Pappy,

                Wise men talk because they have something to say,
                Fools because they have to say something.
                Plato

                Comment

                • JimD
                  Veteran Member
                  • Feb 2003
                  • 4187
                  • Lexington, SC.

                  #9
                  I hope to sell the other house soon and be done with lawn tractors. The little bit of grass at the lake house takes 30-40 minutes with a push mower. But the OP brought back memories of a summer job mowing overgrown lots in Kansas City Missouri back in college. We worked 70 weeks and I got quite a tan. We used Ford tractors with 5 foot brush hogs. We could go through most things in the yards but our blades would stop from clothes lines and panty hose. I got strong forearms cutting clothes lines off the hub of the brush hog. I learned to stop and look when there were poles in the yard. The panty hose would come from trash bags thrown in the weeds. They were even worse to cut off the brush hog hub. Not much effort but a real mess to get out. The contents of the bags were all over the place while you worked, of course.

                  Comment

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