[CASE 220/4]

I will be restoring my M45 rear discharge mower deck and bringing it back to the condition it was in when it was new. Here is a few pictures of it now. This deck has been sitting outside for about 6 years. I did use it last summer but it shook the crap out of the tractor. I will be replacing the blades with Roys new Meg Mo blades. I will also be replacing all the bearings and pulleys along with a new belt and all new hardware. I will not know the condition of the spindles until I tear into it.

 

[BushBoneYard]

Looking forward to this restore.

 

[Bart]

It doesn't look too bad for something that's been sitting outside for 6 years. I guess the mice worked hard to keep their home in good shape! :sidelaugh:

 

[Hydriv]

I think that those pulleys will have to be replaced due to the amount of rust deterioration. Even if you sandblast them to bare metal, they will be deeply pitted and that could play hell with the belts.

 

[CASE 220/4]

It doesn't look too bad for something that's been sitting outside for 6 years. I guess the mice worked hard to keep their home in good shape! :sidelaugh:

I know. Thats what I said to myself after I took the tins off the top.

Has anyone heard of a product on the market that is used under mower decks? I guess it looks like undercoating but it makes cleaning the grass clippings really easy because it doesnt allow them to stick to the deck. I heard about it a while ago somewhere else on the internet.

 

[CASE 220/4]

I think that those pulleys will have to be replaced due to the amount of rust deterioration. Even if you sandblast them to bare metal, they will be deeply pitted and that could play hell with the belts.

THey will be getting replaced. I am not even going to mess with them because it isnt worth it. My only hope is that the spindles are still usable otherwise I will have to sell one of my kids to buy new ones.

 

[BushBoneYard]

Has anyone heard of a product on the market that is used under mower decks? I guess it looks like undercoating but it makes cleaning the grass clippings really easy because it doesnt allow them to stick to the deck. I heard about it a while ago somewhere else on the internet.

I'll have to google or search over at MTF, but I think pur15? may be what you are thinking of.

EDIT - Nope, I was wrong, Por15 is what I was thinking of, which is a rust inhabiter.

http://www.por15.com/

 

[Hydriv]

Spindles are not normally a wear item. What ruins spindles is a seized bearing that makes the spindle spin against the inner bearing race, causing it to groove badly. Another cause of that is improperly torqued spindle nuts that don't keep everything clamped solidly together so that the spindle can't slip and spin inside that bearing race. In other words, the odds are in your favor.

The issue of under-deck coatings has been hotly debated on all the forums, regardless of brand. The problem is universal. The underside of the deck is a very hostile environment due to the high-lift blades that fire clippings, dirt, sand, rocks, twigs and other debris against it constantly. Add in the decomposing clippings that are hot and acidic due to the high nitrogen content of grass and that place is a nightmare for any coating. Some guys have used the truck bedliner (Rhino liner) but I have not heard of any long-term results. There are some graphite paints out there that some people swear by.

Por 15 is a rust converter, not really a finish coat.

 

[mikebramel]

Problem with the bedliners is the rust creeps underneath and a few years later you notice it flaking off with the metal underneath.

I had some real good luck last year spraying 4 or 5 THICK coats of epoxy primer on the bottom of the deck

 

[Billygoat]

I have read where others have used "E-Z Slide" coatings with good results. Never tried it myself so this is just hearsay.

 

[CASE 220/4]

I found this stuff here. www.cleandeck.net. I may give it a try but I will first call around my local area to seeif any tractors dealers carry anything on the shelf.

 

[Bill.H]

Good luck with that, I have the same deck but the top looks in slightly better shape and the bottom is worse. I haven't touched mine yet, I'm thinking I want a side discharge instead.

As far as coatings go, I did do a little online research myself, and nothing I read about seemed to last more than a season or two. I think I'll just stick with paint; then pressure wash and touch up annually.

 

[CASE 220/4]

And the part I was dreading the most... removal of the pulleys. It took me about 30 minutes, a lot of heat and a lot of whacking to get this sucker to move but I managed to free it w/o destroying the threads on the spindle.

 

[Hydriv]

Remove the Woodruff key and then remove all of that rust until you are down to bare metal. Then lubricate the exposed part of the spindle. Keep the nut on the spindle. Put a piece of hardwood on top of the nut and hit it with a 2 pound sledge. Don't over do it. You are far better off to remove the mandrel and then press the spindles out then to run the risk of bending the deck. That's how you end up with an uneven cut on the lawn.

Even if the spindles are rusty below that bearing, that rust will force the lower bearing out of the mandrel. You can shatter or cut that bearing off later. The important thing is to save the spindle.

 

[99flhr]

My only hope is that the spindles are still usable otherwise I will have to sell one of my kids to buy new ones.

True, spindles aren`t cheap, but wait till you price ALL the components of the POR-15
system :shock: . I`ll side with "Bill H" ^ who advocates paint and annual touch up.

 

[CASE 220/4]

more progress. I was unable to save any of the pulleys. They just bent as soon as slight pressure was put to them with the puller. THey were being replaced anyway so it didnt matter.

 

[99flhr]

Your crumbly aluminum spindle housings will need replaced with the cast iron version.
You probably already guessed that. JMO

 

[Hydriv]

I think those ones are cast iron.

 

[99flhr]

^ I will defer to your greater knowledge, sure look beat.

 

[CASE 220/4]

Spindle housings are aluminum on this deck and I will try cleaning them up tomorrow to see if they are savable. I can already see me putting $400 into this deck.