That's a tough call because until you open the cover on this other deck, you have no idea how good the pulleys are. Bearings are a non-issue because they are the most common wear-part. Perhaps you might get lucky with this other deck and be able to put it on your tractor right away and get a few years of mowing out of it. In the meantime, you could rebuild your old deck at your leisure.

 

New bearings can be had for about $20 for the whole deck. You can get the deck idler pulley at your local napa for about $10, and you can fine good used deck pulleys on ebay for about $50, take the measurements of the mule drive pulleys and head over to surpluscenter.com to find suitable replacements. Lot cheaper than a "new" unknown deck.

 

Thanks for that info. I was able to measure my pulleys and find the 4 drive pulleys on surpluscenter.com. They ended up being $12 a piece. I'm pretty happy since I will rarely mow with the 446 anyway (That's what the Toro Groundmaster is for), I was just tired of looking at a deck that didn't work.

 

If you don't mind, can you post the part numbers to the the pulleys you found at Surpluscenter?

 

The pulleys I ordered were 1-bk50-c(1) and 1-bk45-c(3). These have the exact same dimensions as the rusty and mangled ones on my deck. They appear to be the same size as the factory part numbers I looked up too so we'll see how it goes when they arrive. My deck had a mix of cast and steel pulleys on it. The steel ones got destroyed by the puller and the cast one had a really pitted groove so I didn't feel comfortable reusing it. I found the idler pulleys I needed on another site (SJM Parts) for a decent price.

I'm now having trouble finding new blades however. I found the two outside blades (c14886) but am having issues finding the center blade (c24443). It seems the major blade manufacturers discontinued both these blades. The blades on my deck look to be in decent shape but I'd like to be able to locate a new set to keep around for future use. Several sites list c14886 as the replacement for all three but that contradicts the manual and what I have on my deck.

 

If you have a 48" cut deck, then the outside blades are the same but the center blade is shorter. If you have a 44" cut deck, then all three blades are identical. Aftermarket blades are pretty much over and done with for the Case decks. However, they are still available from either Brian or casegardentractorparts.com

The quality of blades from either dealer is higher than any of the aftermarket stuff.

 

I found the two outside blades (c14886) but am having issues finding the center blade (c24443). Several sites list c14886 as the replacement for all three but that contradicts the manual and what I have on my deck.

The center blade is 1" shorter than the outboard ones so you could take 1/2" off each end of an outboard blade in a pinch--just make sure to balance the blade when you're done.

Another option, though more expensive, is to install a set of Meg Mo blades.

 

These blades are presently on national backorder ... but be patient.

I am sold out now ... but if you comb known dealers in your area, perhaps they've got some inventory. I don't know if Meyer or Sheridan have any left presently, but I would get not ...

Brian