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Can I swap mower decks?


Kenzen

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I have a 917H and a 3314V, both with 48" mower decks. Besides the double-v belt pulley on the 3314V deck, can I change the pulley and use the deck on the 917H?

thx,

Ken

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I think yo will not be able to change the pully wheel because on the newer deck the shaft is splined and the older deck has a keyway. Hopefully someone else knows for sure!

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Now, that was the short and to the point answer. You can swap 'em right out. BUT the belt may not be quite right, ans the blade speed may not be quite right either. But it will pin right up, and I am sure it will still function just fine.

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you can swap hardware from one deck to the other, if the issue is swapping a rusted deck shell for a good one.

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My 917 deck is developing a stress fracture I have to weld up, so I'm looking to rebuild it completely. I really didn't want to find myself without a deck (or have to use my JD 300 to mow the lawn...), so if I can invest in the right pulley and run with the 3314 deck, I can restore the 917 deck at my leisure.

Anybody know what (ballpark) the pulley speed should be on the deck at full throttle?

Thanks for all the responses!

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IMO, the older decks with keyed pulleys and a flat bottom that uses 2 bolts to attach the blades (not splined arbors) are heavier. Not only does the old arbor setup weigh more, I also think the deck is a heavier gauge.

As to the pulley diameter, measure the diameter of the driven pulley of the 917H deck and get the same size for the other deck. It should be about 5 1/2" in diameter. Make sure you get the wider type pulley with rounded edges to avoid belt wear problems.

A way to check the pulley for proper effective diameter is to wrap the belt around the 917H deck pulley measuring the circumference of wear the belt rides. Do the same for the replacement pulley. Depending on the contour of the "V" grove (how far down the belt runs), for a given OD of a pulley, the effective diameter will be different.

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"you can swap hardware from one deck to the other, if the issue is swapping a rusted deck shell for a good one."

That is not really possible - assuming the decks are correct for the tractor they were under. A 1970's deck used the old style, one piece arbors and the 1980's on up decks used the later 2 piece, cone shaped arbors. The pockets are a different height in the stamping. There used to be aluminum adapter rings that Simplicity sold to interchange them.

So, will they bolt on, yes as far as I know. Will it be right - not without the adapter rings and I can't remember which combo they were needed for. Early deck/late arbor or late deck/early arbor.

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"Make sure you get the wider type pulley with rounded edges to avoid belt wear problems." Is this something that would be advertised in the specs of a pulley, or is this something I would just have to look for? I know I read somewhere folks have replaced this pulley to avoid the cost of buying the double-v belt...guess I'll have to dig on that topic.

It states above it's a keyed (vs splined) shaft: Anyone know the diameter?

BTW, I have no intention of swapping out the deck parts. I can rebuild the 917 deck just as fast if necessary and avoid the "science project" - however, thanks for the information on how this would be done.

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quote:Originally posted by TimJr

"you can swap hardware from one deck to the other, if the issue is swapping a rusted deck shell for a good one."That is not really possible - assuming the decks are correct for the tractor they were under. A 1970's deck used the old style, one piece arbors and the 1980's on up decks used the later 2 piece, cone shaped arbors. The pockets are a different height in the stamping. There used to be aluminum adapter rings that Simplicity sold to interchange them. So, will they bolt on, yes as far as I know. Will it be right - not without the adapter rings and I can't remember which combo they were needed for. Early deck/late arbor or late deck/early arbor.


id="quote">
id="quote">The adapter rings are required to put new style arbors into the older decks. The old style arbors simply will not fit the newer decks properly.
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quote:Originally posted by Kenzen

"Make sure you get the wider type pulley with rounded edges to avoid belt wear problems." Is this something that would be advertised in the specs of a pulley, or is this something I would just have to look for? I know I read somewhere folks have replaced this pulley to avoid the cost of buying the double-v belt...guess I'll have to dig on that topic.It states above it's a keyed (vs splined) shaft: Anyone know the diameter?BTW, I have no intention of swapping out the deck parts. I can rebuild the 917 deck just as fast if necessary and avoid the "science project" - however, thanks for the information on how this would be done.


id="quote">
id="quote">The center sheave bolts into place and fits on a keyed hub. You should be able to get the correct pulley from a 3400 Series deck and bolt it on in place of the double-V pulley.
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quote:Originally posted by Chris727

The center sheave bolts into place and fits on a keyed hub. You should be able to get the correct pulley from a 3400 Series deck and bolt it on in place of the double-V pulley.


id="quote">
id="quote">

That's a $100 pulley....OO

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quote:Originally posted by Kenzen

"Make sure you get the wider type pulley with rounded edges to avoid belt wear problems." Is this something that would be advertised in the specs of a pulley, or is this something I would just have to look for?


id="quote">
id="quote">A couple of pics to illustrate:

Pulley_Difference1a.JPG

Pulley_Difference2a.JPG

They're both 5" pulleys. The one on the right has a wider V and the edges are much more rounded. It is similar to a deck driven pulley. The one on the left is usually cheaper to purchase, but, IMO, would be hard on a belt unless perfectly aligned, such as the tranny drive pulleys. The deck pulleys not so. The effective diameter of the pulleys is also different since the belt rides lower on the pulley on the right.

Pulley_Difference1a.JPG.41ffe5b25a6e6790fe36b239ed412347.JPG

Pulley_Difference2a.JPG.9cd383acbcd7a535c0db28d254561687.JPG

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Originally posted by Kenzen
quote:
id="quote">I don't know which bolt pattern the 3400 series has, but I have both on ebay a good bit under 100 bucks.....
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Originally posted by rokon2813
quote:
id="quote">I don't know which bolt pattern the 3400 series has, but I have both on ebay a good bit under 100 bucks.....
id="quote">id="quote">Yes you do, and a lot of other stuff as well - thank you for your efforts in supporting this hobby (and I hope you're making good beer money in the process... :)I'll have to go and pull the pulley off the deck and take some measurements - standby...
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