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60 in LH deck tips


RAC

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So are there any tips to getting a little better cut from the 60 inch LH discharge deck. The one on the Legacy 25 I bought last month doesn't cut quite as well as I'd like. This one still has the clockwise rotating end blade on it for the vac system. I've tried front up - front down - level etc.. It seems to me that it is blowing the grass down and not picking it up as good as it could, especially between the clockwise/counterclockwise blades on the left side of the deck. It doesn't cut nearly as well as the deck on my 1650 cub (but to be honest that deck has been tweaked a lot, full floating, deeper blade shrouds, raised front edge etc.). Is it worth removing the CW blade on the left changing the belt and running 3 CCW blades?

I mean... it's passable. Just not as good as the old cub w/ tweaks, and for that matter not as good as the 54 inch trail mower I pull offset when mowing (Yeah, mowing about 110 inches per pass, can cover ground in a hurry).

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  • 1 month later...

Well, since I decided to keep my $600 Legacy I've started the resto process on the deck. Little bummed that after sandblasting there was a hole in a thin spot on the front left corner (between where anti scalp wheel and brace assembly bolts on) and it's pitted worse than I'd hoped. A little weld-up with the mig on the thin spot and I think it'll be ok though.

I DID FIND part of my cut quality issue... one of the blade arbor cups is bent (considerably...probably 3/16 to 1/4 inch!). I'm thinking this almost had to be a manufacturing/stamping defect since I can't imagine a way to deform that part the way it is without bending either the deck skin or the shaft or both (neither of which are bent).

The process:

Sandblast, treat with OSPHO, clean, two coats of POR-15 on bottom side followed by graphite paint, and rust preventive primer/heavy duty implement enamel on the top w/ catalyst/hardener. Top-side will be late AC/Agco Orange, not a perfect match to the rest of the tractor, but... it's a deck and going to be scuffed and dirty all the time anyway. it was a pretty aggressive sandblast so not really a candidate for the auto paint/primer the rest of the body will get without a lot of work. 

 

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Could you post some photos? I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in seeing the defect and deck restoration. How do you plan to address the stamping defect? Thanx, Dave

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I have replaced the arbor cups on two 60" decks...both times it was the center arbor.  They seem to be the weak link, saving the deck shell or arbor shaft from being tweaked, and luckily, they aren't too bad to buy and swap out.  Both of mine appeared to be due to collisions...one I witnessed while purchasing the tractor wah

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Here's a picture of the spindle cups, doesn't show very well but almost 1/4 inch one side to the other. Just replace the cups, no big deal. The deck and top covers in the other pic. Not sure why it looks so orange peely in the pic, it isn't except where rust pitted, must be reflection. Other things done & to do that Simplicity probably should have... welded 1/4 inch nuts to the underneath where cover bolts go through, get rid of the 14 inch long 5 pound behemoth of a discharge chute and put on a rubber one instead, put a deflector in the front corner underneath where the clockwise rotating left blade packs cuttings in the deck & causes additional corrosion. The POR 15 seems to be cured pretty well underneath. I'm going to top coat it with graphite paint for a little extra protection and easier wash off.

deck (450x338).jpg

spindle (338x450).jpg

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Thanks for the pic - I was under the false impression that the deck shell arbor mounting "cup" (flat area of deck shell) was bent.  Makes more sense that the "lower arbor housing" is bent.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well... 60$ worth of sandblasting, 2 cans of rust primer, 1 can of sealer, 3/4 pint of paint, 1 arbor cup set, 1 idler pulley, 1 hunk of rubber belting and what seemed like 10 pounds worth of new bolts and this is what you get! Also added underside baffle on left front corner, and a  drain hole for the drive pulley well. If I get the notion before spring I might build a full length 1 piece metal roller for the deck to cut down on "plowing" when I mow along the #10 limestone in the drive. Btw the remainder of the discharge chute that the new rubber chute is mounted to is the chevy red/orange, the rest of the deck is the ford special fleet orange. Oh yeah... folks talk about "building" something to keep the lift chains from wrapping around the back ends of the level adjusting rods. Here's the easy fix that costs 50 cents and takes 5 minutes. Take a chunk of galvanized high tensile fence wire (12 ga +/-) about 2 feet long. Bend a 90 in each end about 6 inches long so that the distance between the bends matches the center holes in the level adjusting rods/tubes (they're hollow), put a little crook in each stub end to give it a little more tension and shove it in as seen in the top picture. No more hooked chains and no worries about some sort of bar arrangement hitting your tranny filter.

Legacy Deck 1 (450x338).jpg

legacy deck (338x450).jpg

Edited by RAC
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  • 3 months later...

Getting the reconditioned deck back on and adjusted. I know what simplicity says... But the only way to get a decent cut with this 60 inch deck is to set it up level front to back. 

Rubber chute works great.

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