Simplicity 1690984 60 inch deck rebuild questions

[roymilner]

Morning, folks! I have a 60 inch Simplicity 1690984 deck that came with a Deutz Allis 1920 tractor. Both had set for years, but I got the tractor running with just a little clean up and fresh gas. The deck however, is a different story. The spindle bearings are seized. I have bought new bearings and pulleys, but having a really tough time getting the spindles apart to replace the bearings. And I haven't been able to break the pulleys loose yet. Are there any tricks to this, or do I just need a bigger hammer?

[PhanDad]

I'm not familiar with your particular deck, but based on the MFG#, I would think it has a split arbor housing with a splined shaft.  If anti-seize wasn't applied to the pulley they can be very difficult to remove.  

I've always been able to get the housing parts separated and then you have a splined shaft with just the bearing where the blade attaches but the has the bearing, top arbor housing half, and pulley.  If soaking in Kroil, PB Blaster, or other penetrating oil with some heat applied doesn't free up the pulley enough to remove it with hammer blows I've had to resort to having the shaft pressed out sacrificing the top arbor housing in the process.   

Here's a post about the same problem:

https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic/62900-stuck-splined-deck-pulley/

 

[roymilner]

Thanks, PhanDad, for the info and the link. So the top and bottom are not actually screwed together, just some gasket compound?

 

I bought new pulleys, so sacrificing the old ones is not a problem, but they still have to come off somehow.

[PhanDad]

41 minutes ago, roymilner said:

So the top and bottom are not actually screwed together, just some gasket compound?

The housing halves are held together by the 6 bolts that hold the arbor housing to the deck.  The arbor assembly sits on top of the deck; the bolts from the underside of the deck sandwich the lower arbor housing against the top arbor housing (which is threaded). 

The older decks had a foam gasket between the top and bottom halves, later decks use sealant.  Sealant is usually used on rebuilds.  I personally prefer the foam gasket.   

This post has extensive information about the "newer" arbors and the design changes over the years.  I don't know where your deck fits in the timeline.  

https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic/37879-spindle-repair-final-pictures-1690709-deck/

PS - It's possible that the lower bearing is rusted to both the shaft and bottom housing keeping the housing halves from coming apart.  

 

Edited August 3, 2024 by PhanDad
Added PS

[roymilner]

The arbors are definitely rusted, and the bearings are probably rusted to the housings as well. Have to get the pulleys off first. I don't have access to a press, so I tried a posi-lock puller on one and crushed the pulley. It was rusty, with holes in the faces, so I couldn't reuse it anyway.

I thought the housings were just stuck together with something, I just haven't forced them apart yet.

Thanks again for all the help!

[roymilner]

Well, I managed to get the mower working again. The bearings were fairly easy to get off and replaced. I wish the spindles were greasable, but since I used sealed bearings, it really doesn't matter anyway.

The worst thing was that the PTO shaft was rusted in place and wouldn't telescope. A few licks with a hammer and soaking in 90 weight gear oil had it loose in no time.

I just wish I had a trailer big enough to haul it to try it out. My yard is so small that I had it mowed in 10 minutes with this tractor and mower. My son has about 2 acres and I think it would be fun to see how it does there.

Thanks for all the encouragement and wisdom on this site! You guys are the best!