I've got that exact machine Taryl. Flip the timing belt and put an extra spring on the tension pulley. Even long wet grass can cause it to go out of timing it's so crappy. Wouldn't hurt to use some belt dressing on it either. It's how I solved my issues. BTW I swapped out the Kohler for a Tecumseh 15.5hp and never looked back. My sump cracked, the compression release needed to be changed twice and the seal leaks constantly due to play in the shaft. Just pure garbage. BTW, can you use shorter blades on this machine so that timing isn't an issue?
*Taryl, Please do a video on repairing Tecumseh engines Leaking oil from the governor linkage on the crankcase, No one has a repair video on this, I'm thinking how can I add a Honda style gasket🤓
I'll solve it 3 blade the third middle blade catches missed by other 2 and distance all three and put middle blade in front to close in on a cut ya I worked for the state to on mowing
Maybe you could adapt the deck to use a murdersickle (motorcycle) chain. Those decks run straight with the blades side by side and my John Deere, one blade is slightly forward so they can overlap paths without hitting. You are so right about it being a bad design but they sell because the average homeowner has no idea what they are getting.
Anybody smart probably declines his shitty job, or does it once gets burned and quits! Every month people call thinking I'm just desperate to trash my equipment on their trash property!
I'm late to this video... I thought about shorter blades too. But the 'star' pattern of the blades - I didn't think about that. Taryl did. But one thing I would have done if were my mower is grind the end off of the two used blades so they'd pass about 1/4 from each other if the timing slipped again. Heck, you could even clock them to meet and test it. Normal multi-blade mower's blades can (do?) meet at the middle. That's how 'normal' multi-blade mowers work. Put a new $100 belt on it and hope for the best. You're going to replace the belt anyway. The blades were used - not much to lose. Worth a try...
In 1963 Cub Cadet made what was called the Original, it was a 38” I think deck and it had a timed belt, I was a kid then and I mowed a million acres with it and it never got out of time, but that’s when they made real equipment.
I mowed many yards with a 1964 Minneapolis Moline 36" deck timed blades. 8 HP Kohler engine. I mowed the Neighbors house and barn year on their Farm they paid me $3.00 every time I mowed it. I hit an old rotten soft dry piece of wood. The many years old timing belt broke and My Father made me pay for a new one. I think a new belt was $32.00.. So basically I mowed the neighbors lawn for fee. I got paid $8.00 to mow and trim my parents law which was like 3.5 acres.. They Neighbor offered to pay for gas but my Father wanted to use his gas from his 2,000 gallon underground tank.
I used to have an early Cub Cadet with 2 blade deck that was timed. Mowed MANY acres with it an never had a problem. I even mowed the local cemetery with it for a couple years and hit one of those stupid little corner markers for a plot a few times. Just a few years back, I had an Ariens zero turn with a timed deck. It got knocked out of time a couple times and the last time was a rotten stick about an inch around and 6 inches long. Pfffttt. The Ariens had about 30 screws that held the cover on the timing belt, so it was a PITA to get to.
When I had my RV and mobile home repair business, I can't begin to tell you how much work I got from people who let their "nephew" try to fix it first! 😂😂😂
I'd sold a yard bug type mower last year to a couple. They called me a week later and told me it would barely move. Even though the belts looked good when I sold it, I could see that they had been dry rotted from the inside and only the kevlar jacket looked good. My bad. I replaced the belts and dropped it off. A week later she messaged me it wouldn't go into reverse, was smoking and she wanted her money back. Turns out she had the deck down to 2 to shave the lawn and when she was backing up the deck dug into the ground causing the rear tire to slip/spin until it started smoking. She'd also banged the blade into something and had a big divot out of it. After replacing the 28" blade ($50) I resold it to another gal who loves it and had no issues with it whatsoever. I may have broke even on that one. Expensive life lesson.
I started working for International Harvester at the Research & Development Center in Hinsdale, Illinois in 1966. I was a technical writer and was responsible for parts manuals.The 1966 Cub Cadet with timed blades was the product offering. Not only would the Gilmer toothed belt jump a tooth if you hit something, sometimes it would tear one or more of the belt teeth off. Then the customer would have to buy a new belt, but sometimes a new blade or two. Our Department produced the Instruction Manuals and Parts List. We saw things that we would shake our heads at, but we didn’t dare say a thing to the Engineering Dept. because they were untouchable. My father started there in 1946 and retired before the company was sold off in 1980. It was a sad day for thousands of workers. IH was the world’s largest manufacturer of farm tractors and implements.
I bought a cub cadet same model as that one, used it for many years & never had a problem. I keep it in my garage when not in use, always kept it greased & the oil changed regularly, only replaced the belts 1 time, sold it to a man & it still looked good. People just don't take care of things anymore.
I was laughing my butt off Taryl when you started mowing and ran over something right away. I was praying you weren’t going to throw that thing out of timing again lol.
I have a 2000 era Landlord DLX that I got used in 2012 with a 50 inch deck, 42 inch blade, hydraulic lift, wheel weights and chains. Gotta love a lawn/garden tractor built with tapered roller bearings for the front wheels. The 80's era 5116 I tried to make as a backup had a messed up Peerless gearbox, I never got it to work right, and it used bushings rather than roller bearings on the front wheels. I was kinda disappointed. Going further back, I have a Landlord 101 that I have as a project. It is built as tough as the DLX, but is torn apart at the moment, and will be something to run around tractor shows when I get it back together. I run the DLX hard, there are a lot of fence posts, as well as a hay field and tree lines that border my property. I can't really afford to replace it with a new one, they are pushing 10 grand these days, and would be afraid to mess it up if I did.
My father would bring a tractor with a bush hog home from work. Sometimes he would bring home a Gravely with the sulky seat. He worked for the county school board as a landscaper. The property we lived on belonged to the school board. I learned how to run that tractor and Gravely. I hit a large rock with the Gravely but didn't bend the blade. The neighbors siding was a different story. Those old Gravelys were damn near bullet proof.
@@oxyfee6486 thats common..youre not a human to them anymore, nothing wrong with you, they are just taking you for granted. i have seen that look at many different types of parts and service counters.
I thought that regular mower decks are slightly angled under the mower so the gap between the blades doesn't leave a strip of uncut grass. It looks like this Scrub Cadet deck and blade position is perpendicular to the body (and the direction of travel) which - if the blades were shorter to where they didn't hit each other - it would constantly leave a small strip of uncut grass.
My dad was big into mowing yards when he was younger and people told him so the stuff that they sell in the home goods stores are pretty cheap stuff. We still got two toro personal pace pushers that are still running great.
Second that and also drive it like you want it to last. My daughter would drive her lawn tractor hell bent to high leather just to finish quickly and then wonder why the machine kept breaking down.
@@grominwithrob1339 Ehhhh some of it will. Some of the stuff is just so cheap that it literally won't run more than a few years. Some of it will literally shake itself apart.
Knucklehead neighbour has a collection of big box store tractors, he buys one every year, he leaves them outside year round and in winter, come spring no start, and off to the big box store for another,
To each their own Have a 33 inch cub cadet mower with time blades and leaves a more beautiful cut with the time blades never had a problem with the blade timing, but I don’t hit stumps
I wish I could buy that from you, Taryl. But it's a bit far to ship it to Australia. You see, I just had my 900 square meter yard landscaped and a new lawn of tall fescue sewn. It's grown quickly and established well. The yard has gentle slopes at the side and is flat at the front and back of the house. No rocks, stumps or curbs to hit because tall fescue doesn't creep at the edges. Cutting height is 2 1/2 inches. In other words a yard and mower made for each other. Anyway, someone reading this may have a yard similar to mine and would never have a problem with that Scrub Cadet. So there's YOUR dinner.
yesterday I was using my stand on mower which we got last year and for some reason while I was mowing some very tall grass, it kept raining so I couldnt mow it and because of my leg hurting me for a few days, somehow I was going past a tarp on the wood pile thought I had enough clearance it sucked it right in did not realize it sucked in so strongly I thought oh no hope I did not hurt this mower enough to do any damage, my hubby which is my savior from my own stupid mistakes, saved the day put it up using the jack and was able to cut ot off the blades, took like a second, and went to use it the blades would not engaged okay I am in trouble, he figured the spring came off put it on and yippee mower was working good, I would of felt bad if we had to have it serviced, just a note try not to have to much fun with the zero turning, it is fun by the way, and I love how I can mow the steep hill backwards and still have the blade engaged, I keep the heavy part of the mower down hill to avoid flippng does a wonderful job of going really slow down so I can see where I am going and what obstacles I have ( it is a big pasture after all I used when we h ad horses). it makes short work of 3 acres too. it is a 52 inch in the process of hubby fixing the spring I learned alot watching him so that in the future I can do it myself if he is not around for some reason.
Hi Taryl ! I enjoy your videos very much. I always learn something about these small power equipment machines for you. The idea of timed blades does make some sense for a quality cut. The untimed decks have the blades offset, one behind the other which works fine except when you make a turn while cutting. When turning, the swath of grass that is being cut comes straight into the blades and then that gap between them is not getting cut. I do see your point though the untimed blade system being more tolerant of abuse. One thought would be to put a shear pin on the driven pulley on the mower deck. At least then when the knuckheads crash the deck, the shear pin will let go (aka like snow blowers) and not lock up and burn up belts.
I 100% agree. I dislike these MTD Scrub Cadets as well. The real International Cub Cadet was a great machine, a thousand times better than these yellow MTDs, especially the ones with the timed blades.
That deck is just like those John deere freedom 42 mulching deck,yea,I've done a couple of those cub decks,great for golf coarse lawns,and you mentioned Walker moweres,yes they overlap also, there are little shear bolts on the blades that break before the T Boxes break most of the time,great video,thumbs up
@15:55 One of the star teeth is slightly longer so that other blades don't fit. Theoretically you could file out the tooth hole on another blade to make it fit. But it's proprietary parts. That's exactly what put IBM personal computers out of business.
Another great fix Taryl Dactal now hopefully who ever buys it from you can stay clear of objects other than grass you shouldn't have to see it back at your shop for a while. I always enjoy watching your videos keep them coming. 👍👍😎
Taryl when It was in the late 50s my dad brought a cub cadet lawn more that had timing blades on it. We lived on a farm and had to mow a lot of things that was made for a different kinda mower and us boys had to do a lot of the mowing the yards and around barns, this and that well we would hit a rock or something unseen and throw the blades out of time. But we never had to take the deck off we got to where we carried a big stick with us and we would put our foot on the outside blade and take the stick and push the other blade half around to get it from hitting and go to mowing again. We learned quickly how to time it with that stick by pushing that blade and maybe be down 5 minutes and back to mowing.
hey Tarrel i think i see the issue with that timed belt, the belt has a long soft spring tension on it, that's no bueno on a timed belt, it needs a limited amount of movement, an adjustable stop on the tension arm could solve the issue. the timed deck eliminates the need to offset the blades(one blade forward of the other to provide overlap), walker mowers blades turned oposit directions to push the material to the center rear of the deck for bagging, the walker 3 blade decks are offset for overlap and are belt driven.
I had an LT1042 Cub Cadet, similar to that one and it ate deck belts to the point that I took to buying them at a farm supply place for a third the price of the Cadet seller. Finally, because it is now a well known fact that an engineer who graduates at the bottom of his class, lies on his resume, and is fluent in Apple II+ CAD, can still work designing Kohler small engines like the Kohler Courage...mine died. A bunch of screws came loose on it, the crank case split, I used some ideas from Taryl to get a few more cuts out of it and it truly died. Wouldn't even turn over. Kohler may or may not design an engine that works, but I wouldn't buy any of their products after having seen that Courage engine. The honorable thing to do would have been to replace every single one of those engines with one that was properly designed, eat the loss and maintain their reputation, but never underestimate the power of human stupidity as demonstrated in Cub Cadet, MTD lawnmower design. All I wanted it to do was cut grass. It didn't have to launch me into orbit. It didn't need to solve world hunger or fill the hole in the ozone layer, just cut grass. But oh no! Not if it came from Mega Trashy Design, "let's use the worst engine that money can buy!" paired with a deck that ate $65.00 deck belts like they were M'n'M's. But, you ask, am I bitter? Am I disappointed in my lawn tractor? Well, it drove me to the unthinkable, yes, I was forced by circumstance and aided by a large poverty-inducing bank loan to buy a brand new lawn tractor, as opposed to a used one held together with modified c-clamps and ABC bubble gum. And so far, it hasn't spit exhaust valves through my Kia Soul doors in passing. Time will tell. There is a special hot seat in Hades that is being held until the passing of the Kohler Courage design team. It's shaped like the seat on a Cub Cadet LT1042 lawn tractor, but warmer.
I'm the unfortunate owner of an LTX1050 from this era which has been the biggest PITA I've ever had, bar none. The transmission has "lifetime fluid" which needs to be changed every couple of years as it turns into watery burnt nothingness down here in the heat of a Georgia summer, and of course they didn't put a drain plug in the bottom of the transmission. It also went through not one but two PLASTIC transmission cooling fans, and a steering shaft bushing at less than 200 hours total on the machine. So I removed the transmission, rebuilt it, and at the same time drilled and tapped in a proper drain plug. And don't even get me started on the idlers and pulleys. The only part of the machine which has never given me any guff has been the Kawasaki engine. MTD and Cub Cadet - Never Again. I'm cured for life.
My 3 blade 42 inch zero turn overlaps so there is not strip left. But not by timing. They overlap by the middle blade being forward of the other two. The outsides ones are set in just a little giving the overlap.
Okay Taryl, you are the man, but I actually can show you a trick of the trade for once! When you are trying to move the timing one or two teeth over, instead of taking the belt off, put a metal rod like a drive extension against the pulley and rotate it. This will stretch the belt a bit and cause it to skip a couple of teeth as you rotate the pulley. Just go in the correct direction and you can easily fine adjust the timed belt. Try it, you'll like it!
I own a couple of Husqvarna Rider 155 mowers. They have 3 blade timed decks with shear pins. Even with the shear pins striking a hard object wreaks havoc, damaging the blades and requiring new shear pins. Seems like a poor design, but, this is a FINE FINISH mower, not a bush hog! It gives the very best smoothest golf course looking cut I have ever seen. If I think there might be trash or limbs and obstructions, I use a different mower. The fine quality cut is worth the risk to me.
I have a 1967 Wheel Horse that has 2 timed blades. It uses Bevel Gears on a cross shaft that drive Bevel Gears at the top of the spindles. I have mowed about a million acres with it and it never had a problem. The Tuc'm-suck 5.5hp was so temperamental about starting, I replaced it with a Wisconsin with Wico Magneto in about 1979 and we never looked back. Plenty of power to take weeds 3' tall down. I even changed drive pulleys to get a little more speed out of it. It was great until one day plowing snow the tranny got stuck in 2nd gear. That's the way it sits today. Also, I have a Sears Craftsman 2 blade, 42" cut riding mower but that does not use timing, the blades are one ahead of the other so they overlap, but can't hit. That one is 19.8hp! LOOK OUT! ben/ michigan
Taryl!! Even you should know that if you turned that deck into a conventional design that you would be leaving Mohawk strips of grass everywhere you go because that timed deck is perpendicular to the mower and not offset 😂
the amount of timing belts we sold in our mower parts store were frequent,we were a lawnking dealer! they mostly snapped the belt as well as bending the blades!
Good to see a video on the timed mower decks, I have a collection of Snapper 1855 mowers, and they have a timed deck with a gearbox and belt set up, three blades timed, gearbox runs the center spindle and two timing belts, one off to each side blade spindle. Short coming for them were the plastic gears, I had to re-engineer mine, used for 2.3L timing gears and belts, been using it for about 5 years, works pretty good, still trying to better the design.
Musty 1 is working on a cub cadet tractor too but it has the regular 42" deck I believe with the electric pto system. Oh and how is the new shop you just got built? Looks pretty sweet👍 And there's your dinner 🤪
If you take care of the equipment, it works fine. To avoid the whole timing thing folks, buy a three bladed deck! I just bought a Cub Cadet XT1 50”. It’s a beast and works great!
a standard deck has left side blade slightly in front of rt side so that blades cut without leaving an unmowed strip in the middle . i believe they overlap a little , but the offset prevents blades from touching . if you put 42 in blades on that deck , a : they would hit each other , and b : (once shortened) they'd probably leave a streak in the middle .
Exactly. That deck has the spindles straight across and in order to overlap cuts, and the spindles are positioned closer together then similar sized decks. These blades have to spin into each others circle to not leave a grass strip, hence the timing. Most decks have the front/rear offset so that the cuts overlap but the blades don't spin into each others circle. I don't see a easy mod to adapt this. I think you would have to space the spindles apart so not to contact, and then angle the whole deck to overlap cuts.
I have that same model mower, I bought it used and I can honestly day that it has been by far the worst purchase I have every made. In the 3 years that I've owned it, I have replaced every belt, some multiple times, every pullie, the spindles, and the engine. It would throw the timing belt going through thick grass! Finally figured out that the deck had small cracks that allowed the spindles to flex and throw the belt. Since I've reinforced the deck, seems to be more reliable.
Good to know..cause I had no idea some tractors had that design. I'm wondering now about the deck blade design on the new E-mowers. They don't have all those pulleys and belts on their decks which I kinda like but if they have timed blades that could get real expensive to fix! ??
I always practice engaging the blades only with the engine at idle or slow speed to lessen the wear on the belt or clutch, furthermore I never turn off the ignition with engine at full speed because it’s still sucking raw gas into the cylinder for a couple of seconds. My main rider is a 50 plus year old John Deere 112, still going strong, (and it WILL grind stumps, saplings, and rocks like a champ.. LOL) I always enjoy your videos, keep it up! 😄
I'm going to buy one of your N.O.P.E. shirts. I'm always hitting sticks in my back lots and having to straighten or replace blades. I would think it wouldn't bend a blade to hit small sticks, but the crap blades are so thin that the bend.
@@donalexander4083 I buy the best ones I can find. I've bought different styles. which are thicker and don't bend, but don't cut very good. I found that the better cut is worth having to change them more often.
Hey Taryl, it looked like you missed a couple of other things in the grass. Maybe you could lower the deck and hit those as well to see how much it takes to get the blades to hit!
If Briggs and Scrapem made a car I would buy one. People don’t take care of their Briggs & Stratton engine. They don’t do maintenance on them. They don’t change the oil. And they keep on running. I have a 1965 Briggs & Stratton that has only had one honing and new rings and it still runs as good as it ever had. It has had 2 oil changes a year. 6 hp.
But the new B&S motors are nowhere near as good as the old USA made ones. 13 years ago I put a new B&S 19 HP motor in my old 90's Sears lawn tractor. That original motor was a 17.5HP and lasted well. But the first owner ran it to death and it was burning a 1/2 quart of oil per hour when I got it. Had to replace after a years use. New motor lasted about 20 minutes and seized and punched a rod thru the case. A warranty shop tore it down and agreed it was a manufacturing defect, B&S authorized a replacement and they installed a new motor. 22 HP this time. I took really good care of it and only last year did it start using any oil between changes. By the end of Summer, I'd had to add maybe 1/4 cup of oil to top it off. Late Fall I'd fully service the mower before storing it for Winter. Last month I gave it to a buddy from church as a blessing. He too, knows how to take good care of equipment. I hope he gets years of good use from it like I did.
A lot of mower decks are on a slight angle so that you don't get a skipper down the middle one blade is slightly ahead of the other one so the blades overlap without being timed.
I am a knucklehead operating power equipment.... But I also have a machine shop. I would not take my Kubota ZD221 to any shop because everything on the deck is custom. I made sure to use standard off the shelf bearings and seals every time I grenaded a spindle housing and the main drive gearbox.
I would 100% retrofit a non timed deck to that instead of dicking with it more. But, chances are huge it has the kohler Courage in it so its not long for this world anyways!
TaryL this is the best he helps people understand how to fix so many different types of problems I have really enjoyed the experience of Learning TaryL thanks for your experience . GOD BLess
Bought a 75 International Cub Cadet 1200 two years ago when i bought a house with a giant yard and I've decided i don't need a zero turn now. Best $700 i ever spent.
I have a John Deere LT 155 with the Freedom 42" deck that is like that one. They generally work well and mow a pretty yard, but they are not made for rough yards with heavy debris and roots coming out of the ground. You don't let your grass grow too tall if you have one of these also. A good rule of thumb before moving with anything is to walk the yard and remove debris or anything that deck might contact. Beware yes that parts are expensive if you screw up one of these decks. GREAT VIDEO!!! 🍻
Hey Tarly Chris here, and some of the old 800/8000 series Gravelys have a gearbox on the deck and use a deck belt and have 3 blades, I've never seen one in your shop yet with any problems like that. and deck sizes range from 40 up to 60 inch.
Taryl & GrassRats. I have a Cub Cadet 44C mower deck that I pulled from off of my 682 Cub Cadet tractor am working on that lost its proper belt tension in which the center blade was cutting grass the other two blades would spin but not fast enough to do anything. Upon Dis-Assembly I found parts that appeared to be the original OEM parts painted with the IH/Cub Cadet white paint mainly the tension arm assembly and the original looking pulleys. And Yes, A very old tension spring was broken and I decided to go ahead and replace the tensioner pulley that also appeared to be OEM just for good measure. My point is that I love how simple and easy that the vintage Cub Cadet mower decks were to work on. None of the Gimmicky MTD cables and way too many brackets that you see on the newer MTD/Cub Cadet tractors. The most expensive part that I may still replace is the tension arm which is just over $100. I’m pretty confident that once I get all of my new pieces and parts ordered and installed that my mower deck will last for several more years -, I guess MTD decided that concept wasn’t feasible enough for their bottom line.
I have a CUB GTX 2154 and its the worst Lawn and Garden Tractor I have ever had. Just returned from the Shop 5/17/23 after the Tractor just quit with a LOUD BACK FIRE int the middle of our 5 acres. This has happened 3 times now and each time the problem has been the LIFTER have Disconnected. The Shop had the Throttle wired back to stay on FULL POWER for Six Weeks over a year ago, as they said it took that long to get the New cable shipped in and then they never told me it was in and could not find the cable after I contacted them. Then the tractor did the Very Loud Back Fire and just quit. The new owners of the shop attributed the problem to the Cable being wired on FULL and tried to blame it on me. They had to contact the previous owner to verify that their Mechanic had done this and that took another week. So, by the time I got the Tractor back the *FIRST TIME* my grass was over a foot deep and when I started mowing very slowly the Tractor did a REPEAT Performance of the Back Fire and shut down. I contacted this shop again and they took the Tractor for another week while my grass grew even deeper. They never once thought to send me a used Tractor to fil in the time and when I asked because of these problems the only thing they would do is cover the cost of the Tractor repair. But Not the PICK UP AND DELIVERY. I went thru this same situation now *4* Times including a week ago. Every Cub I have had has been a TANK. But Not this one.
I have a Cub Cadet walk behind with the timed blades. I got it free from a coworker who ran over his water shut off port in his yard. The blades ran into each other and he parked it in the shed for the next 6 years. I brought it home put a new battery on it, new blades, and rebuilt the carburetor. Its been working great every since.
I just rebuilt and straightened out the 42 inch deck on an ariens rider with the intek vtwin 20horse. The guy was new to this lawn cutting racket..i watched him running over stuff. Anyway, its not just my neighbor, and he does cut on 6 level, the highest mark..too many people cut their grass to the quick. All these mtds are already starting waaaay to low. The highest cut setting is where the grass should be cut. If you use settings 1 thru 5 you start hitting stuff or scalping, hitting dirt..even with the anti scalp wheels. The decks need to have more height..may not be possible, since they have been using the same chassis design for 25 years.
I had an old Sears LT1000 for many years. The blade's belt would be problematic. Some would last 18 months. Some, not even one use. The quality of the belts were all over the place. I got so I could drop that deck and change a belt in under an hour. Now I have an old 36" Hustler ZT that I love. Commercial grade baby! Had to repair an internal high pressure oil leak on the charge pump. Half an hours work. Working like new again!
Our ole 03 LT160 had the freedom 42” deck with the timed deck belt. We got it from my dads father who snapped the original belt after 600hrs. Put a new belt on it, & it lasted a while until he hit something. Then got a cheap Amazon belt that snapped. Then got another OE JD belt that worked for a while then got another JD belt before he gave it to his brother when he upgraded. Tractor was pretty darn reliable. Transmission gave out at 900hrs then his brother junked it sadly when the trans probably just needed some oil in it.
A three blade deck has offset blades (not lined up straight) so it overlaps and doesn’t leave a grass strip. That’s the beauty of a three blade mower… plus it cuts a wider path.
Taryl, I gotta tell you that even though you won't say the words, you are really disappointed in the timed blade design. You probably just don't like to bad-mouth in public, but for the sake of your ulcer, you gotta get it off your chest and tell us how you really feel about that Scrub Cadet. Keepin' it inside you will cause medical problems.
I've got a freedom 42 on an old JD LT 166. I've thrown that deck across the yard so many times! It's my pull stuff around machine mainly, and I used to cut some really overgrown stuff, abusing the balls out of it too! Never had an issue while beating the heck outta it, but it always happened out of nowhere, it was always the timing belt slipping for no apparent reason, making the blades smashem' bashem' always bending them, and they are 80 bucks too. But I gotta say, that deck cuts amazing and if you take the time to stripe, it leaves a professional looking job.
My Craftsman and Troybilt 33 inch walk behinds that besides the color were identical twins had the same problematic problem ! I hadn't thought of those nightmarish times till now and I feel a sense of relief knowing that those days are gone!
I just had one come in with the same problem. Also the transmission belt was junk and the valve cover too! Plus the starter. Its a zero turn tractor i1042. Thing is junk but then I tested it and its freakin awesome! Turns on a dime and gives you 5 cents change. Low and wide for side hills and has awesome traction because 2 transmissions are driving. Almost didnt want to give it back. Those blades overlap alot mine wernt that close.
Some pretty good stupid suggestions in the comments section so I'll add another one; take one of the blades off completely and just drive twice as fast! (The only real fix for that POS is to jack up the gas cap and replace the machine that sits directly under it...and then replace the gas cap with a better one.)
Taryl I have John Deere D110 runs just fine. Always change oil. Never let grass go too tall. May most be the month when you get most of customers with deck problems because they don’t cut the grass in Midwest second week of April … and by Mother’s Day is so overgrown that don’t see what is on the ground … and bum 💥 hit a branch, a root a tool a rock etc Need to keep up don’t let grass overgrown and you mower will be fine just change oil, inspect belt and grease and change filter. In winter stabilizer, in tank, move battery to basement so does not get damage and that’s it
Hey Taryl, you set the standard of excellence, for customer care. Now I know right off the bat, your answer would be a flat out "No-Picture(s,)" of the customer's lawn. But I'm hoping to precede you to do a "drive-by," a lot of us "GRASS-RATS," just gotta know, how stupid is stupid. Thanks for sharing. (if the "lawn-problem,") is in the back-yard, that would be a bummer.
Once upon a time i had an old mower that had a 36 in deck. Dont recall the brand. It had an 8 hp engine. Couldnt find blades that fit. Used universal fit push mower blades and cut the ends off to clear each other and balance. Cut good. The drive had a belt from engine to transmission, then chain from transmisson to axle. I could replace the worn axle sprocket But not tphe worn transmission sprocket. The sprocket was built as part of the shaft. Little tractor wasnt worth the cost of replacing the shaft. So i used the engine on a different tractor that i had with a blown engine. Used the frame to build a flat bed wagon to pull behind my other tractor.
Looks like my 2166 Cub Cadet (23 years old). Now I need a new mower deck (had to store it outside for several years under a tarp because my garage was full and my old shed had problems... and will be torn down as soon as I can a new one built. The big problem I had with it was the belts becoming loose and burning up after 15 years of use... I found that going to a one inch shorter belt mostly fixed the issue, only burned once a year rather than 3-4 times a year. Not too bad for a old deck... but I plan on getting a new deck for it... the tractor part runs fine.
My neighbor had a John Deere with a similar deck in the mid 90's. I bet I re-timed the deck a couple times for him and replaced that timing belt that had teeth on both sides a couple times. What a pain !.. and the belt was NOT cheap. Back then it was like $75 bucks and the first time he bought one I about fell over when he told me the price. Those mowers have to be used on a "golf green" style lawn, no dips , possible foreign debris or anything else that might upset the blades. Your description of POS is right on ! 😅
A timed blade set up would never work in my yard. I have a lot of pine trees and a bunch of the roots are above the surface. My old Gravely just takes out a chunk and keeps on going.
@Taryl I had that happen with a beautiful, small Stihl chainsaw. He brought it back twice, and each time, the chain looked like he had been cutting concrete with it. I sharpened it the first time, figuring that it was somehow accidental, but when he came back the second time, with the saw looking the same way, and him not realizing that he had rocked the chain, I knew there was only one way out. I bought the saw back, and told him that I didn't have another saw that would suit him. A guys got to do, what a guys got to do. Knucklehead, would have been a big step up from the words I was silently using to describe him. Guy makes Goofy laugh, "Yep, I know how to run one of them there chainsaws".
N.O.P.E. tees and more here!
Http://www.TARYLFIXESALL.com
If you take care of them they last along time. You can't neglect them
I've got that exact machine Taryl. Flip the timing belt and put an extra spring on the tension pulley. Even long wet grass can cause it to go out of timing it's so crappy. Wouldn't hurt to use some belt dressing on it either. It's how I solved my issues. BTW I swapped out the Kohler for a Tecumseh 15.5hp and never looked back. My sump cracked, the compression release needed to be changed twice and the seal leaks constantly due to play in the shaft. Just pure garbage. BTW, can you use shorter blades on this machine so that timing isn't an issue?
*Taryl, Please do a video on repairing Tecumseh engines
Leaking oil from the governor linkage on the crankcase,
No one has a repair video on this,
I'm thinking how can I add a Honda style gasket🤓
Ive been a GM mechanic for 30 years, You recommended using belt dressing?
I'm going to finish my bourbon and meet you behind the building 🥊
I'll solve it 3 blade the third middle blade catches missed by other 2 and distance all three and put middle blade in front to close in on a cut ya I worked for the state to on mowing
Maybe you could adapt the deck to use a murdersickle (motorcycle) chain. Those decks run straight with the blades side by side and my John Deere, one blade is slightly forward so they can overlap paths without hitting. You are so right about it being a bad design but they sell because the average homeowner has no idea what they are getting.
That customer sounds like everyone would be better off if he'd hire someone to mow his lawn.
Yep, call a lawn care man or gal.
@@Mike75575how the hell is it terryls fault? Was he the one at the owners house driving it into stumps?
C'mon Man you know the thing
Anybody smart probably declines his shitty job, or does it once gets burned and quits! Every month people call thinking I'm just desperate to trash my equipment on their trash property!
@@nothanks9050 ]
I'm late to this video... I thought about shorter blades too. But the 'star' pattern of the blades - I didn't think about that. Taryl did. But one thing I would have done if were my mower is grind the end off of the two used blades so they'd pass about 1/4 from each other if the timing slipped again. Heck, you could even clock them to meet and test it.
Normal multi-blade mower's blades can (do?) meet at the middle. That's how 'normal' multi-blade mowers work. Put a new $100 belt on it and hope for the best. You're going to replace the belt anyway. The blades were used - not much to lose. Worth a try...
In 1963 Cub Cadet made what was called the Original, it was a 38” I think deck and it had a timed belt, I was a kid then and I mowed a million acres with it and it never got out of time, but that’s when they made real equipment.
I mowed many yards with a 1964 Minneapolis Moline 36" deck timed blades. 8 HP Kohler engine.
I mowed the Neighbors house and barn year on their Farm they paid me $3.00 every time I mowed it.
I hit an old rotten soft dry piece of wood. The many years old timing belt broke and My Father made me pay for a new one. I think a new belt was $32.00..
So basically I mowed the neighbors lawn for fee. I got paid $8.00 to mow and trim my parents law which was like 3.5 acres..
They Neighbor offered to pay for gas but my Father wanted to use his gas from his 2,000 gallon underground tank.
the timed belt on that deck was tensioned and locked in place so it would have to break the belt to get out of time. they worked very well.
I used to have an early Cub Cadet with 2 blade deck that was timed. Mowed MANY acres with it an never had a problem. I even mowed the local cemetery with it for a couple years and hit one of those stupid little corner markers for a plot a few times.
Just a few years back, I had an Ariens zero turn with a timed deck. It got knocked out of time a couple times and the last time was a rotten stick about an inch around and 6 inches long. Pfffttt.
The Ariens had about 30 screws that held the cover on the timing belt, so it was a PITA to get to.
My 38 " was a 3 blade. Scrub cadet. Could take the deck off in 1 min. The new one is a 54" an aircraft cable crap holds it up.
Thats why I have 66,67 Sears Suburban's
You can’t fix stupid, but you can make a living off it. 😉🔧👍
When I had my RV and mobile home repair business, I can't begin to tell you how much work I got from people who let their "nephew" try to fix it first!
😂😂😂
Yea I’m sure your one of the smart people
I'd sold a yard bug type mower last year to a couple. They called me a week later and told me it would barely move. Even though the belts looked good when I sold it, I could see that they had been dry rotted from the inside and only the kevlar jacket looked good. My bad. I replaced the belts and dropped it off. A week later she messaged me it wouldn't go into reverse, was smoking and she wanted her money back. Turns out she had the deck down to 2 to shave the lawn and when she was backing up the deck dug into the ground causing the rear tire to slip/spin until it started smoking. She'd also banged the blade into something and had a big divot out of it. After replacing the 28" blade ($50) I resold it to another gal who loves it and had no issues with it whatsoever. I may have broke even on that one. Expensive life lesson.
I cannot for the life of me figure out why people scalp their damn yard
Some people have absolutely no business operating machinery of any kind. This goes for men and women both.🤦🏾♂️
I had the same problem my fix was I cut the blades and they miss each other by a
excellent idea.
I started working for International Harvester at the Research & Development Center in Hinsdale, Illinois in 1966. I was a technical writer and was responsible for parts manuals.The 1966 Cub Cadet with timed blades was the product offering. Not only would the Gilmer toothed belt jump a tooth if you hit something, sometimes it would tear one or more of the belt teeth off. Then the customer would have to buy a new belt, but sometimes a new blade or two. Our Department produced the Instruction Manuals and Parts List. We saw things that we would shake our heads at, but we didn’t dare say a thing to the Engineering Dept. because they were untouchable. My father started there in 1946 and retired before the company was sold off in 1980. It was a sad day for thousands of workers. IH was the world’s largest manufacturer of farm tractors and implements.
I bought a cub cadet same model as that one, used it for many years & never had a problem. I keep it in my garage when not in use, always kept it greased & the oil changed regularly, only replaced the belts 1 time, sold it to a man & it still looked good. People just don't take care of things anymore.
I was laughing my butt off Taryl when you started mowing and ran over something right away. I was praying you weren’t going to throw that thing out of timing again lol.
Another great example of why I will forever and always continue to maintain my 80's Simplicity rider.
I got a 1990. I love it.
I have a 2000 era Landlord DLX that I got used in 2012 with a 50 inch deck, 42 inch blade, hydraulic lift, wheel weights and chains. Gotta love a lawn/garden tractor built with tapered roller bearings for the front wheels. The 80's era 5116 I tried to make as a backup had a messed up Peerless gearbox, I never got it to work right, and it used bushings rather than roller bearings on the front wheels. I was kinda disappointed. Going further back, I have a Landlord 101 that I have as a project. It is built as tough as the DLX, but is torn apart at the moment, and will be something to run around tractor shows when I get it back together. I run the DLX hard, there are a lot of fence posts, as well as a hay field and tree lines that border my property. I can't really afford to replace it with a new one, they are pushing 10 grand these days, and would be afraid to mess it up if I did.
My father would bring a tractor with a bush hog home from work. Sometimes he would bring home a Gravely with the sulky seat. He worked for the county school board as a landscaper. The property we lived on belonged to the school board. I learned how to run that tractor and Gravely. I hit a large rock with the Gravely but didn't bend the blade. The neighbors siding was a different story. Those old Gravelys were damn near bullet proof.
Wish other repair shops were as good to their customers as you are Taryl...
My repair shop looks at me like I’m from outer space when I take my stuff in. I think they are so busy they can pick their jobs.
I doubt taryl was good to the guy. This mower isnt that new, taryl should profit nicely on this deal
@@oxyfee6486 thats common..youre not a human to them anymore, nothing wrong with you, they are just taking you for granted. i have seen that look at many different types of parts and service counters.
I thought that regular mower decks are slightly angled under the mower so the gap between the blades doesn't leave a strip of uncut grass. It looks like this Scrub Cadet deck and blade position is perpendicular to the body (and the direction of travel) which - if the blades were shorter to where they didn't hit each other - it would constantly leave a small strip of uncut grass.
No they aren't, the grass gets pulled away from the gap leaving no gap like a hair part with a comb.
My dad was big into mowing yards when he was younger and people told him so the stuff that they sell in the home goods stores are pretty cheap stuff. We still got two toro personal pace pushers that are still running great.
If you maintain your equipment, even the "cheap stuff" will last a very long time.
Second that and also drive it like you want it to last.
My daughter would drive her lawn tractor hell bent to high leather just to finish quickly and then wonder why the machine kept breaking down.
@@grominwithrob1339 Ehhhh some of it will. Some of the stuff is just so cheap that it literally won't run more than a few years. Some of it will literally shake itself apart.
Knucklehead neighbour has a collection of big box store tractors, he buys one every year, he leaves them outside year round and in winter, come spring no start, and off to the big box store for another,
I was impressed. Not only can you fix mowers, you can even use them!
With the sunflower seeds he definitely hit a garden gnome for sure..
To each their own Have a 33 inch cub cadet mower with time blades and leaves a more beautiful cut with the time blades never had a problem with the blade timing, but I don’t hit stumps
I wish I could buy that from you, Taryl. But it's a bit far to ship it to Australia. You see, I just had my 900 square meter yard landscaped and a new lawn of tall fescue sewn. It's grown quickly and established well. The yard has gentle slopes at the side and is flat at the front and back of the house. No rocks, stumps or curbs to hit because tall fescue doesn't creep at the edges. Cutting height is 2 1/2 inches. In other words a yard and mower made for each other. Anyway, someone reading this may have a yard similar to mine and would never have a problem with that Scrub Cadet. So there's YOUR dinner.
Never heard you mention that you should check balance of blades while sharpening them...................... Very important!
Good idea on the buy back. You might want to look at the front left wheel, looks like the bushing is worn and the axld is riding on the rim.
yesterday I was using my stand on mower which we got last year and for some reason while I was mowing some very tall grass, it kept raining so I couldnt mow it and because of my leg hurting me for a few days, somehow I was going past a tarp on the wood pile thought I had enough clearance it sucked it right in did not realize it sucked in so strongly I thought oh no hope I did not hurt this mower enough to do any damage, my hubby which is my savior from my own stupid mistakes, saved the day put it up using the jack and was able to cut ot off the blades, took like a second, and went to use it the blades would not engaged okay I am in trouble, he figured the spring came off put it on and yippee mower was working good, I would of felt bad if we had to have it serviced, just a note try not to have to much fun with the zero turning, it is fun by the way, and I love how I can mow the steep hill backwards and still have the blade engaged, I keep the heavy part of the mower down hill to avoid flippng does a wonderful job of going really slow down so I can see where I am going and what obstacles I have ( it is a big pasture after all I used when we h ad horses). it makes short work of 3 acres too. it is a 52 inch in the process of hubby fixing the spring I learned alot watching him so that in the future I can do it myself if he is not around for some reason.
Hi Taryl ! I enjoy your videos very much. I always learn something about these small power equipment machines for you. The idea of timed blades does make some sense for a quality cut. The untimed decks have the blades offset, one behind the other which works fine except when you make a turn while cutting. When turning, the swath of grass that is being cut comes straight into the blades and then that gap between them is not getting cut. I do see your point though the untimed blade system being more tolerant of abuse. One thought would be to put a shear pin on the driven pulley on the mower deck. At least then when the knuckheads crash the deck, the shear pin will let go (aka like snow blowers) and not lock up and burn up belts.
I 100% agree. I dislike these MTD Scrub Cadets as well. The real International Cub Cadet was a great machine, a thousand times better than these yellow MTDs, especially the ones with the timed blades.
Taryl I've been able to fix so much stuff because of you! I love you guy's man. I would love to spend a day with you guy's.
All of us have a customer like that. You can fix their mower but you can't fix stupid.
That deck is just like those John deere freedom 42 mulching deck,yea,I've done a couple of those cub decks,great for golf coarse lawns,and you mentioned Walker moweres,yes they overlap also, there are little shear bolts on the blades that break before the T Boxes break most of the time,great video,thumbs up
@15:55 One of the star teeth is slightly longer so that other blades don't fit.
Theoretically you could file out the tooth hole on another blade to make it fit.
But it's proprietary parts. That's exactly what put IBM personal computers out of business.
Another great fix Taryl Dactal now hopefully who ever buys it from you can stay clear of objects other than grass you shouldn't have to see it back at your shop for a while. I always enjoy watching your videos keep them coming. 👍👍😎
There are people in this world that shouldn't have kids, dogs, or lawn equipment. Unfortunately there's too many.
My neighbor had same one and him and me just swapped the decks out for similar deck non timing set up and installed and problem solved. 👌
I definitely would retrofit a non timed deck on it.
Taryl when It was in the late 50s my dad brought a cub cadet lawn more that had timing blades on it. We lived on a farm and had to mow a lot of things that was made for a different kinda mower and us boys had to do a lot of the mowing the yards and around barns, this and that well we would hit a rock or something unseen and throw the blades out of time. But we never had to take the deck off we got to where we carried a big stick with us and we would put our foot on the outside blade and take the stick and push the other blade half around to get it from hitting and go to mowing again. We learned quickly how to time it with that stick by pushing that blade and maybe be down 5 minutes and back to mowing.
Glad to see MTD still loves their springs and cables. 😞
Simple is cheaper and better when it comes to lawn care equipment. No need to use a laser to kill a fly if you have a fly swatter..
hey Tarrel i think i see the issue with that timed belt, the belt has a long soft spring tension on it, that's no bueno on a timed belt, it needs a limited amount of movement, an adjustable stop on the tension arm could solve the issue. the timed deck eliminates the need to offset the blades(one blade forward of the other to provide overlap), walker mowers blades turned oposit directions to push the material to the center rear of the deck for bagging, the walker 3 blade decks are offset for overlap and are belt driven.
I had an LT1042 Cub Cadet, similar to that one and it ate deck belts to the point that I took to buying them at a farm supply place for a third the price of the Cadet seller. Finally, because it is now a well known fact that an engineer who graduates at the bottom of his class, lies on his resume, and is fluent in Apple II+ CAD, can still work designing Kohler small engines like the Kohler Courage...mine died. A bunch of screws came loose on it, the crank case split, I used some ideas from Taryl to get a few more cuts out of it and it truly died. Wouldn't even turn over. Kohler may or may not design an engine that works, but I wouldn't buy any of their products after having seen that Courage engine. The honorable thing to do would have been to replace every single one of those engines with one that was properly designed, eat the loss and maintain their reputation, but never underestimate the power of human stupidity as demonstrated in Cub Cadet, MTD lawnmower design. All I wanted it to do was cut grass. It didn't have to launch me into orbit. It didn't need to solve world hunger or fill the hole in the ozone layer, just cut grass. But oh no! Not if it came from Mega Trashy Design, "let's use the worst engine that money can buy!" paired with a deck that ate $65.00 deck belts like they were M'n'M's. But, you ask, am I bitter? Am I disappointed in my lawn tractor? Well, it drove me to the unthinkable, yes, I was forced by circumstance and aided by a large poverty-inducing bank loan to buy a brand new lawn tractor, as opposed to a used one held together with modified c-clamps and ABC bubble gum. And so far, it hasn't spit exhaust valves through my Kia Soul doors in passing. Time will tell. There is a special hot seat in Hades that is being held until the passing of the Kohler Courage design team. It's shaped like the seat on a Cub Cadet LT1042 lawn tractor, but warmer.
I'm the unfortunate owner of an LTX1050 from this era which has been the biggest PITA I've ever had, bar none. The transmission has "lifetime fluid" which needs to be changed every couple of years as it turns into watery burnt nothingness down here in the heat of a Georgia summer, and of course they didn't put a drain plug in the bottom of the transmission. It also went through not one but two PLASTIC transmission cooling fans, and a steering shaft bushing at less than 200 hours total on the machine. So I removed the transmission, rebuilt it, and at the same time drilled and tapped in a proper drain plug. And don't even get me started on the idlers and pulleys. The only part of the machine which has never given me any guff has been the Kawasaki engine. MTD and Cub Cadet - Never Again. I'm cured for life.
My 3 blade 42 inch zero turn overlaps so there is not strip left. But not by timing. They overlap by the middle blade being forward of the other two. The outsides ones are set in just a little giving the overlap.
Okay Taryl, you are the man, but I actually can show you a trick of the trade for once! When you are trying to move the timing one or two teeth over, instead of taking the belt off, put a metal rod like a drive extension against the pulley and rotate it. This will stretch the belt a bit and cause it to skip a couple of teeth as you rotate the pulley. Just go in the correct direction and you can easily fine adjust the timed belt. Try it, you'll like it!
I own a couple of Husqvarna Rider 155 mowers. They have 3 blade timed decks with shear pins. Even with the shear pins striking a hard object wreaks havoc, damaging the blades and requiring new shear pins.
Seems like a poor design, but, this is a FINE FINISH mower, not a bush hog! It gives the very best smoothest golf course looking cut I have ever seen. If I think there might be trash or limbs and obstructions, I use a different mower. The fine quality cut is worth the risk to me.
It's funny how you and mustie1 both did a video today on Cub cadet mowers.
Didn't watch all of Mustie yet but now wonder if the sheared flywheel key was caused by timed blades crashing into each other?
I have a 1967 Wheel Horse that has 2 timed blades. It uses Bevel Gears on a cross shaft that drive Bevel Gears at the top of the spindles. I have mowed about a million acres with it and it never had a problem. The Tuc'm-suck 5.5hp was so temperamental about starting, I replaced it with a Wisconsin with Wico Magneto in about 1979 and we never looked back. Plenty of power to take weeds 3' tall down. I even changed drive pulleys to get a little more speed out of it. It was great until one day plowing snow the tranny got stuck in 2nd gear. That's the way it sits today. Also, I have a Sears Craftsman 2 blade, 42" cut riding mower but that does not use timing, the blades are one ahead of the other so they overlap, but can't hit. That one is 19.8hp! LOOK OUT! ben/ michigan
Taryl!! Even you should know that if you turned that deck into a conventional design that you would be leaving Mohawk strips of grass everywhere you go because that timed deck is perpendicular to the mower and not offset 😂
Regarding customers, one of my favorite sayings is: 'If it wasn't for customers... I'd have a pretty good job!" 🤣😂
LOL. I was in business for 24 years working out my own shop. You nailed that!
the amount of timing belts we sold in our mower parts store were frequent,we were a lawnking dealer! they mostly snapped the belt as well as bending the blades!
Good to see a video on the timed mower decks, I have a collection of Snapper 1855 mowers, and they have a timed deck with a gearbox and belt set up, three blades timed, gearbox runs the center spindle and two timing belts, one off to each side blade spindle. Short coming for them were the plastic gears, I had to re-engineer mine, used for 2.3L timing gears and belts, been using it for about 5 years, works pretty good, still trying to better the design.
Musty 1 is working on a cub cadet tractor too but it has the regular 42" deck I believe with the electric pto system.
Oh and how is the new shop you just got built? Looks pretty sweet👍
And there's your dinner 🤪
If you take care of the equipment, it works fine. To avoid the whole timing thing folks, buy a three bladed deck! I just bought a Cub Cadet XT1 50”. It’s a beast and works great!
a standard deck has left side blade slightly in front of rt side so that blades cut without leaving an unmowed strip in the middle . i believe they overlap a little , but the offset prevents blades from touching . if you put 42 in blades on that deck , a : they would hit each other , and b : (once shortened) they'd probably leave a streak in the middle .
I had a Cub Cadet. I ground 1/4" of each end of the blades and never had a problem again, didn't leave a trail either.
Exactly. That deck has the spindles straight across and in order to overlap cuts, and the spindles are positioned closer together then similar sized decks. These blades have to spin into each others circle to not leave a grass strip, hence the timing. Most decks have the front/rear offset so that the cuts overlap but the blades don't spin into each others circle.
I don't see a easy mod to adapt this.
I think you would have to space the spindles apart so not to contact, and then angle the whole deck to overlap cuts.
Yup.
@@snakerstran9101 It will work as son as you aren't cutting hay fields.
😊 need to make it idiot proof
I have that same model mower, I bought it used and I can honestly day that it has been by far the worst purchase I have every made. In the 3 years that I've owned it, I have replaced every belt, some multiple times, every pullie, the spindles, and the engine. It would throw the timing belt going through thick grass! Finally figured out that the deck had small cracks that allowed the spindles to flex and throw the belt. Since I've reinforced the deck, seems to be more reliable.
My dad had a way with mowers.....a broken way. RIP Dad - Also I spied a worn out front wheel bushing on the Scrub.
GOOD eye, Yep, I saw the left front worn wheel bushing too, big gap on the top of the spindle ;-)
Had a cub mower. Ate deck belts like potato chips. Traded it in for a simplicity. That worked good for ten years.
Good to know..cause I had no idea some tractors had that design. I'm wondering now about the deck blade design on the new E-mowers. They don't have all those pulleys and belts on their decks which I kinda like but if they have timed blades that could get real expensive to fix! ??
I always practice engaging the blades only with the engine at idle or slow speed to lessen the wear on the belt or clutch, furthermore I never turn off the ignition with engine at full speed because it’s still sucking raw gas into the cylinder for a couple of seconds. My main rider is a 50 plus year old John Deere 112, still going strong, (and it WILL grind stumps, saplings, and rocks like a champ.. LOL)
I always enjoy your videos, keep it up! 😄
I'm going to buy one of your N.O.P.E. shirts. I'm always hitting sticks in my back lots and having to straighten or replace blades. I would think it wouldn't bend a blade to hit small sticks, but the crap blades are so thin that the bend.
maybe buy better blades?
@@donalexander4083 I buy the best ones I can find. I've bought different styles. which are thicker and don't bend, but don't cut very good. I found that the better cut is worth having to change them more often.
@@garysgarage3669 fair enough
I too was inspired by that! LOL Got myself a NOPE shirt and a wheelie mouse pad on the way now! Subscribed too.
That mower just needs the RIGHT Knucklehead...
Hey Taryl, it looked like you missed a couple of other things in the grass. Maybe you could lower the deck and hit those as well to see how much it takes to get the blades to hit!
If Briggs and Scrapem made a car I would buy one. People don’t take care of their Briggs & Stratton engine. They don’t do maintenance on them. They don’t change the oil. And they keep on running. I have a 1965 Briggs & Stratton that has only had one honing and new rings and it still runs as good as it ever had. It has had 2 oil changes a year. 6 hp.
But the new B&S motors are nowhere near as good as the old USA made ones. 13 years ago I put a new B&S 19 HP motor in my old 90's Sears lawn tractor. That original motor was a 17.5HP and lasted well. But the first owner ran it to death and it was burning a 1/2 quart of oil per hour when I got it. Had to replace after a years use. New motor lasted about 20 minutes and seized and punched a rod thru the case. A warranty shop tore it down and agreed it was a manufacturing defect, B&S authorized a replacement and they installed a new motor. 22 HP this time. I took really good care of it and only last year did it start using any oil between changes. By the end of Summer, I'd had to add maybe 1/4 cup of oil to top it off. Late Fall I'd fully service the mower before storing it for Winter. Last month I gave it to a buddy from church as a blessing. He too, knows how to take good care of equipment. I hope he gets years of good use from it like I did.
Taryl can you do a video showing the “POOR MANS POWER STEERING CONVERSION” (thrust bearings/steering axles) on a riding mower???
I've done this. There's a noticeable difference!
Just sell it and get a zero turn 😜
@@Studio23Media sorry, I don't have a spare $18,000 laying around for a Zero Turn that can maintain 15 acres..
Preach!! Sometimes the best sell is the one you don't make
A lot of mower decks are on a slight angle so that you don't get a skipper down the middle one blade is slightly ahead of the other one so the blades overlap without being timed.
No they don't.
@@Philjj61yes they do
I am a knucklehead operating power equipment.... But I also have a machine shop. I would not take my Kubota ZD221 to any shop because everything on the deck is custom. I made sure to use standard off the shelf bearings and seals every time I grenaded a spindle housing and the main drive gearbox.
I would 100% retrofit a non timed deck to that instead of dicking with it more. But, chances are huge it has the kohler Courage in it so its not long for this world anyways!
My Kohler courage ran great, changed oil regularly 50 hours ran it 1000 hours sold it.
Bad design combined with incompetent operators is a guaranteed recipe for failure.
I think the deck would have to be an off set deck for your idea to work. its a timed deck.
TaryL this is the best he helps people understand how to fix so many different types of problems I have really enjoyed the experience of Learning TaryL thanks for your experience . GOD BLess
I one time bought some blades that was tad too long so I ground down the ends of the blade like 1/8 inch worked lol on a non timed setup though.
u need to let your wife fix it, so it will b done rite
Bought a 75 International Cub Cadet 1200 two years ago when i bought a house with a giant yard and I've decided i don't need a zero turn now. Best $700 i ever spent.
I have a John Deere LT 155 with the Freedom 42" deck that is like that one.
They generally work well and mow a pretty yard, but they are not made for
rough yards with heavy debris and roots coming out of the ground. You don't
let your grass grow too tall if you have one of these also. A good
rule of thumb before moving with anything is to walk the yard and remove
debris or anything that deck might contact. Beware yes that parts are
expensive if you screw up one of these decks. GREAT VIDEO!!! 🍻
Hey Tarly Chris here, and some of the old 800/8000 series Gravelys have a gearbox on the deck and use a deck belt and have 3 blades, I've never seen one in your shop yet with any problems like that. and deck sizes range from 40 up to 60 inch.
I love your truth and sense you make, you are very hilarious and smart, thank you sir and thanks again for your honesty
Taryl & GrassRats. I have a Cub Cadet 44C mower deck that I pulled from off of my 682 Cub Cadet tractor am working on that lost its proper belt tension in which the center blade was cutting grass the other two blades would spin but not fast enough to do anything.
Upon Dis-Assembly I found parts that appeared to be the original OEM parts painted with the IH/Cub Cadet white paint mainly the tension arm assembly and the original looking pulleys. And Yes, A very old tension spring was broken and I decided to go ahead and replace the tensioner pulley that also appeared to be OEM just for good measure.
My point is that I love how simple and easy that the vintage Cub Cadet mower decks were to work on. None of the Gimmicky MTD cables and way too many brackets that you see on the newer MTD/Cub Cadet tractors. The most expensive part that I may still replace is the tension arm which is just over $100. I’m pretty confident that once I get all of my new pieces and parts ordered and installed that my mower deck will last for several more years -, I guess MTD decided that concept wasn’t feasible enough for their bottom line.
I have a CUB GTX 2154 and its the worst Lawn and Garden Tractor I have ever had. Just returned from the Shop 5/17/23 after the Tractor just quit with a LOUD BACK FIRE int the middle of our 5 acres. This has happened 3 times now and each time the problem has been the LIFTER have Disconnected. The Shop had the Throttle wired back to stay on FULL POWER for Six Weeks over a year ago, as they said it took that long to get the New cable shipped in and then they never told me it was in and could not find the cable after I contacted them. Then the tractor did the Very Loud Back Fire and just quit. The new owners of the shop attributed the problem to the Cable being wired on FULL and tried to blame it on me. They had to contact the previous owner to verify that their Mechanic had done this and that took another week. So, by the time I got the Tractor back the *FIRST TIME* my grass was over a foot deep and when I started mowing very slowly the Tractor did a REPEAT Performance of the Back Fire and shut down. I contacted this shop again and they took the Tractor for another week while my grass grew even deeper. They never once thought to send me a used Tractor to fil in the time and when I asked because of these problems the only thing they would do is cover the cost of the Tractor repair. But Not the PICK UP AND DELIVERY. I went thru this same situation now *4* Times including a week ago. Every Cub I have had has been a TANK. But Not this one.
I have a Cub Cadet walk behind with the timed blades. I got it free from a coworker who ran over his water shut off port in his yard. The blades ran into each other and he parked it in the shed for the next 6 years. I brought it home put a new battery on it, new blades, and rebuilt the carburetor. Its been working great every since.
I just rebuilt and straightened out the 42 inch deck on an ariens rider with the intek vtwin 20horse. The guy was new to this lawn cutting racket..i watched him running over stuff.
Anyway, its not just my neighbor, and he does cut on 6 level, the highest mark..too many people cut their grass to the quick. All these mtds are already starting waaaay to low. The highest cut setting is where the grass should be cut. If you use settings 1 thru 5 you start hitting stuff or scalping, hitting dirt..even with the anti scalp wheels. The decks need to have more height..may not be possible, since they have been using the same chassis design for 25 years.
YOU BOUGHT IT BACK?!?
You are one good man!!
Now that's customer service!!!!!
Not everyone is a pos like you.
I had an old Sears LT1000 for many years. The blade's belt would be problematic. Some would last 18 months. Some, not even one use. The quality of the belts were all over the place. I got so I could drop that deck and change a belt in under an hour. Now I have an old 36" Hustler ZT that I love. Commercial grade baby! Had to repair an internal high pressure oil leak on the charge pump. Half an hours work. Working like new again!
Our ole 03 LT160 had the freedom 42” deck with the timed deck belt. We got it from my dads father who snapped the original belt after 600hrs. Put a new belt on it, & it lasted a while until he hit something. Then got a cheap Amazon belt that snapped. Then got another OE JD belt that worked for a while then got another JD belt before he gave it to his brother when he upgraded.
Tractor was pretty darn reliable. Transmission gave out at 900hrs then his brother junked it sadly when the trans probably just needed some oil in it.
A three blade deck has offset blades (not lined up straight) so it overlaps and doesn’t leave a grass strip. That’s the beauty of a three blade mower… plus it cuts a wider path.
Taryl, I gotta tell you that even though you won't say the words, you are really disappointed in the timed blade design. You probably just don't like to bad-mouth in public, but for the sake of your ulcer, you gotta get it off your chest and tell us how you really feel about that Scrub Cadet. Keepin' it inside you will cause medical problems.
What are the odds that Mustie1 and Taryl work on a Scrub Cadet on todays videos…… EPIC!!…..
Customers like that keep the industry busy ..
And Kudos to you for buying it back ..and putting him back into another mower ...
Wooooooooooo....
I've got a freedom 42 on an old JD LT 166. I've thrown that deck across the yard so many times! It's my pull stuff around machine mainly, and I used to cut some really overgrown stuff, abusing the balls out of it too! Never had an issue while beating the heck outta it, but it always happened out of nowhere, it was always the timing belt slipping for no apparent reason, making the blades smashem' bashem' always bending them, and they are 80 bucks too. But I gotta say, that deck cuts amazing and if you take the time to stripe, it leaves a professional looking job.
My Craftsman and Troybilt 33 inch walk behinds that besides the color were identical twins had the same problematic problem ! I hadn't thought of those nightmarish times till now and I feel a sense of relief knowing that those days are gone!
Best weed smoker show I have watched ever. Love he work also
I just had one come in with the same problem. Also the transmission belt was junk and the valve cover too! Plus the starter. Its a zero turn tractor i1042. Thing is junk but then I tested it and its freakin awesome! Turns on a dime and gives you 5 cents change. Low and wide for side hills and has awesome traction because 2 transmissions are driving. Almost didnt want to give it back. Those blades overlap alot mine wernt that close.
Some pretty good stupid suggestions in the comments section so I'll add another one; take one of the blades off completely and just drive twice as fast!
(The only real fix for that POS is to jack up the gas cap and replace the machine that sits directly under it...and then replace the gas cap with a better one.)
Taryl
I have John Deere D110 runs just fine.
Always change oil.
Never let grass go too tall.
May most be the month when you get most of customers with deck problems because they don’t cut the grass in Midwest second week of April … and by Mother’s Day is so overgrown that don’t see what is on the ground … and bum 💥 hit a branch, a root a tool a rock etc
Need to keep up don’t let grass overgrown and you mower will be fine just change oil, inspect belt and grease and change filter.
In winter stabilizer, in tank, move battery to basement so does not get damage and that’s it
Having the same problem. I was thinking electrical, but now, I'm thinking gas. Thanks for the helpful video.
Hey Taryl, you set the standard of excellence, for customer care. Now I know right off the bat, your answer would be a flat out "No-Picture(s,)" of the customer's lawn. But I'm hoping to precede you to do a "drive-by," a lot of us "GRASS-RATS," just gotta know, how stupid is stupid. Thanks for sharing. (if the "lawn-problem,") is in the back-yard, that would be a bummer.
Once upon a time i had an old mower that had a 36 in deck. Dont recall the brand. It had an 8 hp engine. Couldnt find blades that fit. Used universal fit push mower blades and cut the ends off to clear each other and balance. Cut good. The drive had a belt from engine to transmission, then chain from transmisson to axle. I could replace the worn axle sprocket But not tphe worn transmission sprocket. The sprocket was built as part of the shaft. Little tractor wasnt worth the cost of replacing the shaft. So i used the engine on a different tractor that i had with a blown engine. Used the frame to build a flat bed wagon to pull behind my other tractor.
Looks like my 2166 Cub Cadet (23 years old). Now I need a new mower deck (had to store it outside for several years under a tarp because my garage was full and my old shed had problems... and will be torn down as soon as I can a new one built. The big problem I had with it was the belts becoming loose and burning up after 15 years of use... I found that going to a one inch shorter belt mostly fixed the issue, only burned once a year rather than 3-4 times a year. Not too bad for a old deck... but I plan on getting a new deck for it... the tractor part runs fine.
Oh, I did go to a cheaper belt because of the cost of replacing the "Cub Cadet" belts was twice as much.
This is why I run commercial mowers. They are built heavy duty. Exmark and Gravely!
I would have a gooood look around that mower with that kind of repeated abuse! Or have lawnmower detectives pay a visit 😆
Thanks for the info 🇺🇲
My neighbor had a John Deere with a similar deck in the mid 90's. I bet I re-timed the deck a couple times for him and replaced that timing belt that had teeth on both sides a couple times. What a pain !.. and the belt was NOT cheap. Back then it was like $75 bucks and the first time he bought one I about fell over when he told me the price. Those mowers have to be used on a "golf green" style lawn, no dips , possible foreign debris or anything else that might upset the blades. Your description of POS is right on ! 😅
I agree with you. I understand the problem they were trying to solve, but they complicated it for typical home ownership.
A timed blade set up would never work in my yard. I have a lot of pine trees and a bunch of the roots are above the surface. My old Gravely just takes out a chunk and keeps on going.
@Taryl I had that happen with a beautiful, small Stihl chainsaw. He brought it back twice, and each time, the chain looked like he had been cutting concrete with it. I sharpened it the first time, figuring that it was somehow accidental, but when he came back the second time, with the saw looking the same way, and him not realizing that he had rocked the chain, I knew there was only one way out. I bought the saw back, and told him that I didn't have another saw that would suit him. A guys got to do, what a guys got to do. Knucklehead, would have been a big step up from the words I was silently using to describe him.
Guy makes Goofy laugh, "Yep, I know how to run one of them there chainsaws".
Awesome job God Bless you and your family