King cutter scalps on one side

[padolin]

Hey folks, i have a 72 inch king cutter finish mower. In the past it has done really well keeping my 8 acres mowed smooth and nice. I loaned it to a friend last summer and when he brought it back it scalps on the outboard blade. Im not sure if he hit something and bent the shaft or the deck or what.

Does anyone have experience with this?

I hope i wont need to get a new mower deck, this one is only 4 years old.

 

[DK35vince]

What all have you checked so far ?
Tire pressures
Bent blade
Did your friend for some reason change the height adjustment shims on that side?

 

[Thomas]

Blade tight..can you hear blade hitting something.

 

[padolin]

I have replaced the blades. They are not bent or loose. It has solid rubber tires, so that cant be it. it is the right side blade out of three blades. It scalps forward. As if the whole shaft or deck is bent.

 

[Thomas]

Does deck adjustment wheel look damage?
Can you swap other side good adjustment wheel w/adjustment wheel deck side scalping to see if any difference?

 

[jeff9366]

Have you put a bubble level on the deck to be sure it is level left-to-right, making any adjustment necessary with the right Lifting Rod on the Three Point Hitch?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Sounds like a bent spindle. Level the deck then check the blades to see if all are level in all directions. If it is bent bad, you should be able to eyeball it and tell if it is bent when you turn it .

 

[padolin]

ok, im hoping its the spindle. Ive checked everything else. Its definitely either the spindle or the deck itself, and the deck seems awful sturdy to have it bent.

I wasnt sure if the spindle could bend that way and still work

Thanks for all the input. i appreciate it. Now i guess i get to shop around for parts!!

 

[whis]

turn it upside down and see if blade tips meet and same height

 

[Coyote machine]

Ask your 'friend' who borrowed it, if he hit something with it, while in his use. Better to not loan out equipment at all to best maintain friendships. second best bet it do the work on their place with your equipment, operated by you, though this too can present problems.
Don't shop parts until certain what the problem is.

 

[padolin]

Unfortunately, my "friend" and i arent talking anymore. He has fallen prey to the prescription drug problem that plagues us here in WV. So i am not sure he hit anything with it, but im pretty sure that he did. I will do as you said and measure the blade heights though.

Thanks for all the advise

 

[Coyote machine]

Unfortunately, my "friend" and i arent talking anymore. He has fallen prey to the prescription drug problem that plagues us here in WV. So i am not sure he hit anything with it, but im pretty sure that he did. I will do as you said and measure the blade heights though.

Thanks for all the advise

Sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, for whatever reason.
Once you check the height of the blade tips, is it possible to swap out the left and right spindles, or are they different part numbers?
I am suggesting this, if the blade tips are OK, maybe it is a spindle issue, and switching them out would tell if the spindle causes the left side to then scalp.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If it is a pressed steel deck, he could have hit something hard enough to actually put a WOW in the deck which would need to be straightened or a new spindle would cut the same way. I bent a JD pressed steel deck like that once mowing my pond dike when I bottomed it out on top of the dike. It was an old deck with lots of rust so it bent pretty easily but if he hit a really solid object, he could have bent the housing and the spindle a bit. You could see this with the blade removed and a level across it in front/back and Side/Side directions.

 

[Sid Post]

Can you lift it with a loader and hand turn the blades? Measure the blade tip heights and check to see if everything is level.

How big a tractor did your former friend use? If it wasn't 'power' matched to your mower it didn't bog down when he hit whatever it was and he wasn't fast enough to disengage it.

Things like that happen fast. I hit a piece of thin cable hidden in the grass and disengaged the PTO as fast as I could. The blades spun long enough to suck most of it up as I helplessly watched. The good news is that without PTO power, it didn't wind up very tight and apparently did zero damage to the mower.

 

[zzvyb6]

I've seen this done a few times. Belt breaks (from being smoked because something stuck a blade). New belt not installed correctly (belt threading diagram is missing or worn off). One blade is turning the wrong way. Tensioner adjustment is way out of range, too.

Just look at it when turning by hand. I presume you put the blades on properly....

 

[padolin]

I started taking things apart to where i could get to them. One side of the blade is 5 3/4 and one side is 3 3/4. The deck is definitely bent. I have no idea of how to straighten the deck, so I am going to take it to where i bought it and see if they can do anything with it. Pretty frustrating. Oh well....

 

[Coyote machine]

I'd take it to a local welder/machine shop and see what they say as to straightening it. They should be able to tell you if repairing/straightening is feasible.

 

[Sid Post]

Ouch! Hopefully it can be heated and straightened. If else fails, you can probably cut the old mount out and remount it to new plate that can be welded back in.

 

[Eric C]

I agree with Coyote.......a good welder/machine shop can do wonders.

 

[GrandLakeGAR]

I used to have a 6' King Kutter finish mower that I bought damaged. Owner had hit something so hard it twisted one blade and bent the deck, causing the right spindle to be tilted. Sounds like your deal. I beat on it with a sledge to get it back semi flat and then used some washers to shim the spindle back vertical. Did a good job mowing with it for years after that. Also watch for cracks in the deck around the wheel mounting brackets, had to do some repairs in that area too. Good luck.