Advice On How To Straighten Gearbox. Deck Mounting Point Bent Slightly.

rdewey · Apr 8, 2022

To straighten this you need to remove the gear box and make a fixture that bolts into the deck at the gear box holes. Once you are able to push the channel straight you will need to weld in a reinforcement to keep it straight. I have done it and it will be better than new but lot's of work. The other options is to run it as is. How flat do you need to cut weeds?

charles todd · Apr 8, 2022

Jims1025R said:
Yup, don't pull on the gearbox!

Remove it. It may be a fight to return the deck, it has stretched now, and won't want to sit flat ever again. You might hammer it closer, and sure, do that. Do it cold, heating it will not help you enough to be worth it, 'cause it's never going to be perfect again (you can bend the sheet, but you cannot compress it back).

Once you're as close as you can get, shim the gearbox to be level with washers. Just be sure that the surface (accumulated washers) is as flat for the gearbox as possible.

Agree. No heat. Cold bend.

CT

beenthere · Apr 8, 2022

wirlybird said:
Hi all,
I have a 6 foot brush bull similar to the one in the picture.
While doing some repair work I find that the gearbox is leaning to one side. If you stand at the front or back you can see it leans a little, like the arrow in the picture.
I can see where the deck is lifted slightly on one side where the gearbox mounts.

What would be the best way to straighten this back up?
Pull the gearbox and hammer the one side of the deck back down?
Somehow get leverage on the gearbox and try to pull it back into place?

I don't know how it got bent since it was likely this way when I got it this past fall. It is in good condition but the stump jumper did have a dent in it so maybe something got jammed up underneath?

Anyway, wanted to get some opinions before diving into fixing it. Thanks!

View attachment 740719

Easier to do than to say. In short, but straighten it from underneath with long bolts and weld in place. Make a bridge across the side struts for the long bolts. Much like "rdewey" suggests.