Mowing BX mower wheels melted!

Anonymous Poster · Sep 5, 2001

Today when I finished mowing my lawn I did my usual routine of stopping the tractor and grabbing the garden hose to wash of the mower deck. I happened to notice that there was a strange looking buildup around the axle bolt on the rear anti-scalp wheels. As I looked closer I was shocked to see that the plastic around the hub had melted and the bolt had receeded about halfway into the wheel. Now this may have been partially my fault as I did lower my cut height on the deck since the weather has turned cool and wet but forgot to readjust the anti scalp wheels so the weight of the mower was riding on the wheels. I don't mow very fast so speed could not be much of a factor, I am now dissapointed that the wheels were not constructed with a bronze bushing insert and a grease fitting for lubrication like my old Cub Cadet mower. At least then they would have supported the weight of the mower deck. So let this be a word of caution to maintain proper clearance on the anti-scalp wheels.

Anonymous Poster · Sep 14, 2001

I wonder if one could substitute John Deere gauge wheels for the simple units on the Kubota deck. Deere has a large commerical mower where the deck ends pivot up. The gauge wheels appear to have sealed anti-friction bearings on the gauge wheels, about the same size OD, and a vertical support element similar to that found on the Kubota deck. One would have to verify all dimensions on the Deere gauge wheel assembly to ensure that it could be made, or modified to fit the Kubota deck.

RPM · Sep 15, 2001

I must admit I've been disappointed with the instructions on how to set the gauge wheels for the mid-mount. The floating-deck concept is good -- but even after I set the level I still end up running on the gauge wheels after 1/2 an hour or so.

Also - when running the tractor down the edge of my road I tend to have one gauge wheel up on the road - this one tends to stick now. I'm going to try and do some work on the deck to figure out what's wrong (the instructions don't seem to remedy the problem) ... just haven't had the time over the summer.

Generally I think that this is an area where Kubota still needs to do some work on the BX ... it really wouldn't have added more than a few dollars to put in bushings in the wheels.

Patrick