GC1705 MMM deck!

[Imold]

So I have owned my 1705 for about 4 weeks and all I have been reading is how bad it is to disconnect the pto for the deck is and well I finally got the nerve to try and do it today with my son there just incase something happened to me(health issues).

Well to start off it took me longer to get all four deck wheels lifted up then anything else those darn pins they use are nothing but a joke especially when you have nerve damage in your hands but anyway I got the wheels to the lowest hole and pined them back up, now the next was lowering the deck and pulling the pin on front so I could pull the handle down, no problem, then next was the pin on each side of the deck, no problem.

Now the horror stories I have read about is about to come true with the PTO shaft, I reached under grabbed the pto shaft pulled and BAM it came right off, this can not be right I have waited 4 weeks to do this and never wanted to try because all the issues I致e read about how tuff it can be to get the shaft off, no issues here.

So it took maybe 5-8 minutes to get the darn wheels moved up due to those ugly pins and about a minute or so to get the deck fully disconnected. I really like the easy deck removal on the 1700 series scut.
Here is deck pins and pto shaft off.

Deck removed.

Tractor with no deck and my son.




Jim.

 

[Imold]

They showed me at the dealership how to do it and it was easy but now that i have used it and it’s at my property I was worried that it would not come off this easy. I did put a bag over the pto shaft to protect it from the elements.



Jim.

 

[cglaser104]

Keep the shaft and the PTO under the tractor clean and protected and you'll be fine. Over time it can get gritty and oxidized and get more difficult. I pump no2 lithium grease into a shop towel and wipe the splines down with it from time to time to keep it from rusting and to keep debris off of it.

 

[Imold]

Keep the shaft and the PTO under the tractor clean and protected and you'll be fine. Over time it can get gritty and oxidized and get more difficult. I pump no2 lithium grease into a shop towel and wipe the splines down with it from time to time to keep it from rusting and to keep debris off of it.

I have a small tub of lithium wheel bearing grease that I figured I would put on the splines, like you said wipe it down good and keep both ends as clean as possible I think I have the dust cover for the mid pto shaft and the two screws to hold it on like there is on the rear pto.



Jim.

 

[MoMower]

Off was always easy, on can be a *****, I always found that doing the shaft first, before any pins, worked the best

 

[Imold]

I’ll try it that way next time and see how it works, Thanks.


Jim.

 

[loboracer]

MoMower is right. I have always had an easy time taking it off but getting the shaft on is a pain. I keep mine indoors too so it is clean but still a pain..

 

[irvingj]

For protecting the splined shaft sticking out, I use a piece of 1" heater hose with a plastic cap glued onto one end. Stays put, works well.

 

[coldsteelva]

The odd key-ring clips they use on the mower are a joke. FYI - I had one break (vibration?) and the pin came out (didn't know it) and when I went over a low spot in the ground, that wheel fell right out. I replaced all of them that day with multi-hole pins and R-clips. Much easier to adjust the wheels that way and they are near impossible to break.

 

[edgarrian]

I don't seem to have the problems that some experience. I always pin the deck first. I do this b/c sometimes after pinning the sides the front is not completely lined up and it can be a PITA to get. So I typically just back up the tractor so that it self aligns. Pinning the front is much easier. Keep in mind that doesn't happen very often. When i move to connect the pto. That has been relatively easy. Basically i just align it and try to slide it on. First attempt fails I turn the shaft slightly and try again. Once I partly get the pto connected. I then pullback the mechanism and then slide it the rest of the way. It probably has never takin me more than 5 minutes to put back on. I can see where the frustrations come in. Number one thing to keep in mind. Is don't get agitated as that will make the process longer

 

[Diggin It]

Try this BEFORE you have the deck mounted so you'll have more room to move and see.

Take the end of the PTO that mates to the tractor and see how easy it is to align properly. Mine is keyed and only goes on at one position. I've had to rotate the shaft fully more than once to get it aligned which can be a real bear with the deck mounted.

Make sure you know how the shaft mates and how to operate the retaining collar.

 

[Imold]

I mow every Thursday so we will see how it goes next week, growth is a bit slower now with the cooler weather so I might be able to mow every 10-12 days now, I will have to see what it looks like next Thursday and go from there.



Jim.

 

[Diggin It]

I keep my MMM mounted most of the Summer/mowing season. I only take it off if I need to move over rougher ground to dig something.

 

[GeneV]

Disconnecting the deck is no biggie. As for connecting, I never mess with the wheels (mine are set somewhere mid-height), I just leave them as is and drive the tractor over the deck with no problems. But connecting the shaft is the major league pia for me, it just flat out sux. The best method I found to mate the shaft with the pto is to rotate the shaft using the deck belt, that way it rotates the shaft very easy as opposed to having to rotate it by hand. When I feel it catches the splines of the pto, then comes the struggle pulling back on the snap ring to slide the shaft on. I haven't found a good technique to make this process easier, hopefully it will come to me.

One thing I found on the deck, the housing holding the slide pins can get bent a little from holding up the deck, off-setting the pin a little bit so that it doesn't line up perfectly with the hole in the tab it's supposed to go in. If you notice it's hard to pull those pins out when you're taking the deck off, it will be even harder to put them in fully when you're mounting the deck, and the following time they won't even fully engage with the tab...meaning your deck is not properly attached to the tractor. If you see that happening, the simple remedy is to hook a pry bar or something along those lines under the pin, using the fin (just underneath my thumb in that pic) as leverage. Just pry up on that pin, which will bend the housing it slides in enough to line it back up with the tab. The pic shows how the pin wasn't going fully in the tab until I bent the housing back into place.

 

[Diggin It]

I don't think I'd like that kind of pin. Mine is a big J hook I can get my finger through.

I rotate the shaft using the deck belt also.

 

[Jshan82]

Where did you get your top from?

 

[Imold]

I keep my MMM mounted most of the Summer/mowing season. I only take it off if I need to move over rougher ground to dig something.

I removed the MMM because I am moving some class 5 gravel to a area that is not very level and the deck was bottoming out and the wheels were kinda being pushed into the ground, when I finish what I am doing I probably will not need to remove the deck for awhile being I am just in a area that is not tractor friendly that is part of a path.


Jim.

 

[Imold]

Where did you get your top from?

Here. All State Ag Parts.

 

[Imold]

I don't think I'd like that kind of pin. Mine is a big J hook I can get my finger through.

I rotate the shaft using the deck belt also.

The 54 inch deck on my Cub Cadet uses J hooks, so far I like the pins on the Massey deck.

 

[coldsteelva]

Another trick that I have found works really well for the mid-mount PTO drive shaft - if you need to separate the two halves (maintenance/clean/lube), mark their orientation with a silver Sharpie or paint pen - the halves go back together much more easily.