Installed New Gator Blades.

[TractorLarry]

Got my Gators in from C&G and installed them last night.

Pulling the deck was quite a chore. This 48" Model 317 deck with it's big out-riggers simply is not coming out from under this tractor without it being jacked up.

I had to jack up the front of the tractor about 18 inches so the riggers could come out under the front tires.

First picture is the deck removed. Looks pretty good for 12 years old and never really serviced.

Second picture is underside with old blades. I did not clean it. This is as it came off the tractor.

Picture 3 is with Gators installed and ready to go!

I also took the opportunity to change the Hydro Fluid and filter. Man, what a job!

First, when I removed the drain plug I thought I had tapped into the Alaskan Oil Pipeline. I've never seen so much fluid come out so fast Luckily I had a 12 quart pan under there.

Removing the filter is a real chore with the lift assembly in place. I had to walk around teh neighborhood and borrow/try 4 different filter wrences before finding one that would weave through all the lift mechanism stuff in the way.

Filling took longer than everything else combined. That's a tiny fill hole, and you have to refill it ounce by ounce. Took me about 45 min to get 7 quarts of fluid down that tiny hole!

It does seem to have quieted down the hydro a bit. Maybe today's HyTran Plus is just better fluid or something.

Thank goodness you only have to do that job about every 200 hours or so

Changed out all the belts as well.

It's supposed to rain today, so I suspect I won't be able to mow until Saturday. I expect it will be the last moving of the season.

In the second picture, can anyone tell me what type of blades the old one's were? Standard? High Lift? Mulching?

-Larry

 

[mark1]

Yep Gators are Great. Now..if you pull the pins, and swing the front outriggers in, and pull the pins on the rear deck wheels and turn them to roll sidways.Lift the tractor to deck assy up,after disconnecting the belt and pulling the rear pins. the deck will roll out from under the tractor practically by itself!. I do it on my 1863 with 54" deck all the time. Now if I only had someone to hold it up while I clean and scrape it.

 

[TractorLarry]

I did all that It wasn't coming out of there!

-Larry

Yep Gators are Great. Now..if you pull the pins, and swing the front outriggers in, and pull the pins on the rear deck wheels and turn them to roll sidways.Lift the tractor to deck assy up,after disconnecting the belt and pulling the rear pins. the deck will roll out from under the tractor practically by itself!. I do it on my 1863 with 54" deck all the time. Now if I only had someone to hold it up while I clean and scrape it.

 

[bermuda_ken]

The "trick" to filling the trans thru the dipstick tube is to put a drinking straw in the tube first.(hold on to it too!!!) This allows air to escape the housing and not give you a big oil "burp" when filling......

By doing this, you can fill a tractor in about 15 minutes......

 

[TractorLarry]

Yeah, we actually discussed this on the phone

I gave it a try but seem to keep running out of hands to hold things

I have an idea for the next time, though. The one funnel I have fits the tube tightly. I'm going to take a drink straw (one of those thin one's) and stick it down through the spout and glue it in place.

That should take care of the problem next time.

-Larry

The "trick" to filling the trans thru the dipstick tube is to put a drinking straw in the tube first.(hold on to it too!!!) This allows air to escape the housing and not give you a big oil "burp" when filling......

By doing this, you can fill a tractor in about 15 minutes......

 

[GreenQuality]

make sure you greease them spindlesthe gator have a good bit of dragg on them!

 

[ducati996]

I did all that It wasn't coming out of there!

-Larry

Back it up on some auto ramps -but not all the way, just a few inches so everything clears (the deck) underneath

 

[TractorLarry]

I got it back in there ok. Just jacked up the front end a foot or so and it slid right in.

It sure is harder to re-attach than to remove

-Larry

 

[TractorLarry]

They are pretty noisy too. When you raise the deck, such as when coming around for another pass, you can hear them roar like ****!

-Larry

make sure you greease them spindlesthe gator have a good bit of dragg on them!

 

[anthonyk]

What's the gator blade do that's different.

I've never seen one before.

anthony

 

[TractorLarry]

I'm not really sure. I needed new blades and everyone seems to like these (and they are pretty cheap), so that's what I went with.

I'm not sure I'll really get to use them this year to test. Looks like the last mowing of the season was already done. Grass isn't really growing any more.

-Larry

What's the gator blade do that's different.

I've never seen one before.

anthony

 

[mark1]

Anthony: Actually on E bay if you search for "Gator Blades" there are some good pictures.

 

[TractorLarry]

I have a spare set and can take some pictures if needed.

-Larry

 

[7mmrum]

yep, that deck is one Pain in the butt to remove and re-attach, I did it last year to attach the snow blower. Not sure if it is worth it this removing this year, may have to just deal with the snow. My fill tube for the trans fluid is the same, takes forever to fill.

I ended up using a rubber strap wrench to get the hydro filter off.

 

[TractorLarry]

I got it off with one type of wrench, and snugged it up (carefully) with a strap-type.

It's tight under there

-Larry

yep, that deck is one Pain in the butt to remove and re-attach, I did it last year to attach the snow blower. Not sure if it is worth it this removing this year, may have to just deal with the snow. My fill tube for the trans fluid is the same, takes forever to fill.

I ended up using a rubber strap wrench to get the hydro filter off.

 

[jeffinsgf]

What's the gator blade do that's different.

I've never seen one before.

anthony

They're mulching blades. The back of the blade is formed with three small "wings" that recut the grass clippings, making the clippings finer and therefore quicker to decompose.

 

[TractorLarry]

Picture what a Mower Blade designed by Stephen King would look like, and you'll probably be pretty close

-Larry

What's the gator blade do that's different.

I've never seen one before.

anthony

 

[anthonyk]

Ah, so it's a mulching blade. Thanks.
I was told by cub cadet that my 1046 came with mulching blades.
I never use the plug because it leaves an annoying line of grass.
maybe the gator blades would get rid of that.

anthony