You are absolutely right about looking the deck over. I checked everything recently when I had to take the deck off to find a part I dropped. If I had known about the oil plug problem, I would have changed the oil the same day.
From now on, I plan to get this thing in good shape in November, when it's cool. I didn't have any choice about the timing of replacing the alternator belt, but there are other jobs that can be moved.
I don't get buildup on my deck. Maybe it's because the grass here is so pathetic. In my area, you can't have a real lawn unless you irrigate constantly. The people who built my house put in a very fancy irrigation system that only waters the shrubs next to the house, which don't actually need water. I shut the system down for good. I have bahia grass, which is arguably inferior to painting your soil green.
I plan to keep grinding and cutting on the deck to make it easier to remove. Initially, I was reluctant to take an angle grinder to a machine people respected so much, but that feeling has passed. I can see more than one thing that can be modified to make the deck function somewhat less badly.
It's bad to get old and have back problems, but the reality is that this deck is not safe for anyone to remove at any age. It's a 325-pound object that requires you to bend over and pull on it while it resists you as much as it can because of design flaws. There is no way to characterize that as safe; it could screw up a disk in a teenager's back. I should start using my other tractor to pull it out.
