John Deere Freedom 42 Mower Deck

[sparkyman]

I have an LT166 John Deere which I love and do not baby. I hit a branch (big) and the blades started hitting each other. Removed the Freedom 42 mulching deck, then the blades, and repositioned the belts. Now when I cut I get the uncut grass. I looked in my manual and the blades are to be orthogonal (90 degrees to each other) and it says there is a RH and LH blade. If looking at the blades with the wheels at the top, the LH blade turns CCW and the RH turns CW. I am going to go fix my deck now. I'll let you know the outcome.

Eric

 

[sparkyman]

OK, I fixed my problem, which I believe indicates the problem with the original poster. I did have my Left blade in the Right and the Right on the Left. My deck, although not at a perfect 90 degrees (orthogonal) it is about 4-5 degrees off. I believe the problem is that the timing belt has slipped.

Here's what to do 1) look at your mower blades (I believe the are not close enough to 90 degrees. If they are 90 degrees then I'm "all wet." Otherwise 2) pull the mower deck out, 3) remove some of the easy bolts that hold the cover over the mowers timing belt (the cover does not have to be fully removed), 4) gently get access to the timing belt, 5) slip the belt off of a gear, 6) make the blades 90 degrees, 7) then slip the belt back on by starting it on a gear and rotate the blades. Replace the 4 bolts that held the cover and try it out.

Eric

 

[rayikeo2]

Wow! Whoever designed that setup must have been smoking something. I have a 44" Perahanna mulcher and all three blades are the same with no way to put them on wrong. It works like a charm and cuts extremely even.

 

[ronniew]

I have a John Deere Freedom 42 mulching deck, but have no idea what it came off of. Is this a multi-fit deck or is it for a specific application? The deck I have is complete and in perfect condition; I just want to sell it.

 

[Allsystemz]

I've only seen those on the LT155's

 

[NJDEER]

I'm sure if you changed the blades you cleaned out any buildup from the underside of the deck? Aside from the wrong blades, can't think of anything else that hasn't been covered so far. Do you drop the deck frequently enough? If so, maybe you can help me out. I've dropped mine for the first time, and upon hooking it back up I am unsure how the drive belt tensioner gets attached. My setup does not match what's in the manual. My LT155 is an '01-'02 model with the sub-125,000 serial numbers. I purchased a tech manual as well and still need some help. Thanks!

 

[konadan]

I have a Freedom 42 mower deck and just replaced the timing belt and blades. However, though I placed the blades a perpendicular to each other, when I spin the blades they come closer and closer together until they hit each other. How can this happen and how can I fix it?:confused2:

 

[Dutch445]

it sounds like the belt might not be routed correctly,
do you have your manual showing proper belt routing?

if not, maybe we can come up with the diagram
here.

welcome to TBN!

 

[Rico59]

Does anyone know which mulching decks will fit an LX266.
I have a 42c deck on the machine now,or would I be better off getting a mulching kit for the deck I have?

 

[konadan]

I found a diagram on the deere site and as far as I can see, I have routed the belt correctly. However, I will check again.