LA125 Overhaul

[BravoXray]

My niece called a couple of weeks ago and said the mower on her 125 quit working. I picked it up and brought it back to my shop and had a look. The idler pulley bracket area of the deck had rusted enough to let the bracket rip out of the metal. I pulled the deck off and attempted to weld a couple of patches to repair the rust, but the deck is so rusted out, from the bottom side, that there was no way to repair it without a LOT of work. So I found a new one at a dealer and am going to pick it up in a couple of days and get the deck put back together.
The seat pan/fender assembly is also rusted some, the paint/powder coat is coming off in sheets, so I pulled that off, and am going to take it to a local shop to be blasted and powder coated, if it isn't rusted through in a bunch of places.
The engine runs fine and the hydro trans works great, the frame is solid, the hood is in good shape, and she just got all new tires for it, so I kind of hate to let it go any further to pot than it is now. It has been left setting out in the weather for a few years, and before starting the repairs, I made it plain to her that after I get it repaired, it is to be kept inside from now on or I'll confiscate it.

Stay tuned.

 

[bmg88201]

I am curious what the new deck cost, I have heard they are expensive. I agree that it needs to be kept out of the weather. A lot of people treat their mower like a car and just leave out in the elements. Also if the under side of the deck isn’t kept clean then the wet grass will still rust the deck up over time even it is kept inside.

 

[BravoXray]

I am curious what the new deck cost, I have heard they are expensive. I agree that it needs to be kept out of the weather. A lot of people treat their mower like a car and just leave out in the elements. Also if the under side of the deck isn’t kept clean then the wet grass will still rust the deck up over time even it is kept inside.

New deck is $500.
Dropped the seat pan/fenders off at the shop today to be blasted, and if it's not a piece of Swiss cheese like the deck, will be powder coated JD green. I hope it's okay, I don't want to have to try to repair it, find a used one or have to buy a new one.

 

[Spanner]

The fender deck will be fine. Minor rust and very repairable.
I did see your other Deck Repair Fail thread - It was clear that there were areas close to your 'cut line' that were too thin for a successful weld and you could have gone wider to get to more solid metal.

The idler bracket being torn off and the RH deck hanger bracket similarly torn are common failings which I repair on-site with a stick welder so I know the need to find solid metal.

One thing I just noticed in Pic 2 is that your Ground Clamp is located on the Spindle housing turret.
I don't think that's a great 'earthing' position.
You are relying on deck shell to aluminium housing conduction through contact and the 4x bolts. Both surfaces are subject to corrosion and are likely to have high resistance - That'll cause your welds to overheat and burn more easily. You end-up chasing holes.

I always grind off some paint and ground to clean steel near the weld site.

Also, you'll discover the extent of the bi-metallic corrosion when transferring the spindle housings to the new deck shell. The 4x mounting screws have a habit of shearing off when you try to undo them. (Let us know how you get on here)

JD consider the deck to be a consumable item much like a filter - Albeit less frequently replaced - They expect it to be replaced at least once in the life of the machine, as I recall from dealership training.

Down here in NZ the cost of new decks has led to locally manufactured galvanised units. (Not as curvy but effective at cutting grass, it seems.)

I'm not sure if it'll work for you in US but this link is to a listing on our equivalent of something between ebay & craigslist.

New john deere 42 inch galv ride one mower decks | Trade Me Marketplace

ONLY painted IN STOCK GALVANISED DECKS still 6 weeks out have painted thou Nz new caveman products built 2mm galvanised new deck come with new spindles blades...

www.trademe.co.nz

 

[tomplum]

You're a saint getting that all fixed up for her. Great time to clean the fuel tank and replace the fuel line too.

 

[BravoXray]

The fender deck will be fine. Minor rust and very repairable.
I did see your other Deck Repair Fail thread - It was clear that there were areas close to your 'cut line' that were too thin for a successful weld and you could have gone wider to get to more solid metal.

The idler bracket being torn off and the RH deck hanger bracket similarly torn are common failings which I repair on-site with a stick welder so I know the need to find solid metal.

One thing I just noticed in Pic 2 is that your Ground Clamp is located on the Spindle housing turret.
I don't think that's a great 'earthing' position.
You are relying on deck shell to aluminium housing conduction through contact and the 4x bolts. Both surfaces are subject to corrosion and are likely to have high resistance - That'll cause your welds to overheat and burn more easily. You end-up chasing holes.

I always grind off some paint and ground to clean steel near the weld site.

Also, you'll discover the extent of the bi-metallic corrosion when transferring the spindle housings to the new deck shell. The 4x mounting screws have a habit of shearing off when you try to undo them. (Let us know how you get on here)

Yeah, that probably wasn't the best place to ground it, but is worked okay.

The spindle housing bolts came out a little hard, but none broke off. I had replaced the spindle assemblies a few years ago, and I think those were self tapping tri-lobe bolts. There was some corrosion on the spindle housings, so I wire brushed the threads on the bolts, and I'll give them a schmear of anti-sieze when I assemble the new deck. I had thought the spindle bearings seemed okay when I removed them, but on closer inspection today, both were stiff, so I pressed them apart and pulled all the bearing out. The upper bearings were almost dry but pretty smooth, but the lower bearings were dried out and full of rust. Shafts looked good, so I ordered some new Timken 6203-2RS bearings and will install those and the spindles should be good to go for a while.

 

[BravoXray]

You're a saint getting that all fixed up for her. Great time to clean the fuel tank and replace the fuel line too.

She's family, and has had a lot of bad breaks, so I do what ever I can for her.

I'm going to power wash the whole chassis, and I'm going to replace that fuel line too. It slid off the tank fitting when I was working on it today, not sure how it was even able to pull fuel through it as loose as it was.

 

[BravoXray]

Got the spindle bearings yesterday, so I reassembled the spindles this afternoon, twice. Of course the first time I pressed the bearings in, I forgot to drop in the spacer that goes between them.
I also replaced the fuel line from the tank to the fuel pump. That took about five times as long as it should have, because they put one of the retainer clips that holds it to the frame deck in a place that you can't get to to reinstall it without removing the plate that holds the steering sector and a few other parts.
My neice supplied the parts to service the engine and a new belt for the mower. I ordered the belt that drives the transmission, because I'm while I have it this far apart, I might as well change it too. I looked at the belt she got, and it said right on the label it was for the transmission, so I put that on too, which was another adventure in contortions to get it held in place while installing a guard around the engine pulley.
I used about a dozen rags to get the bulk of the accumulated oil, dirt and grass cleaned off the underside of the chassis, what a grimy mess. I was going to power wash it, but would have to haul it up to the house and that would mean more disassembly, so I'll just get it cleaned up the best I can.
Hopefully the new deck will be in at the local JD dealer on Friday, and I can get that reassembled and hung on the tractor this weekend. The seat pan/fender will probably be another week or so before I get it back from the powdercoater.

 

[BravoXray]

I picked up the new mower deck yesterday, along with a few other parts. Got it almost back together, but when I was tightening the nut on the belt tensioner idler, the stud started spinning in the lever. So I pulled it all back apart and weld the stud fast on the back side, blast it and paint it, again.
Finished it up this afternoon, so it's ready to be put back on the tractor. Hopefully, the seat pan/fenders should be finished at the powder coaters on Monday, and I can get it all back together next week.
Loaded up the BX and went over and mowed her yard again today. I think I have finally found/chopped up most of the crap hiding in the grass. I also trimmed a half dozen trees that had low hanging branches, now you can mow under them without getting raked by branches.

 

[BravoXray]

Well, the powder coat shop called and wanted me to come over and look at the seat pan after they sandblasted it, that's not a good sign.
Went over and looked at it, and around the foot rests there were a lot of little holes rusted through, and a lot of pretty deep pitting in other areas. So I loaded it up in the truck and this morning had a friend look at it, and he says he can save it. This afternoon I welded up a couple of cracks at the seat attachment bosses and straightened out a few places that were bent up a little bit. I'm going to drop it off to him tomorrow morning. He had me pick up so filler called All-Metal that he says will plug up the holes and smooth out the rough surfaces. Then he'll prime it and paint it JD green.