48C w/Powerflo: Cleanup and Repair

cjet69

cjet69

Tractorologist
Senior Member
Member
I got this deck along with a John Deere LX277 without an engine and thought I would get it cleaned up and repair anything that needs attention. A couple of weeks back I pressure washed all of the crud off and got the blades turning. I'm not sure if the mandrels will need bearings yet, but I did find the 2 idler pulley's on the Powerflo were locked up. I checked some price's and found they wanted $35 for one and $45 for the other plus tax and shipping. With nothing to lose I ground the rivet's off, punched them out, and split the larger pulley apart to get the bearing out. The smaller pulley had spot weld's that I drilled out. A few taps with a hammer and thin chisel and it split apart so I could remove that bearing.
As it turns out we keep some common alternator bearing's on hand and the larger pulley uses the same one. I checked through our sickle bar rivets and found some that I can shorten to rivet the 2 piece pulley back together. I will have to order the bearing for the smaller pulley, but I found some online for under $10.

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KennyP said:
If I had a way to do rivets, I'd look into that.

AHA! Found the sets for my impact:

Heavy Duty 2pcs Rivet Set, Abuff Pneumatic Air Rivet Hammer Set for Shank 0.401 Chisel/Air Hammer Rivet Bits - - Amazon.com

Heavy Duty 2pcs Rivet Set, Abuff Pneumatic Air Rivet Hammer Set for Shank 0.401 Chisel/Air Hammer Rivet Bits - - Amazon.com
www.amazon.com
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I don't remember the project but I do remember my father teaching me to make and use rivets from #9 wire. We riveted together sheet metal. or as he said at the time tin. Involved two ball peen hammers and a piece of plate with a hole drilled in it. As with so many other things I wish I had paid better attention. I have used the plan many times but never developed near the skill he demonstrated.
Don
 
I mounted the 48C deck on my GT225 and fired it up. Its seems noisy to me and I suspect I should put new bearings in the mandrels. I may try a test mow with it tomorrow. I have a question on the left rear deck wheel that has an offset. It hits the left rear tire and I was wondering if the wheel is on the wrong side or if I need a different deck wheel?

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cjet69 said:
I mounted the 48C deck on my GT225 and fired it up. Its seems noisy to me and I suspect I should put new bearings in the mandrels. I may try a test mow with it tomorrow. I have a question on the left rear deck wheel that has an offset. It hits the left rear tire and I was wondering if the wheel is on the wrong side or if I need a different deck wheel?

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To me it looks as if swapping the deck wheels side to side would solve your problem.
Don
 
I did some test mowing with the 48C today. Mowed the orchard area and a small patch in one of the back pastures. The GT225 handled it nicely. We will see if putting the Powerflo on it make's a difference in power consumption. It didn't seem to be as noisy today, maybe because I was in a wide open area rather than right next to the metal sided shop. I may hold off on the spindle/mandrel rebuild for now.

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