b-boy
Well-known member
On Monday I attempted to mow my lawn for the first time in 2026.
Due the very high grass, I raised the deck to make cutting easier. I ran the mower for about 15 minutes without issues. I heard a loud bang followed by a lot of grinding noises. I thought I might have hit something, but I can't see any rocks or metal anywhere in the area where the problem occurred.
I took pictures of the underside of the mower based on advice from the grounds maintenance manager for the local gun club. He was in the area when the breakdown occurred. He's pretty familiar with tractors and mowers. He took a look at the mower after the rear part of the mower deck fell off the mower.
He mentioned that the setup on the mower looked incorrect. He said the depth control bracket should be positioned above the drive shaft. On my mower, it is below.
This caused the depth control bracket and the shaft to collide when the PTO was engaged and the deck was raised. He felt this probably caused the problem.
As you can see from the photos, the drive shaft ate into the depth control bracket, causing it to fail, resulting in the back part of the deck disconnecting from the tractor.
Both the drive shaft and the depth control bracket have significant damage. Based on the damage, this may have been going on for a while.
This dealership had the mower for 2 weeks last season. They replaced the mower drive belt. They told me it had been installed incorrectly and was damaged as a result. It was covered under my warranty. That was the last time the deck would have been removed form the mower. I have never pulled the deck. The mower has ~50 hours on it.
The mower has been sent in for repairs, but they're telling me they can't look at it for 4 weeks. I tried to show these pictures to the dealer, but they absolutely refused to look at them. Kind of pissed me off. The guy was incredibly rude. I'd take it elsewhere, but it's the only JD dealership in the area.
I'd appreciate any input on this. I'm just trying to understand what might have happened here so I can have an informed conversation with the dealer.
Due the very high grass, I raised the deck to make cutting easier. I ran the mower for about 15 minutes without issues. I heard a loud bang followed by a lot of grinding noises. I thought I might have hit something, but I can't see any rocks or metal anywhere in the area where the problem occurred.
I took pictures of the underside of the mower based on advice from the grounds maintenance manager for the local gun club. He was in the area when the breakdown occurred. He's pretty familiar with tractors and mowers. He took a look at the mower after the rear part of the mower deck fell off the mower.
He mentioned that the setup on the mower looked incorrect. He said the depth control bracket should be positioned above the drive shaft. On my mower, it is below.
This caused the depth control bracket and the shaft to collide when the PTO was engaged and the deck was raised. He felt this probably caused the problem.
As you can see from the photos, the drive shaft ate into the depth control bracket, causing it to fail, resulting in the back part of the deck disconnecting from the tractor.
Both the drive shaft and the depth control bracket have significant damage. Based on the damage, this may have been going on for a while.
This dealership had the mower for 2 weeks last season. They replaced the mower drive belt. They told me it had been installed incorrectly and was damaged as a result. It was covered under my warranty. That was the last time the deck would have been removed form the mower. I have never pulled the deck. The mower has ~50 hours on it.
The mower has been sent in for repairs, but they're telling me they can't look at it for 4 weeks. I tried to show these pictures to the dealer, but they absolutely refused to look at them. Kind of pissed me off. The guy was incredibly rude. I'd take it elsewhere, but it's the only JD dealership in the area.
I'd appreciate any input on this. I'm just trying to understand what might have happened here so I can have an informed conversation with the dealer.
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