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I have a 1997 MY ranch king with the 42 inch deck. It uses the lever style deck engage. My buddy has a 46 inch cut mtd with the same style deck engage. Was wondering if I could use the 46 inch deck on my tractor.

Only if the mounting is exactly the same. Even if its the same you may have to change belt. You would have to figure out the size of belt.

bww3588 said:

I have a 1997 MY ranch king with the 42 inch deck. It uses the lever style deck engage. My buddy has a 46 inch cut mtd with the same style deck engage. Was wondering if I could use the 46 inch deck on my tractor.

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I have gone from a 38 to a 42

Best thing to do is sit them side by side and make sure the brackets will work.

As long as they are close to being the same year it should work.

Excellent. Thanks for the replies. The deck is free, and the mower it came off is still there. I should be able to scavenge any parts I need off it. I also have some linkable belt I can adjust in 1 inch increments to get the correct size.

Oddly enough, they are the same year. The parts tractor is model 13as699h062. Mine is 13ag695g206

The main difference I can see so far is the 46 has 2 belts, one drive and one secondary that runs the 3 blades. Mine has one belt that runs from the crankshaft to the 2 pulleys on the spindles.

I say give it a try.

You will like the 3 blade deck

Good news, all the diagrams of the 2 hanger assembly's I have found on the interwebs are identical. I don't have the parts mower in front of me but I printed the diagram for the 46 deck and tore my deck off and every bracket and pin look to be in the exact same locations. Next weekend, I will go get the parts tractor and deck to test my theory.

2 things come to mind that I may have issues with.

1 I only have the 16 horse techumseh engine where as the parts tractor has the 18.5 Briggs. The 16 horse on my tractor doesn't have a problem slinging grass with the 2 bladed 42 but how will it handle the added capacity of 3 blades? My theory it that I'm only cutting 4 additional inches of grass, with 1 extra blade. So I'm thinking the additional load (4 inches) will be distributed better with 3 blades. Which may put less of a load on the engine. Or, will the additional 4 inches be detrimental regardless of number of blades?

2. And this may be a question for the engine forum or a different thread, but it seems that my engine does not have the rpms it should. It doesn't seem to rev out and have the same sound as other mowers. I've messed with the throttle linkage and it is getting full throttle on the govener which is vacuum operated. I can manually pull on the throttle linkage and get more revs out of it

That may sound stupid but I build race cars and high horsepower small and big block Chevys often so I'm used to listening to an engine and judging things like that based on sound.

And before I forget, thank you all for the replies so far.

The 16hp will turn the blades just fine.

The two belt set up will turn the blades faster and with more usable torque to the blades.

Look at it like this.

Take a stock sbc and just change the rear end gear. New found power with the same hp.

To get more RPMs try taking some of the bend out of the rod going from the governor to the carb. Making it longer.

Will try that. Thanks.

Bringing the parts mower home Saturday morning. I will take pictures for anyone interested in the swap.

I'm sure it will need new blades and it has a mulching kit on it that I'll probably give away to anyone that needs it.

For anyone that is interested, the swap went off without a hitch. Even the mule belt from the crank to deck worked. Everything lined up correctly. Having the 2 tractors side by side it was obvious they used the same frame/chassis.

Got it on and went for a test mow. The 46 deck is in sad shape. All 3 spindles are shot and all 3 blades are as dull as a baseball bat. So we didn't really cut grass, just beat it into submission.

That being said, it certainly put a work out on the 16 horse techumseh. I'm attributing that mostly to the worn spindles and dull blades.

Overall I'm satisfied, and will be more so after I give the deck some tlc.

Here are some pics I took.

bww3588 said:

For anyone that is interested, the swap went off without a hitch. Even the mule belt from the crank to deck worked. Everything lined up correctly. Having the 2 tractors side by side it was obvious they used the same frame/chassis. Got it on and went for a test mow. The 46 deck is in sad shape. All 3 spindles are shot and all 3 blades are as dull as a baseball bat. So we didn't really cut grass, just beat it into submission. That being said, it certainly put a work out on the 16 horse techumseh. I'm attributing that mostly to the worn spindles and dull blades. Overall I'm satisfied, and will be more so after I give the deck some tlc. Here are some pics I took.

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Glad it worked out. I had a feeling it would be the same.
I would just put new bearings in the spindles.

Thanks for the update.

Are the spindles serviceable?

I also found out I got some deck leveling issues. The 42 was perfectly level but with the 46 the right side of the deck is higher than the left. Unfortunately, the only adjustment is on the right side. So the only option I have is to lower the right. But the right side is in the correct spot, and the left is too low.

Guess I also need to get some new decals or sharpie over the 42 and make it say 46 to be official.

Yes it is very easy to replace the bearings.

Take the pulley off the top and knock the shaft out then pop the bearings out.

Anywhere you recommend to get the bearings? Also, do you know of any high lift, non mulching blades for it?

bww3588 said:

Anywhere you recommend to get the bearings? Also, do you know of any high lift, non mulching blades for it?

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You can get the bearings at a local auto parts store. Not a chain like auto zone.

Tractor supply

eBay

For blades go to a mower shop or eBay

Ok cool. Any ideas on the deck level issue? As far as one side being correct despite having to go down to raise the opposite side?

Are there 2 bearings in each spindle?

Two bearings each spindle.
Very easy bearing to find. 90% of all mowers use the same bearing.

Sorry but only the one adjuster

Hmm. Wonder how to get the deck more level

Does is have a adjustable front support.

Or more then one hole to mount the deck to.

I'll have to look at it closer. I know the front hanger has 3 different holes but I'm sure the pin is pressed in and will be a nightmare to remove. I'll pull it out of the garage shortly and take a look. After I'm done kicking myself for buying a chute off ebay

Just an update, I removed the deck last weekend, replaced the bearings in all 3 spindles and replaced the belt. Took all of 45 minutes to remove the deck, rebuild the spindles, put the deck back on and level it.

The 46 inch deck seems to hang much lower than the 42. My guess is the 46 seems to be a fuzz deeper than the 42. Which with all being equal, would cause the 46 to be closer to the ground in all positions. No big deal, just had to make some test cuts to figure out what notch to mow in.

I believe I am done messing with it for this season.