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Wife was mowing tonight and mower died with a terrible sound. The skirt or brace, whatever it's called, that spans the discharge side of the deck broke loose at the front and got clobbered by the blade.



The stamped part is totally trashed, I can't save it. It was welded on, I cut it off with a sawzall. Will I have to have something fabricated to replace it? We are just being careful to only mow on level ground for the time being.

Since that's a stamped not fab deck its also a structural part of the deck.I'd fab something or carry it to a welding shop as soon as I could.

The piece in question is only there to stop you from bending the deck back if you hit something. Take it to a welding shop and have them weld in a scrap piece of steal. It does not have to match the old peice just not interfere with the blades.

I did some searching, some models have this part bolted on rather than welded. It's actually called a 'finger guard'. I also found an after-market part made out of 3/16" steel plate.

stock type part: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MTD-703-3511A-0637-MTD-Cub-Cadet-Troybilt-Finger-Guard-/400766744601

replacement part: http://www.nationwidepartswarehouse.com/product-p/npw-703-3511c.htm

So I think I am going to grind/cut off the remainder of the stock part and try the heavier flat plate.

the problem is it is flat so only has strength in 2 directions.
Normally I weld a length of round reo bar over the discharge chute on mower decks.
About 4' to 6' long to spread the load created by the discharge hole.
Reo bar is cheap every scrap yard will have tons of offcuts and just pick a size that sits nicely inside the upturned edge.
I do the same thing on the other side when the upturn gets ground down.