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The blades on my DSY4500 were not cutting evenly. I had a Craftsman tech check it out and he said that I must have hit something pretty hard. One of my blades was badly bent and the mandrel shaft stars were badly worn. He suggested I replace the blade and the mandrel shaft. He advised the replacement of the mandrel shaft would run close to $500. Is this something that the average guy might be able to replace to save some money or should I leave this one to the experts?

500 dollars to change the mandrel shaft on the mower deck? The shaft with bearing is less then 50 dollars. That would only be 450 dollars labor. What a bargain we have for you If I was you I would be looking for a differant repair shop.

mspil57 said:

The blades on my DSY4500 were not cutting evenly. I had a Craftsman tech check it out and he said that I must have hit something pretty hard. One of my blades was badly bent and the mandrel shaft stars were badly worn. He suggested I replace the blade and the mandrel shaft. He advised the replacement of the mandrel shaft would run close to $500. Is this something that the average guy might be able to replace to save some money or should I leave this one to the experts?

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Not very difficult to just change the shaft if you understand the anatomy of the assembly. Those shafts that have a blade adapter integral to the shaft must be removed from the bottom which means the pulley has to be removed first. Others that have a removable blade adapter can be removed through the top without removing the pulley until after the shaft is out.

Those that pass under my shade tree get a slight modification and can have the shaft and new bearings also installed without removing the housing from the deck if they ever need that repair again.

Is this something that the average guy might be able to replace to save some money or should I leave this one to the experts?

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Do it yourself and you will be that much smarter and more confident around your mower.
You can now spend 450 bucks on tools :thumbsup:.
Listen to Sandbur...he knows of what he speaks.

Thanks for the input. I believe I will give it a try this week and see what happens. I appreciate the forum and all of you guys that are so willing to help. Thanks!

I would suggest replacing the entire jackshaft assembly. May cost a bit more for the assembly, but labor and possible head aches greatly reduced. This would only take about 20 minutes if the deck is off. If you go jackshaft only make sure you grease the inside of the housing really good.

Rivets said:

I would suggest replacing the entire jackshaft assembly. May cost a bit more for the assembly, but labor and possible head aches greatly reduced. This would only take about 20 minutes if the deck is off. If you go jackshaft only make sure you grease the inside of the housing really good.

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Rivets has a good point and it will still be a lot less then 500 dollars.

I believe you could buy a whole new mower deck for $500.....

That $500 charge must be a laid off Mercedes mechanic.