I bought a Husqvarna MZ54 mower in February 2021. Overall, it's been a really great machine. I have about 6 acres of grass that needs cutting every 2-3 weeks for about seven months per year. So, my mower is getting a moderate amount of use, I would say, with about 85 hours on the engine now. The only issue I have are the deck bolts that hold the deck in a suspended position. Two of them are what I call "J-bolts," with one end being threaded and the other end being a j-hook. At first, the nuts would eventually vibrate off of the threaded portion of the bolt, making the deck fall. I fixed this by first running a nut down the threading, attaching the bolt to the mower, and running a second bolt on top. Then, I tightened the two bolts together. Now, the J-Bolts break at the threading every so often. I've put probably 10-12 of these on the mower since I've had it. It's not a hard repair to make, but the parts are sometimes hard to get. It's also inconvenient when they break and I've run out of parts and need to mow my lawn! Has anyone else had this issue and what might I do to fix it? Thanks in advance for your help.
#2
sgkent
no idea but you might check McMaster-Carr for replacments if they are a standard J-Bolt. They have medium strength (grade 5 120,000 lbs) tensile steel Hold-bolts 1/2 and 5/8 diameter, and up to7 to 8" long. They also have low strength ones 1/4" and 5/8" inch to 10". 60,000 lbs strength. Then they have the unrated generic stuff too. As a last resort you could have a local high quality welder weld some grade 8 bolts to some high quality steel rod and make your own. I would be looking at vibration as the cause, or the process you are using to add the double nut. I'd be looking at some locking nuts instead of double nut.
