I have a Z425 and it looks like I have a bent spindle. The spindle is secured with a locking nut accessed from the top. Anybody have an idea for removing this nut to pull/replace the spindle?
I have tried putting a wrench on the blade cap screw and another on the lock nut, the only thing that loosens is the blade cap screw. I even tried hitting it with an impact wrench with no luck.
This link explains how but what I found was there was no way to keep the blade bolt from loosening as well so what I had to do was put a bolt through one of the 2 holes in the pulley right through the top of the deck to keep it from turning. My spindle was broken on all 4 retaining bolts and not just cracked.
I had to replace two spindles this year. I also had tremendous problems getting the bolt to loosen. You have to brace from above to hold the pulley still. I ended up cutting the bolt off because no matter what I tried, the bolts just wouldn't budge. The good news is that I did get them off. There really is no trick, they are threaded normally and just rusted on tight enough to make it a problem getting them off. Good luck.
