mine is a 9661,so when you say you lift it as high as the foot deck allows I presume with the foot deck in the up position?I've never tried to lift the deck up still attached to the tractor so are you saying it will tilt up high enough to clean under the deck?...russ
...Yes, with the foot deck in the up position.
...Yep,...high enough for me anyway. It doesn't tilt up quite as far as those newer decks, but higher than I expected. I'd hate to have it fall down on me, that thing weigh's enough to hurt a fellow. That's why I use 2 chain falls, one for a back-up safety.
...I haven't even taken the blades off yet to sharpen them, I sharpen them while they're still in place. I just rotate the blade that I'm working on to the ~1-2 O'clock position & then grind it there, throwing the sparks away & upwards towards the bottom side of the deck. I flip the grinder over, then use the top side off the wheel (lightly) at a point ~180* from the typical spot on a grinding wheel.