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Troy-Bilt LTX-1842 - My husbands riding mower sat for over a year. I made arrangements to have it picked up and repaired. He communicated with the repair place indicating battery replacement and carburetor cleaning only... you know get the engine running. Engine runs great, drives great... the blade and belt pulleys however are frozen. I am trying to keep my mouth shut about the need to have a repair person check and make sure all part are moving... so, help! What am I looking at here? This is not a W-D40 fix (don't laugh, I am a city girl). I have been reading the owners manual... is this major? I mean nothing is moving. The deck belt pulleys and the blade is frozen solid.

So you are unable to turn either blade pulleys with wrench or socket or manually move blades? Don't have anything caught or wrapped around the blades?

He tried to manually move the blade and the pulley (bare handed). It is frozen. Nothing is caught... used a leaf blower to make visibility clear... nothing appears to be blocking it.

Shimie1 said:

He tried to manually move the blade and the pulley (bare handed). It is frozen. Nothing is caught... used a leaf blower to make visibility clear... nothing appears to be blocking it.

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The bearings are frozen in the blade spindle assemblies. There is a product called PB Blaster which I have found very effective on freeing up almost anything. It can be found at Autozone, Dollar General and Walmart. It comes in a spray can. Try spraying this down into the bearing area and use a breaker bar on the top nut (should be a 7/8 or 15/16 socket and move it back and forth if possible. If this doesn't work the bearings inside the housing will need to be replaced. It might be easier to replace the entire spindle assembly.

jsm0960 said:

The bearings are frozen in the blade spindle assemblies. There is a product called PB Blaster which I have found very effective on freeing up almost anything. It can be found at Autozone, Dollar General and Walmart. It comes in a spray can. Try spraying this down into the bearing area and use a breaker bar on the top nut (should be a 7/8 or 15/16 socket and move it back and forth if possible. If this doesn't work the bearings inside the housing will need to be replaced. It might be easier to replace the entire spindle assembly.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much... I read this to my husband, he said that makes sense. We will pick up the PB Blaster and see what happens. So appreciative. Will post the outcome. Thank you all

Take the blade belt off the pulleys and try one at a time. Make sure the other pulleys ( idler pulleys ) turn.
Even when you get the blades turning your going to need bearings soon. If the bearings where good and still had plenty of grease in them they would not have froze up.
Very easy to change the bearings.
Take top nut off remove pulley and spacer. Put a block of 2x4 on top of the shaft hit with hammer to knock the shaft out.
Use a 3/8 extension and tap the bearings out. If the top bearing stays on the shaft put it in a vise and knock the shaft out using the 2x4 and hammer.
Or go on eBay and buy the whole assembly

Bearing part number is

941-0919

Or take one out and go to napa or a small hometown auto parts store and get the exact same bearing for about half price.

I am grateful for all of the responses. I spoke with my husband this morning, when he gets home from work I am going to have him log on here and read all of the suggestions. He may have further questions. I have downloaded the manual for this particular lawn tractor 302 Found We have a buddy of his coming for BBQ this evening and they can work on it together. There is a lawn tractor repair shop in town... where parts can be ordered if needed (I just have no intention of paying a couple hundred buck, more for repairs). Thanks again, will check back later.

I get most my parts on eBay. Same part just a lot less money.