We have a craftsman zts 7000 zero-turn mower. It is about 5 years old. About a month ago the left blade simply sheared off, leaving part of the bolt in the spindle. We have 6 acres that we keep mowed down, no stumps, no tall grass, nothing that you could run over. Because the bolt sheared off inside the spindle, we had to order the entire spindle assembly, PLUS the pulley on top because it is all attached. In other words, from top to bottom from the blade to the pulley. It cost us nearly $200 to buy every bolt, ring, spacer, spindle, pulley, etc. Now, this particular model of mower does not have a "star" on the spindle to insert the blade like most mowers do. Sears says it is just not built with one. We took the other side blade off and sure enough, that side is not that way and we have never had any trouble with that side coming off or shearing off. So we got the parts and put the mower back together. Mowed for about an hour and ... bamb, it sheared off exactly the same way. We started thinking maybe the bolts were defective. Contacted Sears and they were nice enough to send us the complete repair parts at no charge. Well, we got the parts, took it apart again and put it together again. Yesterday was the first time we used the mower since repairing it. It mowed for about an hour and bamb... seared off again exactly the same way. It makes no noise and simply (blade and bolt) drop to the ground. You don't even know it happens until you see your cut pattern. We are just going to trash the mower, but, we just can't understand why it is doing that. Anybody have any idea what might be going on?? Thank you.
We are completed stumped!
- Thread starter Rock1956
- Start date
I am enclosing pictures. The Operator's manual that we have says that the Model No. is 107.280063, but manual inside where you order the parts states that the model no. is 107.280062.View attachment mower.doc
I hope i have done that right. Thanks.
Just some speculation here. Since this is a Z turn, is it disengaging the blades every time you back up. then re engages when you go forward. I suspect this is happening when the blades re engage and torques the bolt. Possibly issue may be the shaft isn't fully seating in the blade mount for some reason allowing the bolt to have room to rotate tighter until you just snaps.
Actually there has been no backing up during this time. I could mow nearly 1 hour, no backing, just going forward for the entire hour, and it shears off. the way this thing is put together, there just isn't any room for anything to be loose. You actually have to hold a wrench on one end (pully side) and use a ratchet to completely tighten. then switch sides and do it again. keep in mind, its three sets of this that have done the same exact thing. were you able to look at the pictures??
mechanic mark
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42" DECK-SPINDLE/IDLER Diagram & Parts List for Model 107280060 Craftsman-Parts Riding-Mower-Tractor-Parts | SearsPartsDirect Remove deck & inspect all parts for wear, idler pulleys & bearings, idler arm, as well as all hardware, check underside of deck also. When inspecting use hands on approach with parts & hardware checking for excessive movement of parts up & down, side to side. Let us know how it goes, thanks.
Does spindle have a grease fitting? If not I would disassemble, inspect bearings & grease by hand with a quality high temp grease.
Does spindle have a grease fitting? If not I would disassemble, inspect bearings & grease by hand with a quality high temp grease.
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Same here. Are you saying the shop is having you order a complete assembly each time? Hope not. Did you observe any stretch of the threads at the bolt break area? Only cause I can see is if either the blade is not making perfect contact or the spindle is not making perfect contact with the deck. You can try swapping left/right assemblies and see what happens.
Homer1
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Are you torquing the blade to spec? Are the blades at any point coming in contact with one another, maybe wrong size blade. Have you replaced the blade on the spindle in question?
Not that you probably have done all 3 of these, but I have to ask. This situation sounds peculiar. I am doing some searching on info as I post this.
Also, along with inspection, check to make sure that something like a weld isn't loose under the deck possibly floating into the blade as it moves and wrecking the works. Like a baffle or etc, or a deck hanger hasn't broken allowing the deck to float or rock lower than you expect it to be.
Not that you probably have done all 3 of these, but I have to ask. This situation sounds peculiar. I am doing some searching on info as I post this.
Also, along with inspection, check to make sure that something like a weld isn't loose under the deck possibly floating into the blade as it moves and wrecking the works. Like a baffle or etc, or a deck hanger hasn't broken allowing the deck to float or rock lower than you expect it to be.
See we thought the same thing... something has got to be stopping the blade while the spindle is still moving until it shears off. We can't find any damage, we buy the blades using the part no. supplied by sears and there is no bending or damage on the blades. And yes, we have to order the complete assembly from pulley down to the blade. It cost us about $200.00. Sears replaced it the next time for free, but, it sheared again. The bolt shears halfway into the end of the spindle so you can't get it out in order to undo the screw at the other end where the pulley is. I know that we could take it to a shop and have them dig the bolt out, but if we can't figure out why it is happening there is no sense doing it. We took the other side off just to see if there was something being done different and put it back together and have no problem with that side at all, so we felt we were putting it back correctly. We even greased it thru the portals thinking maybe it was heating up and shearing. I keep trying to download the pictures thru this system and it keeps telling me the size is too large and I don't know how i could make it smaller. If you have a different email address i could send them for you to look at.