YTS 3000 still scalping yard! ARRGGHH!!

[turbofiat124]

Sorry I have not had a chance to look at this mower since the other day. I've been working night shifts.

I work with a guy works on mowers and saw him yesterday. I asked him if it were possible the shaft on one of the spindles could bend but not actually break the pot metal legs on the housing and he says he has seen that happen before. My assumption was the housing was made of such weak porous material that the housing would break long before the shaft could possibly bend.

Another thing he told me to do when checking for a bent spindles is to engage the blades (not when the mower is running of course). He says with the belt disengaged, the blades may appear to line up correctly but when the blades are engaged the belt tension will move the spindle (if the feet around broken).

It looks to me like the right hand side blade is the culprit. I'll take a look this weekend and see what I find.

 

[Boobala]

My anti scalp wheels ride above the ground never touching unless I am about to scalp the lawn. I will not be able to tell you where they should be untill I get your model number.

Chuck ..why is it (or so it seems) owners of Cub-Cadet and Craftsman mowers can't seem to figure out what their
model number is .. instead of the series line.. maybe manufacturers should put LARGE labels on the steering wheel AND gas caps to alert the owner of its location of the ID tag ..I think new owners are using their manuals to light-off the BBQ , or wipe their
set-down ..!! ..:confused2:

 

[mhavanti]

Turbo,

Here is the youtube Bert mentioned. I've uploaded this to quite a few folks. It is pretty straight forward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSwcf_-APXI

 

[BlazNT]

Chuck ..why is it (or so it seems) owners of Cub-Cadet and Craftsman mowers can't seem to figure out what their
model number is .. instead of the series line.. maybe manufacturers should put LARGE labels on the steering wheel AND gas caps to alert the owner of its location of the ID tag ..I think new owners are using their manuals to light-off the BBQ , or wipe their
set-down ..!! ..:confused2:

I think this has to do with the way cars are named and taken care of. Call a mechanic about problems with your car and he does not ask for your VIN just year, make, and model.

 

[turbofiat124]

I'm not sure what the serial number has to do with general yard scalping issue but here it is:

My yard grows really slow because my grandfather plugged it with zoysia grass 40 years ago which doesn't even green up until late April and I don't fertilize. Once every 2 weeks is all it needs.

So I pull the deck off to have a better look and this is what I found:

For some reason it was not obvious, not did the spindle move when grabbing it from above the deck.

So far the blades look straight but once I get the new spindle installed, I check to see if the deck or blades are bent before putting it back on the mower.

To add insult to injury, my backup mower, an MTD Troy Bilt 42", started giving me trouble. Apparently over the winter, some dirt or something go into the float valve. When my father stopped by to talk, in the meantime, gasoline filled the crankcase and hydrolocked the engine.

I was at the bottom of my driveway when this happened so I called him and we tethered it with a nylon strap and brought it back to my garage. Luckily it was just dirt or the pivot rod would not pivot. The viton tip was still good and after removing the float valve and cleaning it and the passages with carb cleaner then testing it upside down, I was able to finish mowing my yard.

I don't really like this mower because I'm too used to the hydrostatic drive on the Husqvarna/Craftsman and having to come to a complete stop to speed up or slow down is a pain.

It has better traction than my Craftsman but I always thought MTDs were one step below Snappers when build quality is concerned so I only use this thing as a backup. I figure if I mowed with it regularly, it wouldn't last 2 years before the mower is worn out. My yard is pretty rough. I really need a lawnmower with a suspension!

 

[ILENGINE]

The reason the model and serial number is so important is because sometimes things change mid year, and parts breakdowns are determined by serial number. Also with Craftsman there are several different manufacturers, all with different issues. I have had two of the YTS9000 series in the shop at the same time, one made by Husqvarna and one made by MTD. so if you day you have a YTS9000 what mower do your actually have.

The model and serial number is like Make, Model, and year of a vehicle. I have a 96 Dodge Dakota, that if I walk into any auto parts store and ask for an oxygen sensor, I will receive the wrong one, I have to tell them it is a 97. Mid production change in the wiring harness.

 

[BlazNT]

Serial number we normally don't need but some time we do as a part change through the year will be noted in the serial number. Craftsman does not mke its own mowers so we need the model number to tell who actually produced it. By the way you have a Husqvarna. MTD also produces for Craftsman. I like to steer away from that lot. In the model number the first 3 numbers are who makes the machine. 917 is Pulan witch is owned by Husqvarna. Now back to your blades and spindle. Part #: 187281 $34.81 from http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...ategoryName=Lawn, Tractor&brandName=CRAFTSMAN . Your blade is bent circled red in picture. The cutting surface should be flat like blade circled in green.

 

[turbofiat124]

Serial number we normally don't need but some time we do as a part change through the year will be noted in the serial number. Craftsman does not make its own mowers so we need the model number to tell who actually produced it. By the way you have a Husqvarna. MTD also produces for Craftsman. I like to steer away from that lot. In the model number the first 3 numbers are who makes the machine. 917 is Pulan witch is owned by Husqvarna. Now back to your blades and spindle. Part #: 187281 $34.81 from http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...ategoryName=Lawn, Tractor&brandName=CRAFTSMAN . Your blade is bent circled red in picture. The cutting surface should be flat like blade circled in green.
View attachment 31756

OK, I understand what your saying. I thought I mentioned in my original post that this mower was made by Husquvarna but had a Craftsman badge on it.

I went out to take a look at my blades. These are mulching blades by the way.

Here are both stacked one on top of the other.

From above:

They look straight to me. The broken feet on the spindle on the right are on the same side as the end of the blade that is cocked upwards which maybe causing it to look bent.

The deck could still be bent but I'm going to check this after I install the new spindle and go from there.

I looked under the deck and couldn't tell that there was anything wrong so I assumed it was the anti-scalping wheels that were worn out.

 

[BlazNT]

Pictures do not always tell the whole story. Blades do not look bent when stacked on each other. If you have a bench or hand held grinder sharpen the blades.

 

[bertsmobile1]

It is a matter of leverage.
By grabbing the blades you get a big mechanical advantage and that does make a difference.
You can not check the housings by grabbing the pulleys.
Even "professionals" like myself can miss a cracked spindle housing and many of them will look fine , untill you put a load on them when they open up.
This is why you have to pull the deck and put some serious weight on the blades to check properly.
Expect all the bolts to break off when you try & remove them.
Aftermarket spindle housings come with new bolts, Originals don't.
Check the prices , usually a complete housing + spindle + bearings is only a few $ more than the bare housing and worth doing the whole lot in one hit.
Nice clean deck by the way, nice to see some one who looks after their mower.