Free fix for Deere mower deck - bolts broke off in spindle housing 

@@dennisoneal8505 thanks for the comment and yes I agree, the two metals and storage out doors does not help at all. But recently I got a cheep heat gun and started heating those bolts on the older units and it’s been a game changer. I don’t think Iv had one break yet. As long as I get that puppy hot hot hot! I just lay the gun down and let it run on the spindle housing a while to really heat it up nice and I can go work on something else for a few minutes while it cooks. Wish I’d have figured that out many years ago. Probably a good topic for a video.

@@GTObearclaw1 Great tip! I'll have to remember that.

@@JJE2010MO use a heat gun to warm up any bolts before trying to remove a mandrel and it will Save a lot of trouble. Those dang bolts break more often than not but with heat I rarely have one break. It’s lovely and saved me a lot of headaches. That being said, don’t remove the housing unless it’s necessary to take it loose from the deck. I rebuild mine with the mandrels are mounted most the time that’s easier anyways. Happy mowing.

Check out my newest video about greasing bearings that have inner seals. According to come experts I just made magic happen. Lol

Yea. Ghat sucks. I hate to ruin a drill bit. And chances of getting all 4 holes drilled out exactly on center is highly unlikely. That’s why I like starting with fresh holes.

Check out my newest video, I show bearings before and after greasing to show how grease enters bearings even if they have dust seals. So much bad information out there from morons who don’t even know what they are talking about. Have to be careful what information you trust. So I show the bearings before and after to prove where the grease goes.

RC Fallis Thanks, greatly appreciated

dnl machine thanks for taking time to comment. That's what fuels me to add more vids when I think of things that might help others.

captcosmic Thanks for the comment. Hopefully you don't have any issues. It's nice to do the work yourself and know it's done right and save some $.

fer sure

shawna sick Glad your doing it yourself, something to be proud of when it's completed. I prefer nuts and bolts, I very much dislike the self tappers. I almost always go with the nut and bolt over a self tapper. Just remember, you may need to drill hole out a little bigger to use a larger bolt and nut.

Depending on what brand the mandrels fit. Most can’t be saved when nuts break but the Deere housings have plenty of room to drill new mounting holes

aeridyne it's rare for those top spindle nuts to stick like that, but when they do, no impact will budge em. Iv felt with hundreds of spindle nuts and so far only had two stick solid and had to blow off with a torch

Thanks for the tip, I wonder if my impact just isn't as good as I think, which it probably isn't and needs a rebuild. Bought it used. Did end up just buying a whole new spindle kit and two of these reinforcing rings, appreciate the answer .

By the way, I have another whole deck that is a nightmare, the tops of those spindles & nuts are so rusted it would be hell, haha. Wanted to use the spindles & blades off it because they are still good but I knew there was no way I was getting that stuff off without meticulous cutting so I just bought the kit.

Did you take the time to add WD40 to the tops of those spindles? WD40 (or another penetrating lub of your choice) will and does work IF you don't expect the stuff to work over night. WD40 takes a few squirts a day for several days (I go with 5 days for most jobs) and after adding a touch of heat to the offending bolt or nut, it comes off like magic. Rust is porous, that's why WD40 works...it seeps over time through the rust and lubricates the threads. Penetrating lubs are cheap compared to the time, trouble and expense of a stuck or busted part.

Just Me - are you talking about the green ring clamped onto the spindle housing? They can be purchased on Amazon and eBay and most likely available other places too. Listed as a deck repair ring.

They gone already

Tim Brown Thanks.

If belt looks good it’s probably fine, if it has a thin spot it will cause vibrations as the belt passes pulleys but iv yet to see a new belt do that. I’d suspect the mounting bolts where spindle connects to deck is loose or a bearing is going bad considering the new parts you mentioned.

@@GTObearclaw1 I have replaced both spindles, both idler pulleys, the belt and blades. tightened down all bolts and nuts to very tight. the only thing left is the two spindle pulleys, they have a 6 sided area called a hexagon where they mate up with the spindle pulley, the 6 sided area on the spindle pulleys is worn so there is slop and you can move them left and right.BUT once the nut is tightened down these pulleys are secure in place. do you think the could be off center slightly and cause a vibration? Thanks for replying back.

Vince Trombly - I’ll give it a try. Sometimes heat will do the trick. But in most cases when all four are locked tight, it would be a challenge to get all 4 out without snapping one. Maybe a great tip if it works for the MTD and craftsman spindles that don’t have room to redrill new mounting holes. In the case of this style like in my video, it takes about 2 minutes to do it this way. I’ll try your idea, maybe just weld a bigger nut on top so I can get the heat into the bolt and have something better to grip with a wrench.

Don't forget to WD40 your work as I've mentioned before. Those who bad-mouth WD40 are the same ppl who squirt the stuff on on second and expect it to work like magic the next. It takes time for any penetrating lub to seep through the rust, which is porous, and work as designed. Over zealous mechanics bust bolts when they should take their time and let the lub do its job. I squirt a rusted bolt as many as 4 times a day and then let it sit "soaking" for as many as 5 days. I can almost hear the stuff working away on that stubborn bolt. It's a joy not to bust off bolts!

@@GetRealBaby If that isn't a true statement. I do wd followed by a couple cycles of heat gun heating and cooling days prior to removal like you say works wonders.

Just Me sounds a bit high if only 3 spindles but if included belt blades or other parts that would sound better

Joseph Williams. Old the pully in your hand tightly and use an impact to bust the nut loose. Or if you can’t grip it tight enough weld a blade to the bottom of shaft so you have more leverage. the shaft is most likely trash if a bolt is broke off in it. I can usually hold the pully and knock the nut off with impact.

Paul Winfield - Iv never attempted to remove without an impact but I can imagine it would be hard. Leave blade on and put a block of wood between blade and deck. It will hold the shaft in place while you turn. I have ran into many that even an impact won’t remove and had to cut the top nut off to disassemble. The spindles don’t come with a pully on this type so you got to get it off.

Did you try adding WD40 a few times a day for several days before attempting to crack that top nut? You might, after addition of WD40 a few times a day for several days, hit the nut with a bit of heat to expand it. It'll come off no sweat.

@@GetRealBaby Yes, on WD, the biggest issue is that there was no leverage since the blade busted off the bottom, and the shaft and bearings had ripped part of the top deck. So, just grinded it off saved the threads, got a new nut!

mala modi - the spindles on this specific equipment (Deere L,LA,D series) are actually very strong. No need to do any redesign. Just need to beef up the deck mount. The deck actually breaks where these mount because it’s the weak point on these units. That spindle is a solid piece of aluminum and very strong itself. Actually one of the best designs out there. So nice it’s got room for drilling new mounting holes if the self tappers break off. Beautiful!!!. Unlike the aluminum craftsman and mtd cub troy bilt and others that are basically a tripod or quad post mount. When the bolts snap in those, they are trash.

What do you mean "snap inside the deck"? This video is a good example of why WD40 is required before you attempt to remove any bolts from anything. If you give WD40 a few days to work, giving the bolts a squirt a few times a day, it will penetrate through the threads and allow the bolts to be removed. The only reason bolts break under pressure is because of a rust build-up around the threads. The rust is NOT solid, it's porous. WD40 (or a penetrating lubricant of your choice) will seep into the rust (not overnight...it takes a few days!) and will eventually lubricate the threads enough to turn them out. You're welcome.

Jacob Mullins I don’t guess I understand

Jacob, it's me who doesn't understand what you meant by: "Did anyone have the bolt from the spindle snap inside the deck?" What do you mean by "inside the deck"? Sorry, I guess I'm slow.