Hello everyone, new guy here.

I know this will sound pretty basic, but I'm attempting to sharpen my mower blades. Mower is a zero turn with two blades. I don't want to remove the deck, so I'm trying to get the blades off with the front wheels of the machine up on my car ramps. The nuts do turn counter clockwise to loosen as one would expect, correct? I sprayed with WD40 a few minutes prior to trying to loosen. I've got a piece of pipe about three feet long that I put over the end of the wrench for gobs of torque, but still did not loosen.

I have now sprayed some more WD40 and will let sit until tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Additional info: I've had the mower for about five years now and the blades have never been off before. Some of you are probably going into cardiac arrest after hearing that. Or maybe not.

 

Fixing nuts would likely go in the direction of blade rotation to loosen.

 

So I just tried to remove one of the nuts again. Using a piece of two-by-four to chock the blade, and using my pipe over the wrench for leverage, the blade split the two-by-four. The nut has not turned. Sprayed with more WD40.

I'll try again later this afternoon. If I don't succeed then, I'll just skip it for this season and have the dealer come pick it up in the fall and do it for me.

 

WD40 isn't a very good nut buster. PB Blaster is a better choice.

Sometimes trying to TIGHTEN them will help break them loose, as will application of heat...but the heat might be an issue with the bearings and seals in this case.

 

As Marbobj said, determine the rotation of the blades. That's the way the nut will loosen. WD-40 is a water displacement product, not a penetrating spray. Use the proper stuff, like Vic said. If you have access to an impact wrench and compresssor with more than a 2 gallon capacity, use a socket to remove the nut.

 

sounds like a tuff 1 , maybe try it again with a better peice of wood , and a breaker bar and socket and your pipe , get that blade locked agaist the wood and remove that bolt , good luck

 

Thanks everyone. Well, for now I've given up. When I wasn't successful yesterday, I mowed and put the mower away.

I'll try to find something better than WD40. I can't imagine appying any more torque than I was with the pipe over the wrench handle.

Doesn't seem like it should be this much trouble. I hate to spend at least $100 to have the shop pick it up and bring it back. Maybe I'll try again another time.

 

One thing hasn't been asked....what brand and model number??

 

It's a Hustler FasTrak 42" with Kohler 17hp motor. I love it. Had it about five years now with zero problems so far. I've got about 1.25 acres to mow.

 

do you "have" to take it off ? i use an angle grinder to sharpen LM blades. in fact, i have to do my moms this weekend, again.

 

I didn't know it could be done with the blades still on the deck and the deck on the mower. I'll check out an angle grinder. But how do you know that the blade is still balanced after this procedure?

 

You won't know it's balanced at all. Can you borrow an impact wrench? Even an electric one? That will probably work MUCH better than a piece of wood and a pipe on the wrench. An impact wrench taps in the desired direction a whole bunch of times in seconds, vs. a human exerting force as best he can in slow pulses. And definitely get some actual penetrating oil on those bolts.

 

i don't "know" it can be done on yours. but i have done it on regular mowers.

your not taking off much. just try to be equal on both sides.
and you don't have to have a "perfect" edge.

 

Remove the blades, sharpen them, balance them. If not you will be here asking about why you have all the vibrations, why your mandrel bearings won't last etc. Unfortunately, we as a society have started taking shortcuts in most things we do and then complain about the results. Just MHO. Have a good one. Geo

 

how do you balance them ?

 

I do a balance check two ways. First I clamp a round screwdriver shaft in a vise (a large nail would also work) and put the blade on the shaft. If it drifts down on one end, that end is heavy and needs some more metal removed.
I also us a cheap blade balancer available at any big box and rest the blade on it. Again, if one end "sinks", it needs a little more metal removed.