Problems removing madrel - nut on pulley froze up

Hi everyone.

I am looking for advice on removing my mandrel assembly from my Craftsman riding mower.

Background: The bolts holding the mandrel assebly have all sheared off, so I need to replace the mandrel assembly.

The problem is I cannot get the pulley nut to turn (I am trying counterclockwise turning with my socket, so please let me know if this is one of the opposite haded nuts/bolts). Of course, with all of the bolts that hold the mandrel assembly to the deck of the mower, it is extremely hard to get any force to remove the nut (when I had the blade on it would turn when I tried to remove the nut, and even with a brick stuck under the deck to stop the blade, it still turned.

Any advice? I just want to get the mandrel out to replace it. But with this dumb bolt, I cannot even do that.

Thanks for any advice.
Rob

 

It's regular right hand threads. Use 4X4 lumber blocks or whatever it takes to chock the blade so it won't turn and you may need a breaker bar on the socket to get enough leverage to break the nut loose.

 

Hello Rob,

Another option is remove the deck from under the machine (fairly easy on these machines) then take it to any repair shop and let them use a air impact wrench to zip it off.


Good Luck

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I ended up taking off the deck, loaded it in my truck (and since my local parts shop just closed by t he time I removed it), I tried removing the nut some more. I was able to get needle nose pliers under the mandrel in the screw hole and was able to hold it enough while turning the nut on top of the pulley. What a PITA to remove a simple nut from the mandrel!

Thanks again for the great advice.

Rob