Cleaning underside of mower deck
 

I thought I'd throw this out there to see how you guys do it. I raise the front of my 1000 with a floor jack, position a jackstand, and commence to scrape the underside of the 44A with a sturdy putty knife. I do this once a month and sharpen the blades if needed. The wet grass sure causes build-up and the deck definitely works better when it's clean. A clean 44A is a happy 44A. :)

I of course do it the hard way, LOL. Remove the deck and strap it to my 2 wheeled dolly then scrape it down, Remove the blades with electric impact and sharpen them up. Pump in a few strokes of grease in each spindle and put the deck back on. In fact I did this about two weeks ago or so when I had to remove the deck to plow the garden with the disc.

Sounds like you need another Cub too. lol. Speaking of greasing the spindles...I grease them after I've run the mower for at least several minutes to warm up the bearings. I've been told by a local "expert" that the grease is drawn in better when things are warm, even hot. I started this practice when I had my stump grinder and it seemed to work really well.

Well heck yeah I need more. LOL At the minimum 3 to be exact. A 149, a 169, and a SGT diesel :biggrin2: That's a great idea about warming up the bearings, that had never crossed my mind, but then again, they are so easy to get too while I have it out and cleaning it.

I take deck off every 2 weeks for cleaning, and monthly spindle belt cleaning/ blade sharpening. I grease spindles before every run, so it generally works in fresh and warm.

On my 48" deck for my 123, and this was several years ago since it has been retired from mowing, I sprayed my underside of my deck with automotive underbody spray (cover blades and spindles of course), and I never had a problem with buildup from that point on. I have thought about spraying the underside with the rhino liner spray for truck beds, but never had the time to do so for my other decks. They also make a slick spray (sorry, the name escapes me) that you can spray on the underside of your deck to prevent buildup and some guys use it on their snowblower chutes, too. I've never used this spray and don't know anything else about it.....just a thought.

Cub Cadet 123

I think the coating is called "Slip Plate"?

I've thought about getting some of this to use on the mower deck and also the snowthrower. I've only read about the successes with the snow, but not grass. Anyone?? :bigthink:

I did a lot of research on this recently and the general consensus is that the slip plate wears off quickly and the bed liner causes grass to stick.

I coated the underside of my deck with Herculiner because I was more concerned with protecting it from stones and rust. Since I'm also a bit lazy and only clean it a few times a year I thought this was my best option.

I was speaking to my neighbor and he sand blasts his and coats it with fiberglass resin (no cloth). He swears by it but I have not tried it myself.

They also make a Teflon anti-fouling paint for boat bottoms that also works very well. Nothing sticks to it.
CaptMax