Early or late 42" deck?
 

My 42" deck ID tag is 421U1111 with a 2 stamped over the last digit. It has the cast iron front center section with wooden roller. It was on my 104 when I bought it. Is it an early or late deck. Any thoughts? Thanks, Chris

chris, we have alot of decks im not sure if that deck is an early one tho

First, are we talking a "pin-on", or "quick attach" deck?

That ia a qa. There are 5 different versions of the 42" deck.Hence the last number on the serial is 2 so it is an early one.
got 's any of them there pictures?

42" deck
 

darkminion, thanks for the info. Do all 42" decks have 2 short blades ,1 long blade. What about spindles,same or different. Thanks, Chris

How about some pictures....??:TTWWP:

The only difference I have seen on the other variations is that the pins on the rear qa have spacers under them, a grease zerk was added to the idler pulley bolt,and the cast nose is different.The blades remain the same.The spindles are interchangeable with the 44 and 50a decks.

Thanks again darkminion. I'm not much of computer wiz, but I'll try get some pictures fellas.

hi all - i have the same deck, with no "2" overstamped at the end, just "421U1111" deck. I am attempting to level it and although I am pretty mechanically inclined I am just not seeing a straightforward way to do this. I am hoping you can help with my questions.

First, is there a true step-by-step procedure written anywhere I can follow? These old decks would strike me as not ever being true enough for the limited up front hangers to adjust well enough - am I wrong? Any youtube videos would be awesome, actually, to show how to do this on old decks.

Second, what are the blade sizes? I have a deck manual and can't find any mention of the blades sizes.

Third, is there any "kit" or suggested set of parts I could replace with adjustable versions to make leveling much simpler? It appears I have to remove the deck every time I wish to turn the hanging links - is this correct? Is there any aftermarket suggested part to eliminate this? I recall a suggestion of replacing a back attachment point with an adjustable version (vs adding washers which seem to stress the deck) - does anyone have a part number?

Lastly, does anyone suggest a replacement blade option (like Gator blades)?

Thanks to all who answer, and I appreciate your patience. I bought a restored 123 model to do actual work with it and altho I love the old iron they do have their quirks compared to many modern mowers...

How can I upload pictures directly?

To upload photos I use photobucket. There is a free version. I have the android app on my phone too. upload your pics there and you can copy them into your posts-