Not to get too far from your original question but on my 44 inch deck there was excessive play on the lift arm where the two hangers pin to it. I could put my foot on the deck and push it up or down and it would move about two inches. It was not the slotted part that was moving either but the hole in the arm. It was completely worn out to a size that would not maintain any kind of tolerance. I took a thick washer with the original size hole in it and welded it over the worn out hole in the arm. That solved the problem. Lets face it, over the years with the many hours of use these things get worn and the tolerance goes to pot. If there is enough length on the pin going through the part then you can weld a washer of the OEM size hole in the proper place and restore it to like new tolerances.
