Poulan Pro riding mower deck issue

12 years ago

I have a Poulan Pro riding mower (Model # PP 125H38LMA) - 38" deck, 2 blades. I'm the original owner & have never had to adjust the deck since I bought it. The mower itself is a Poulan Pro 125H38LMA - 12.5 hp Briggs engine, 38" mulching deck. Product # is 954-00-54-11. I believe it was purchased in the mid 90's. I have been unable to find a manual for it. I used it a couple weeks ago without an issue.

I keep the deck set at 5 & have not had any problems with it. If I set it lower, it will hit exposed tree roots in our yard. Set at 5, it glides over them without issue. Yesterday, I mowed the yard & noticed that it seemed to hit the top of virtually every root that I had previously been able to mow over. While I was mowing, I thought the grass seemed to be a little short, but not too bad. It did kick up a lot of dust, which (given that I was mowing in an area with leaves) wasn't altogether unusual, but in hindsight, was pretty high.

When I was mowing another section of the yard (no roots), I mowed on an incline, and noticed when I looked back that the right hand side (the downhill side) the area under that blade was skinned. All the way down to the ground - no grass. However, it was only under that blade (the other one appeared to be fine).

I haven't leveled the deck (ever), but given that this change was so immediate, I thought something might have broken on the deck between cuttings. In checking after I finished yesterday, I didn't see anything obviously broken, nor did the deck look like it was sagging on either side.

I haven't hit anything (other than the tops of the roots yesterday) with it, and it's mowed this yard countless times without any problem. Is it typical of a mower deck to go out of adjustment/level so quickly? Is there something else to check? Please advise.

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Comments (7)

Grijon
12 years ago
I would check my tire pressures if this happened to me.
schatham
Original Author
12 years ago
I will check that.

I usually use a catcher on this mower, but had taken it off to mow this & put the mulcher back on. I leave the rack on the mower & just remove the baskets from it. I looked at the tires yesterday while mowing, and none looked visibly low. Will share what I find out.
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tomplum
12 years ago
Provided that there isn't low tire, you'd be best off to pull the deck and inspect. Common causes would be a broken lift link, broken spindle or bent blade.
schatham
Original Author
12 years ago
I believe I finally stumbled upon what the issue is.

I checked air pressure in the tires. Recommended was 12 PSI & these were in the neighborh
ood of 10-11 PSI, best I could measure. I didn't think it was a significant amount, or at least not enough for this one thing to be the problem.

I started checking all the linkages on the deck - nothing out of the ordinary there. Blades looked acceptable - nothing appeared to be bent. Side by side, they were pretty much identical.

I started checking around the spindles & finally saw a tiny crack in what I think is the Vented Mandrel Housing. The crack is in between the spindle & the bolt closest to the right front tire. The parts list I have shows it to be Part No 532128774 (Pages 38-39).

Not sure when this happened, but then again, the mower is nearly 20 years old too. I'm not sure I can find a replacement part for it, but would welcome any sources others might have.

Thanks for the help!
CraftsmanGrant
12 years ago
Go on amazon type in AYP mandrel or spindle same thing
look for 3 prongs spindle should cost around 25 bucks.
42a 38s all same
schatham
Original Author
12 years ago
Got the deck off of it tonight & started checking to see what else might be damaged that I hadn't seen before. Fortunately, that one prong is all that was broken on it. I tried to loosen the bolts on it up (to see if I need to get any of the bearings or the shaft).

Needless to say, they wouldn't loosen up. They're soaking with some penetrating oil overnight.
tomplum
12 years ago
You would do better to drive the shaft out with the spindle in place. It will drive out the bottom once the top nut is removed. The best way to remove the old housing is just to snap the bolts off and get new ones with the spindle assy or housing.