C. Bushog Mower Blade Replacement

It will still mow, but recently, it did not cut very well and was vibrating badly. I had some new blades and blade bolts that I had purchased years ago. So, since the tractor is down for now, I decided to replace the blades.

Sorry, I did not take pictures. I was frustrated through most of the project.

Boy that was a bigger task than I thought. This project took almost a full day by the time I had everything needed to get it done. I tried to avoid taking the stump jumper off the drive spindle. There is an access hole just for that purpose. So I tried it.

First the blade bolt nuts would not budge. I socked them in PB Blaster. Then I used a 3/4" drive 1-5/8" socket with a six foot piece of 1-1/4" steel pipe on the ratchet to try and persuade them. No Soap!

I tried heat. Still no go. The pipe was bending.

My neighbor let me borrow a very good Ingersoll Rand 600 ft/lb impact wrench.

It took about a minute of pounding one each nut to get them to begin to move. They slowly came off.

So, now all that was needed was a good blow with a hammer and the bolts should fall out. NOT!

I tried a piece of 1" re-bar as a punch and used a six pound sledge. NOT! They did not even move a little.

So, I had to remove the stump jumper. Turns out it was very loose and wobbling on the spindle. That was why there was so much vibration when mowing. The washer between the nut and the stump jumper was almost worn completely away.

It came off very easily once the cotter pin and nut were removed.

Now I used a couple of 6"x6" blocks and a 6" length of 4" pipe to lay the stump jumper on. Then several good direct blows with the sledge hammer drove the bolts out. What a pain!

I had to make a new washer so I used a piece of 1/4" steel plate to make one. Maybe it will last longer than the old one.

Some anti-seize compound on the shaft and bolts should help it come apart better next time. The bolts were so tight fitting, it took my neighbors impact to pull the bolts back up into place.

Finally, success. But the rear wheel support is getting very worn too. Maybe it can wait until later to be fixed?

The mower is ready to mow again for now.