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Argh! Blade changing woes on z425...

21K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  moondawg 
#1 · (Edited)
So today Kidlet #2 and I went out to give my dad a hand with his EZTrak Z425... Last season, one of his workers skimmed a cindercrete block with the center mower blade, and for some strange reason it hasn't mowed right since then... Leaves a strip of poor cut around the centre of the deck... MIGHT have something to do with THIS:





(I DID check the center spindle last season for any damage/out-of-alignment, it was fine... They were LUCKY!)

So our job today was to change out the three blades (might as well do all three, since they're only $18 a piece). Nothing says father-daughter togetherness like a JD zero-turn!

So got out there, FINALLY located my dad's 1/2 drive sockets, popped the 3/4" on the impact wrench... geez, it doesn't fit.. Too loose... So it must be 11/16, right? Nooooooo.... So I went through his entire bin-o-random sockets (metric and imperial) and tried every one I could find... The only size I COULDN'T find was 18mm... Couldn't find a socket, nor could I find an 18mm box end.

Guess what size the interweb tells me those bolts are!

If you said 18mm, you win a PRIZE!

So... is 18mm some oddball size that it doesn't get included in any of the socket sets I've got access to? I've even checked online, and all the sets I've seen skip from 17mm to 19mm! ARRGH!

(I finally broke down and used the 3/4", but now I figure I'll need to buy replacement bolts AND an 18mm impact socket... Cuz all three have nice rounded edges now).
 
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#4 ·
Of course, the woes didn't stop there... We got the deck all back on and hooked up, but I was in a rush to get mowing and didn't TASTE the gas in the gas can before pouring it in... Filled the tank right up, then it occurred to me, I'd never checked with my dad WHICH of his 7 different RED gas cans I should use... Smelled the tank... Hmmmmmmmmmmm... NOT that nice tangy gas-like smell I'm used to...

Some of you may remember my experiences LAST summer when I grabbed a random red gas can and wound up hiking all the way back to civilization to get a siphon and the can when the z425 decided it didn't like diesel so much...

I thought he said he was gonna start putting his diesel in those YELLOW cans he's got! At least I or Kidlet didn't get out into the middle of nowhere and find this out. So, JUST to be sure, we hiked to the gas station, filled an empty can, and LABELLED it...

Off we went to mow... ONCE we got it started (the battery froze over the winter apparently, so my dad left his booster for us to use)... Checked Kidlet #2 out on zero-turning (it isn't really that hard!) and took her out to the starter-pasture for some supervised mowing... She mowed a swath up and back, then, as I watched, she shut down the PTO and-

SWISH-off came the mower belt!

CRUD! By the time I got over there I could see the shreds of belt hanging off the mower... In too much of a rush to get the mower back on, I never checked our belt routing. I was loosening the idler pulley while Kidlet #2 was putting the belt around the PTO. Neither of us noticed the belt was routed UNDER a crossframe piece instead of OVER it...

Guess I pick up a new belt on Monday when I go get the 18mm socket and replacement bolts... Anybody know what the serial number range of the Briggs and Stratton-powered Z425 is? I notice that they have two belts listed, one for pre 100,000, one for post-100,000... I'm thinking post-100,000.
 
#11 ·
While we're on the subject, go look in your Allen wrench collection for that 7mm hex that you need to change the rear brakes on my old VW. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Nope, not included in all but the largest sets!
 
#8 ·
Good to know about the 18MM socket! If my set doesn't have one i'll have to buy it. The Z425 is a great mower! Hopefully I get many years out of it. Thanks littletractorguy!
 
#10 ·
So TODAY, I went back out to replace the belt on the z425...



$93 later, I have a spiffy new belt to stick on... Its the one on the right.



I have to say, I REALLY like the little "speed clips" on the mount points..



AND how the front draft bar works... That's very slick.



So, here's the newly routed belt...



Took me a bit longer to get things adjusted right (after I replaced the battery so that I could start it up and test). First thing I learned is that they aren't kidding in the manual about making sure that the belt guide "C" (that gold thingy in upper right of the deck) is properly lined up... Mowed one stripe, smelled burning belt, found a bunch of belt bits piled up on that guide. It must vibrate some, because at first glance it looked like it was passing through... Back out to mow some more, STILL smell burning belt... Hmmm Back to the gate, check the guide, it seems clean... Check/adjust the other belt guide to make sure its sitting in the indented hole.. Yup (after 20 minutes of futzing)... One more run, STILL belt burning smell... NOT good... I can see $93 going up in smoke, so back to the gate, REALLY carefully look things over... Hmm... belt seems AWFULLY close to the idler tensioner spring... In fact, there's a shiny spot on it... AND a burnt stripe on the underside of the belt! DOH! SOMETHING must be out of alignment... Pull the belt off the PTO, practice wedging my socket extension in between the idler arm and the center spindle pulley (as per the advice in the manual) to relieve the belt tension so I can take it off and put it on the pto... Pull off both belt guards, again... flip the spring the other way around... Can't see ANYTHING out of alignment... But its still too close to the spring. Well WTH... Its like the deck is coming up too high or something... So, I go and look at the deck height adjust lever to see if something is wonky-WAITAMINIT... Its not resting on the big deck height pin (which we always leave at 4", because we're mowing pastures), its above it... I'd left it in the transport position!:banghead3... Drop it down to the 4" pin, take it for a spin, it mows like a dream!

Oh, and I used my new 18mm socket and my clicky torque wrench to make sure my spiffy new blades were torqued to 50 foot-pounds... It may be a metric socket, but I can't think in newtons per centimeter...
 
#12 ·
Don't you love how those small tasks turn into huge jobs and how what you think are simple tools dont exisit!

Glad you got it going again :)
 
#14 ·
And apparently now I have to go buy an 18mm socket because there is a worldwide shortage:banghead3
 
#15 ·
Once that z425 is no more, I'll be auctioning MY 18mm off on eBay... If you can wait 10, 15 years, I'll let you have it for a reasonable Buy-It-Now price! :sidelaugh

(seriously, I'm keeping that 18mm socket at MY house, 'cuz I KNOW if I let my dad have it, we'll be lost next season when I go to change the blades)
 
#16 ·
I lead a sad existence..... I get up off the couch and grab the camera and Mrs Beef says "Going out to the garage?" "Yup" "Have Fun".... I felt compelled to go check my set out and to my relief I am OK. :) I have these mystical tools.


:hide::hide::sorry1:

 
#21 ·
I have the smaller 7-piece (I think) in the yellow plastic holder. It does NOT have the 7mm. I had to go buy a big set at lowes. They had several sets there, the Kobalt set did NOT have it, but some other brand I'd never heard of DID have it.
 
#17 ·
You didn't geotag that photo, did you, MB?!?

"Strange theft in Iowa today, all that was taken was a seven mm Allen key and an 18mm socket!"


Sent from the MTF Free App
 
#18 ·
I had to go to Part Source to get a 18mm, to replace the blades on my LX277. I eventually ended up buying a set of impact sockets, because they came with the 18mm socket.
Talking about the 10 minute tasks, I changed oil yesterday on the 2720,455, Z445 and gator HPX , along with the JD snowblower, Honda rototiller, Honda pressure washer and Wacker water pump. Wish everything took the same amount of oil but no, only the water pump and pressure washer were the same. Diesels got RotellaT-6 5W40 synthetic and everything else got Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic.Next time should be MUCH quicker, knowing where all the different oil drain plugs are and that I have hand tightened all the oil filters.
 
#19 ·
It's mr B's plan to take over the world :sidelaugh. All the 110 attachments. Check all the 18mm sockets,check all the 7mm alen wrenches, check :biglaugh:
 
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