Back

A Beginner’s Guide To Disc Mower Maintenance

Feb. 3 2021 Maintenance By PrairieLand Partners

Share

If you want to get the most out of your disc mower, you will need to do regular maintenance. Sure, there are some tasks best left to professionals, but there are key steps that you can handle on your own, saving you time and money.

Here at PrairieLand Partners, we strive to make your life easier, which is why we created the following beginner’s guide to disc mower maintenance. If you have any questions or need professional maintenance for your disc mower, reach out to our experts. We are happy to help! Our dealership proudly serves those throughout Kansas.

The Importance Of Disc Mower Maintenance

Proper disc mower maintenance:

  • Helps keep it running efficiently.
  • Helps prevent expensive damage.
  • Helps prevent unsafe situations during operation.
  • Helps extend its lifespan.

It’s crucial to keep up with disc mower maintenance. Read on for the two most important maintenance tasks that owners should know.

Disc Mower Maintenance: Changing Out The Blades

Disc mowers rely on quality blades to get the job done. 

These blades will need to be removed in two situations:

  • They are past their prime and no longer working well
  • You want to flip them over to extend their lifespan.

For this project, you will need a socket wrench and the operation manual.

The Steps For This Disc Mower Maintenance Task:

  • Remove the nut and bolt that connect the blade to the knife mounting disc.
  • Depending on the blade’s condition, either remove it or flip it.
    • For replacing the blade, check that the new blade’s lift angle matches the lift angle of the old blade.
  • Check that the blade is properly oriented as the right hand knife or left hand knife. Here, consulting the owner’s manual can help.
  • Put the washer, bolt, and nut back on, then tighten with the socket wrench.

Disc Mower Maintenance: Changing Out The Spindle Unit

Despite best efforts, the spindle unit can become damaged. This often happens when the disc mower’s cutter bar hits an obstacle.

For this project, you will need a socket wrench, the operation manual, a piece of wood, and a pry bar.

The Steps For This Disc Mower Maintenance Task:

  • Grab a piece of wood and place between any two discs. This effectively locks all the cutter bar’s discs into place.
  • Take the cap on top of the knife mounting disc off.
  • Take off the nut and washer that’s holding the disc in place.
  • Remove the splined mounting disc with a pry bar.
  • You should now be able to see the spindle unit.
  • Take off the bolts holding the spindle unit in place.
  • Remove the spindle unit. If it’s tough to remove, use the pry bar.
  • Make sure the area around the cutter bar’s surface is clean. It’s important to keep debris from falling into the bar.
  • Check that the O-ring on the new spindle is aligned with the groove in the casting.
  • Insert the new spindle.
  • Use the bolts to secure the new spindle.
  • Re-install the splined mounting disc. Note that this will reset the timing of the unit, so check that the timing is correct.
  • Put the washer and retaining nut back on the spindle shaft, then tighten them.
  • Check that the washer cup points to the bottom.
  • Replace the knife mounting disc with blades and top cap.
  • Check that the knife mounting disc is oriented correctly, which you can find details about in the owner’s manual.
  • Insert the bolts.
  • You may need to adjust the splined mounting disc position to get the timing set right. Remember that incorrect timing can damage the disc unit when you next start up the disc mower.
  • Tighten the bolts on the top cap

We hope you found this guide to disc mower maintenance helpful! For more maintenance tips or to get professional disc mower help, reach out to the staff at PrairieLand Partners. Our dealership proudly serves those throughout Kansas.