3260 Deck with no baffles.

[ibdilbert]

My 3260 mows ok, but sometimes I find it leaves some taller grass in the center. At first I thought it was the blades, as they were pretty beat up and dull. I sharpened them and it seemed to help, but I still find taller grass left occasionally in the center. I ordered new blades from Hamaltonbobs last week and sharpened and installed them over the weekend. It may of helped, but I am still leaving tall grass in the center, on occasion. I mow in gear one and I have checked the RPMs of the PTO with a laser RPM meter.

I noticed part of a baffle when Installing one of the blades, does anyone have a picture of the underside so I can see the original baffle configuration? Anyone think this may be a baffle issue, as I am baffled.

[seahaul]

Most likely problem is that the deck is not level and the center blade is not cutting at the same height as the other two blades. Park the tractor on a level surface (such as a cement driveway) and measure from the ground to each blade. There are adjustments to set the height of the deck, front-to-rear and side-to-side.
If the taller grass being left is only a few inches wide, then the center blade may not be the correct length.
In my experience, the baffles only direct the cut grass out from under the deck. Most of the decks I see do not have the baffles and cut okay without them.

[ibdilbert]

I will double check this weekend, however I am pretty sure the deck is level as I did check that when I started mowing with it. It also cuts good (level), most of the time.

[Eugene]

Measure the distance from the deck to a point on the blade nearest the spindle on all spindles.

Possible that the center spindle had been replaced.

I have a 3260 mower deck. Currently no baffles. Mows fine.

Check to see if the top of the deck is flat.

[mozer71]

I agree. I don't recall any baffles when I straightened my deck 15 years ago. It is a good wind-tunnel design. Normal mowing with normal grass, throws clippings 8 feet away. There is some about a bent abused deck. You have to take it apart and see what they did and recreate it. So there is a process and during that realize that a sledge hammer isn't the way to go. There is serious bracing and all that comes off. One piece at a time. Very important is a cleaning of the underside and a rust neutralizer sealant. Industrial type slather used for sealing drip pans & stuff. U get one shot to do these things while its all apart. The stuff dries after a few days while straightening out the bracings, forming them to conform with the straightend deck shell. New stainless or galvanized .. hey many original bolts are just fine. It is all good quality stuff.
Worth knowing that your deck isn't rotting from underneath nor the mandrel housings bolts/nuts are going to break, strip or become a real hassle later.
You can do a lot without removing the restored, well braced deck. Charging out and mowing like crazy is fun ..of course I hit a stump.
-where's that sledge hammer? Its good steel.

[Eugene]

I hit a rock, center spindle, mowing the pasture with my 3260 the previous summer.

The rock hit bent up and cracked some metal around the center spindle.

Really big hammer, welding, grinding, to restore the metal around the center spindle.

Also found the nut for one bolt holding the spindle to the deck was missing upon disassembly.

[mozer71]

Okay Eugene! Well not so ok about that. But you can fix it. That's what is so good about these decks. There is really good steel there. Mother rust will take it away like it never happened. You know this stuff by hard knocks of which I've had a few. Yeh dam rock. I had this old concrete frog sitting on a stump for years. It became overgrown as part of a burn pile. So eventually I was mowing around the pile and the 154 was just crawling over limbs and such. Trimming around and Bang ! I hit the frog. It was burried but man that did a # 2 my deck a leading blade. I wanted to continue mowing while limping back uphill but couldn't do that. Worse thing ever is to have your blade tearing out the inside of your deck.
So yes, at times, drastic measures.

[mozer71]

The most perfect contrived and welded unibody succombs to natural rust over time. There is natural attraction between Earth and the metal extracted from it. There is insulation by sealant and rubber tires but it being pulled back. Galvanic whatever charge is sitting there as a battery. It isn't neutral as the rain and midst connect it to Earth. Slow moving, it has found a way to pull the elements back into the soil.
Moving tractors may be very old yet exercised to where they escape the field number placed on them. Moving target and "use it or lose it" really means something.

[ibdilbert]

The conclusion....

The left spindle had been making noise and was wobbly, I replace it and noticed the pulley was missing the key and it had been slipping. This past weekend I mowed in 2nd and it did a great job.

[mozer71]

Greats news that it is working well. All too often a slipping shaft cores out the iron pulley. The center jackshaft is a real bugger. There is bearing preload, shims at times and well fitting key for driven master pulley. Then to lock it, is bracing the blade, holding a wrench on one nut while tightening the locking nut. The bearing load is just so much and not more.
The top spindle grease fitting is angled for conventional grease guns. High weeds/ vines can get to it and unwind that fitting. It happened.

[BigBill]

I was thinking when my 3260 baffles rust out to get a 30 or 55 gallon drum and cut replacements. The baffles keep the clippings in the path of the blades to be chopped up till they make there way to the exhaust chute.

[mozer71]

A little late to reply but that sounds perfectly doable . My 3260 must have had some baffles. If they were there, they were cleaned and coated. Barrels or drums are really good as they are already curved and of reasonable thickness to modify.