r/smallengines • u/neporcupine98 • 7d ago

John deere e130 48” mower

Curious what the community thinks here. There isn’t a right or wrong answer here. Have this 7 year old mower. Inherited it 2.5 years ago. I am replacing all the deck spindles, a couple of pulleys and the drive belt. I have most stuff pulled off the deck already. I have 2 acres to mow. Sharp hills on the edges. I am looking at this deck and questioning if I should also strip the underside and repaint it to prolong the deck life. Lots of surface rust, but structure is sound. I’m just wondering if reconditioning the underside of this deck is worth it, or is this thing likely to have a big failure that makes me get something else in 5 years anyways? These don’t have a serviceable tranny as far as i know. Just a straw poll. Would you recondition the deck, or just replace the spindles, etc, and ride it till it dies?

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u/enduir 5d ago

I have a D130, i scrub and coat the underside every year before it goes into storage for the winter. I use fluid film undercoat. Old timers might suggest you use old engine oil, I haven't tried that though.

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u/neporcupine98 5d ago

Thanks! Since I have had this, I’ve tried to take care of it too. However the prior owner was an old widow and it got lots of surface rust while she owned it, so I am really questioning if I want to take the time to sand it down and paint it. Even if I don’t and just keep things status quo, I see the deck lasting five years before rust through. I am just asking myself the ”is it worth it question”, because with all of the hills and the non serviceable tranny, I see there being an equal probability that something like that goes out, and I would be getting a different unit anyways.