Woods mower problems

[diogenes74]

The other day I was helping a neighbor cut down some pretty tall grass, the spindles Under the mower would seize up and make this horrific sound, sound I decided to stop mowing.....the next week while trying to mow my yard which has been previously cut and trimmed this year, the spindles under th mower would slow down and seize up again so I engaged the clutch and let the rpm's increase but it continued to do so...so I parked the tractor,thinking, I have tall grata stick in the spindles but nothing was there..any ideas what is causing this and what I can do about it...by the way the tractor never bogged down it just kept moving along but the mowing spindles would slow down tremendously and almost stop if I didn't engage the clutch ....

[Eugene]

I have no answer.

The numbered Cubs are more of a lawn mower than a machine to mow tall or tough grass. My 154 will mow grass as tall as the tractor, but in 1st gear, creeper engaged, with the mower deck elevated. Without the creeper gear being engaged, the tractor and mower will not handle tall grass.

If the problem is the mower.
Check the belt condition and tension.
Check the mower spindles and idlers for binds or faults.

[seahaul]

If you are sure there is not any grass wound around the spindles, I would suspect the mower belt was slipping when you tried to cut tall grass. This slipping may have glazed the belt (which makes it slicker) and it was still slipping when you tried cutting the shorter grass. Try adjusting the belt tighter. If it still slips, you may need to replace the belt.
But, be absolutely sure there is no grass wound around the spindles. Sometimes it is difficult to see unless you can get underneath the mower to check it.
Charlie

[SONNY]

Have you ever greased the spindle bearings???---It takes LOTS of grease in each one---AND grease them every time you mow with it---every few hours the grease can get mixed with dirt and you may have to put in new bearings and seals to correct the problem! thanks; sonny

[Smokeycub]

When the spindles are clear of any junk and grass, loosen the belt and turn each spindle by hand checking for noise and "wiggle" in the spindle shafts or if they seized at all. Was the deck kinda noisy before this? Same with the mule drive pulleys Like Sonny said the spindles need greased regularly.

any ideas what is causing this and what I can do about it...by the way the tractor never bogged down it just kept moving along but the mowing spindles would slow down tremendously and almost stop if I didn't engage the clutch ....

It may be time for bearings. Not a simple job on a Woods deck. BTDT Good luck!
P.S. Hopefully it's not the PTO belts slipping.

[diogenes74]

I removed a few weeds after taking off the blades and made sure there was nothing left in the spindles underneath or above....after doing that I pulled the mowing belt and rotated everything and I heard no noises...but once again once I start mowing it will mow just fine then hit a tall patch and then the pulleys will slow up and actually almost stop unless I stop and step on the clutch to build up more RPM's then start mowing gain...I am going to try to tighten the belt adjuster in the back and see if that does the trick and follow the comments above...

[SONNY]

Make sure that the pto clutch is NOT the problem!---may just be pto drive belts! thanks; sonny

[welderskelter]

Shut off tractor and engage pto clutch, use a pipe wrench to turn pto shaft. If it turns easy then you have a loose pto belt or pto clutch needs to be worked on.