IH 3260 vs Woods L59

D

Dcroyle

Member
Hello
Thanks again for all the help you all have been on my 184 . It's been running great. I finally found a 3pt assembly for it and while I was at the gentlemans place he gave me a great deal on a 3260 Deck with new belts and 2 sets of blades. My question is how well do they cut compared to the woods L59 that I've used for the last 6 years . The only real issue I have is digging the sod when I back up with the skids on occasion . Yes I mow as low as I can get it and the yard looks great. So has anyone used both decks. Is one any better than the other. My brother has been drooling over mine since I got it and he is getting ready to make the plunge and give one of his boys his Deere. He said he wants which ever Deck I'm not going to go with. Thanks all. Which would you keep
 
I have a 3260 mounted on a 154 numbered Cub and a 42" Woods mounted on a standard Cub. Both mow well, but then, I only cut the grass to about 3 or 4 inches in the black walnut plantation.

I only trim the grass to 1" under the black walnuts a couple of weeks before harvest. Then I bring in one of the Cub Cadets to blow the debris off the zone where the nuts fall and keep the grass at 1 inch.
 
Thanks Bill.
Like I said the L59 has been a good deck and is really robust .I have trails through the woods and I might chew up a stick or two on occasion without a problem . I didn't know with the rollers and baffles under the 3260 if it might mow better . I got the deck for the price of a set of blades. It just needs paint.
 
I have used both and have not noticed any cut difference. Spindle parts, seals, bearings, are still available for both.

The skids should not touch the ground when mowing and the back or trailing end of the Wood's' skid should be bent upwards so it does not dig in. Your skids may need to be adjusted.

The center pulley on the IHC mower is right under the oil pan and can be shoved upwards by hitting a rotten stump hard enough for the grease fitting to drill a hole through the oil pan as I experienced many years ago. The Woods' mower has the center pulley towards the back.
 
Thanks Landreo
Yes as I said I am mowing with the deck as close as possible.most of the time it's skidding along cutting great. I've adjusted it to mow as close as I can get it. I had this conversation with the guys on here and got chastised a long time ago but it works for me. It's just after looking at this 3260 deck I was wondering if it mowed any better having baffles and rollers on the deck and being an IH . The L59 is aftermarket. No baffles,sliders but appears allot stronger. Thanks for the replies
 
The center pulley on the IHC mower is right under the oil pan and can be shoved upwards by hitting a rotten stump hard enough for the grease fitting to drill a hole through the oil pan as I experienced many years ago. The Woods' mower has the center pulley towards the back.
Click to expand...

There is a stop that mounts to the frame of the 184 on the right side forward of the rockshaft lift assembly that looks like a pipe pointing downward. This stop is supposed to keep the center pulley grease zerk from penetrating the oil pan.

On my 184 with a 3160a (different model) deck, the outer guide wheel would tear up the grass on corners because it was fixed in place and would not turn. I replaced the guide wheel with Woods swivel guide wheels but mounted them further outboard than the Woods design.
 
Thanks. That's kinda what I had plans to do with the L59. The woods deck does seam o be a stronger made deck so I'm thinking of going ahead with my plans. I've stripped the 3260 and it looks great so I'll give it a good paint job and moth ball it. Be a good back up if my brother don't need it. Are the blades the same between the 2. I know the belt won't work.
 
Not dismissing any of this information. The Woods is probably heavier but it depends on how you use these. My 3160A has nothing but a front roller attached to an iron nose plate. The deck is suspended by the rock arms' linkages and trailing arms. I try to maintain some acreage of different surfaces, so the deck is raised and lowered on the fly. There are no trailing wheels of set height because after crawling over a tall root ( of a tree I want to keep) the deck is lowered down to lawn level around a house. There is constant adjustment along the way of semi brush hogging and lowering down but the hydraulics lever is easy.
 
The lifting mechanism might be a factor in your deck choice. You mentioned mowing as "low as possible" and this may not be a factor in a yard mowing scenario, but may be in a field mowing situation.

The woods deck lifts the front of the deck and the back pivots at the rear mounts (between the rear axle). When mowing with the deck in a raised position, the front of the blades may be higher than the back of the blades (cutting the grass twice).

The 3260 lift mechanism is more of a scissor type so the deck stays level regardless of the height. (front of the blade can stay lower than the rear so grass gets cut once) This deck may be better suited for cutting taller grass or weeds.
 
Hay outdoors
Thanks for that info, I didn't know that. I knew the woods deck lifted like that and just figured the IH did the same. I do have a bit more than an acre out back that's grown in with weeds that I'm going to start mowing and planting . I may ad some wheels to the corners and give it a go.
 
When adding wheels to a mower deck, be very careful of the clearances. Some people add the wheels to the back side of the mower deck so that there are not interference issues with the front tires (when turning while backing up).
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Here is a picture of my tractor that poorly shows the wheels added to my mower deck. I attached angle iron to the deck then bolted the wheel assembly arms to the angle iron. On the right side, I had to "limit" the wheels so they won't turn all the way around and hit the front tire. The left side had no clearance issues so it is left free to rotate 360 degrees.
normal_184-3PointBucketResized.jpg


This is my favorite method that the later IH mower decks had for added wheels. This style shouldn't dig in when turning.
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Disclaimer: Not all photos are mine, photo credit goes to the photographer and original poster.
 
I like the rollers on the last pic to but like my "73" 14 auto Wheel Horse they would not go over roots and bend down or catch and cause a big problem. I'm thinking rear wheels similar to yours , little thinner,little bigger diameter. As for the front I like the roller that's in the middle but I might try to copy my L59 setup,seems to work good. I might powder coat the deck for years of great service. Maybe. As good of shape it's in it might be worth it.
 
I am guessing that the wheels in the rear will also dig in and tear up the lawn when backing and turning. That is why I used swivel wheels.
Note: None of these solutions address the issue of driving over a root or a stump. The mower deck rollers roll over the obstacle then the blades hit the high item.
 
Man you know this. We have to be perceptive about what is under the tall grass. The front wheels give a clue and touch the elevation lever. Dang stump or lawn ornament. I can't go on about a 3160A like it is the best. It is just the one which came with the my154. It is really heavy compared to little stuff yet not so heavy to require wheels. It has one front roller and side skids.
It is mostly suspended due to the hydraulic cylinder and associated linkages on the "rock" arms.
Nothing hangs up except too tall grass, not exiting correctly.
 
Ya. It sounds a little crazy but I put the house about 350' off the Rd in the woods. Cleared about 2+ acers,wore out 2 Wheel Horses on the drive and backfilling drains, putting in a yard and mowing. Pulled every thing around with the BN and if a tree or stump was to big for that it became firewood. How I ended up with my 184. So some places around the outside of the yard or down my trails can be a little ruff. It was a simple question if anyone used both and what they thought. I could always just mow a little higher but what fun is that. Like I can mow in 2nd but leave it in 1st just to hear that c60 run. Thanks everyone
 
For some reason on craigslist, an L59 is described as a 48" deck. They must mean that they have smaller blades. The IHC 3160 is actually 59" swath of blades which is near 5' instead of 4' . It is the way you gain it by the flexibility of adjusting on the fly. Coming across irregular or heavy root, raise in time and lower. Proceed as normal across shorter grass. It is a belly mower so you can see what is happening.
In the deep of night, I can tell you something.
My 154 was my first larger tractor than so many smaller garden tractors. I mowed where otherwise would have required much larger tractors and they had rear decks. I was ill and it costs a lot of money to do what we used to do with the 154 and one good smaller mower tractors as back-up.
 
I thought I had corrected my deck info in all posts. It is a 3260. Probably fond of it because essentially rebuilt it.( without really knowing its ID, without the net etc ) I can't say anything bad about Woods decks. Lucky to have one and apparently they work great.
My particular situation involves steep slopes and ground roots to beneficial trees. My 3260 deck has to adjusted regularly while mowing, unless I have to come around with a weed wacker. That is what is good about it, tied to the correct linkages. It is heavy enough to withstand most anything but a stump or concrete but light enough to be adjusted to ground zero or way above.
 
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