A question re a lawn tractor
 

I spent today hooking up a chain fall in my garage for servicing the underside of the mowing deck.
I'm wondering if my sling straps are ok where they are? Or is that too much weight for the front end?
I could go under the whole belly of the frame, but then I'd need a longer strap.
The second pic shows close-up where it's the easiest to do it. I plan on lifting it about twice the height of in the pic.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750457223.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750457251.jpg

Why not just use a floor jack or two?

I had a MoJack for a few years. I didn't like having it in the way when scraping the underside. Then last year, the screw that raises the tractor started slipping, so I junked it.

I want enough room to do some good scraping....floor jacks won't do it. Removing the deck is a pain. (that's what I've been doing this season)

Rating on your straps? Pads or use axle straps to go around the metal and keep your straps from chaffing.

1600 lbs. each....I'm using two of them. The tractor weight is 680, but I'm only lifting about 400 max. The straps barely touch my hood, so that's not a problem.

I'm mostly worried about the front axle handling the lift. (that's prob not the correct name for it...it's the piece that the steering and front wheel is attached to. See the second pic)

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The front axle is cast iron so no issue with strength . I am not comfortable without a backup system in case the strap breaks . You only get one life . Be smart

Yes, I knew the cast iron would be no problem....but when the tractor is lifted beyond what the pic shows, does the attachment of the axle to the frame get stresses where it never would normally? I'm not sure how that is connected to the frame.
I'm safe with the straps (1/4 of capacity) the chain fall is using four rafters for support.
The chain fall is rated at 2000 lbs.

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The front axle is fine and the straps but what you have them hooked to on the celing?

A 4X4 over four ceiling joists.
I'll get a pic...it wasn't fun crawling 16 feet over the joists to get it in place.

How about leaning it against the wall? Put a sofa cushion against the wall and use your straps to almost pull it on its side

The deck sticks out too far to do that.

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It's a manual chain-fall....but it goes real easy.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750461108.jpg

Let me get this right.
You have a lift. [I see a Targa parked on it]
You're messing around under a lawn tractor that is being lifted up via an unknown attachment point of the front axle and frame.
You're using cloth/nylon straps to do the lifting.
You've spent hours getting the chain fall 4x4 in place up in the attic.


How I'd do it?
MOVE the Targa off the lift.
Spend the time to move the rails into position so they fit the tractor tread width.
Get the tractor up onto the lift and in the air.
Work worry free knowing the lift isn't going to break or come down.

Work smarter, not harder.

So many disturbing things about this thread. A John Deere lawnmower sharing space with a Porsche - that’s just not right.

^^^ Scott
Lift rails do not move inwards. I know of none that do that on a 4 post.

The chain fall is for the tractor...it's capable and so is the attachment. The straps are def strong enough. I'm only lifting about half the weight of the tractor....4-5 hundred pounds.

My question is about the tractor being able to stand the force of lifting on the axle.

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The JD is only in there for maintenance....it has it's own parking shed. :)

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My brother's four post has moveable rails.

Yeah, I get what you're asking about and it also worries me as the attachment is going to be put in a shear situation not the 'normal' compression mode.

Here's an old pic of his lift showing how he's got them all the way outboard so he could put his other 'rails' on them so he could put two cars up on his.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750468098.jpg

That's exactly what I'm concerned about.
The other stuff has been thought thru....the chain fall is only for the tractor.

The JD is in the same 'hanging' position now since noon. That part of the lift is the most weight on the whole works. As it gets lifted more...less weight, more on the back wheels.

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How did you tie the 4x4 into the joists?

I'm confused as to how he could get 'two cars up'???

It fit perfectly (I went up there twice to measure) to fit over the joists and is held in place by two metal nailing plates for the joists.

I saved the styrofoam cut and will fit it in before winter comes.

See the bent sheet metal under the tires?
There are four of them. The lift is being used 90* to how it would normally be used.

There's only one solution. You should give me the targa. :D

BTW, front end looks like cast so I have no problems there. As long as you're using a back up support of some sort to prevent it from squishing you, I say go for it!

Btw Btw... don't the decks come off those fairly easy? Why not just drop the deck, clean it, and put it back on?

I hope the nailing plates are at the ends of the 4x4.

^^^ My lift will rotate to anywhere I want...but it will not handle 'two cars up'
My garage is 26X40 so I have 4 stalls....my lift has been, at some time, in all 4 stalls.

Yes

The deck is not easy to get out after unhooking it. The front tires want to interfere.
And then the weight of the deck makes tipping it over a chore without it wanting to roll away.

As it lifts higher...I'm figuring I'll have more time to roll out.:D

I'm thinking that this will save half the time and be a lot less work.

That's good to know on the nailing plates.

My brother's shop is 30x40, I think, it may be bigger.
He proof loaded his lift when he got it by lifting his Turbo diesel Suburban when he got it.
He's got an MS in Mechanical engineering and is pretty savy when it comes to making sure things are safe to use. He had the sheet metal 'rails' bent up by a local sheet metal shop. It took he and his son a little bit of work to get both cars up on them once they got the lift positioned in the shop. A case of where there's a will there's a way. My old 912 and a 911 are up top while his targa is down below and there might be a 914 there to now, I don't know for sure as I haven't been up to his place in a couple years now.

^^^ I'm seeing it now after you described it.....first I've ever seen/heard that.

Once I saw the linkage for the locking levers... I understood.

I like Steve’s lift better than Scott’s.

Scott’s is the magnetized model for clutter and stuff. It’s probably good clutter but certainly not great clutter.

^^^ I'll bet he does more serious work on his. :)
Mine is/was used more for parking space...now that the SC is gone....I like the extra room.

It's not mine, it's my brother's lift.
He has a sickness. He says there is no cure but he keeps looking for one.

I would suggest removing the deck and then you could use your straps and hoist to hold it upright so you can do what you need to do. Do you have a lot of buildup to scrape out?
Does your deck have a wash port?
My Craftsman LT2000 has a 46" deck. I can remove it fairly quickly because it has 3 quick-release mounting points.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

My wash port doesn't work that good...might be because of the age of the deck. (22 years)

Unfastening the deck is easy... getting it out is not.
I mostly will use this for cleaning and removing the blades for sharpening. Since I started using this thing (in the link below)...I've been keeping them knife sharp and can really tell a difference in the cut lawn.

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1178091-another-guess-tool.html

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Unfasten the deck then lift the tractor with your sling/hoist . Roll the deck forward from under the tractor . Flip the deck over and do your thing . When done roll the deck back under the tractor . Lower the tractor and make final connections . Done

^^^ As long as I have it raised, I might as well remove the blades and clean the deck.

At the end of the season, I always remove it and grease the spindles, and one last sharpen.
Last fall, I found one of the decks idler pully was wobbling...so I put a new one on.

I'll be trying it today, the grass is long because of two inches of rain in the last three days.

Steve, absolutely no problem with the front axle pivot on your JD. You could hang the darned thing from the front axle and not have a worry. 650 lbs? That's nothing. The weak points are, as mentioned above: possible chafing where the straps attach to the cast axle,(easily addressed with pads) and your 4x4 distributing the weight over the base of four trusses. I would think about sistering those trusses or perhaps full gussets at the load point.

Thanks....I'm thinking of buying an in-line scale (like a fish scale) to see exactly what weight I'm lifting. I'm thinking if the trusses held me squatting on one point, they should be good for 3X my weight over four trusses.

I had thought of doing this years ago, but recently saw a YT video of a small engine repairman doing the same with my exact JD model....he was lifting his to a straight up/down position for replacing the hydro belt. That belt is tucked up under the frame and the tension spring looks to be fun.

It's prob safer in a straight up/down position...all the weight is on the back wheels.

something like this....goes up to 660 lbs. and is $30
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...L._SL1500_.jpg

Easier for a younger man but still a pain.

One of my casual lady customers has a Husky 2/3 the size of Steve's. She messed all of her belts up because grass accumulated.

A buddy of mine had the same mower and he pulled her deck off, cleaned it and repositioned the belts in her driveway. Under an hour but he is just a little over 40 years old. I'm 68 and said many times while watching, I ain't doing this without two peeps. I did have to help him by holding this or that while he put it in place.

You met him at my house - motorcycle guy that brought food in a box and ate it in front of us. However we were sipping on lager in front of his 12 years sober self.