Rusted out mower deck

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I have a 2004 Murray high wheel mower with a Briggs engine. The engine runs great, however I just noticed 4 rust holes about one inch wide in the top of the deck. The deck is still sound but I want to slow this corrosion before it gets worse. I always used a stick to scrape off grass deposits after each mowing. Guess that was not enough.

Any ideas?

Thanks for any input:)
 
Maybe find a deck that is similar to the one you have and put the engine on that "new" deck? Might be hard to find one that the engine bolt holes match up, but old broken down mowers at a small engine shop should be cheap.
 
they make the stuff which turns rust black: both sides of deck--->scrape all the rust you can off, apply at least 3 times this white liquid which turns black when drying, paint over the blackened rust spots with any paint--brush is better than spray.
From the bottom of the deck mix up the resin, and apply fiberglass matte twice. Viola you'll get 5 more years out of it
Steve
 
Are you saying a 1" rust spot or is it an actual rusted hole?. If its a rusted hole there are probably more to come. The deck protects you against thrown rocks and you want it to be solid.

If you have rust holes, then trash the deck. If its just rusty areas, then try some Loctite Extend.
 
I have seen those drain holes get large due to rust particularly on anything made by Southland. I do not know what your fertilizer schedule is, or if you even fertilize, but fertilizer corrodes decks faster than anything. Aluminum decks are attacked even faster with fertilizer. I have seen two exact mowers commissioned at the same time. One rusts and the other looks good for years. Always cut dry grass that is not freshly fertilized.
 
I scrape the deck off real good a few times a year and spray the whole under side of the deck with a coat of WD40.
My mom taught me this trick, her push mower was a dinosaur and the deck was still solid.
 
Hard to believe its rusted through after only 11 years. Scrape it off before storage and spray with used crankcase oil.

For the holes, I would just weld some patches on.
 
I have repaired several rusted out decks with a little sheet metal and pop rivits.In the fall, run the mower thru some leaves, that will scrub the underside of the deck clean before storing it for the winter.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Lubener
I have repaired several rusted out decks with a little sheet metal and pop rivits.In the fall, run the mower thru some leaves, that will scrub the underside of the deck clean before storing it for the winter.
Yah, I repaired an AL deck with pieces cut from an AL pot ,JB Weld and 3/16 AL pop rivets. If you don't care about looks, use your imagination.
grin2.gif
 
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