Toro 4300 D front deck fix

The Damage

 Just brought this unit in . Our course is pretty rough and hilly . We demoed this model and where very pleased that it didn't scalp (because of the 24" decks )and hugged the terrain well  HOC 1.75". We liked it so much we are getting another one this spring . Back to my deck issue . We have had only 1 operator on this machine most of the season and have had next to zero issues until other staff started mowing . The problem I'm getting other than the usual dented up blades is that the front of the decks are hitting rocks denting the HOC adjusting brackets and bending the deck in enough for the blades to hit on . I have slowed the machine down a little bit but don't want it to be to slow . Next season they will be able to be turned down a tiny bit more with 2 units on the go .  

 I'm hopefully going to solve this issue . It can be time consuming to heat and pound out the decks plus welding up cracks by the adjustment slots .

 Front HOC adjustment .

Just in the thought process now . I asked the guys on the tech sites about a fix and I'm getting a few thoughts together for a permanent fix . I don't like to redo things if I can help it . I was thinking of welding a good size bar to the front roller brackets but then if they decide to lower the cut there may be issues . What ever the fix is it's going to have to do with this bar and some type of bracket welded to the bottom of deck not getting in the way of HOC brackets . I'll post some detailed pic's when I figure it out .

 This is what I wound up doing for a fix . I have a lot of old bedknifes laying around from winter tear downs . I'm taking the 5410 hd bedknife and cut it of at about 12 "s . Then I flipped the pieces on top of each other where it's grooved out . Worked out to be a prefect angle . Tack welded them together .

 Then I placed it under the front of the deck and tacked it in place .

 IF YOUR DOING ANY WELDING ON MACHINERY BE SURE TO UN HOOK BATTERY CABLES , otherwise you may fry some of the finer circuits on the newer equipment . It was very easy to weld on machine , I also tacked it on the corners on the inside of deck .

A little paint .

Now I'll have to wait till summer and see how it goes . Should be good and solid . Once you do one it will only take maybe 10 minutes for each of the other ones . Would also be a good fix for the bigger decks on the 4500D.

Review : 2 full seasons = 100% fix .No problems