I have an old White (MTD) mower I bought from TSC many years ago. It has a 54" deck and a 23 hp Kohler engine and is generally a grass cutting machine. I know I am hard on it with the steep slopes I cut and rocks I keep overlooking.
Fortunately I feel I have been extremely blessed with two very good sources of consumable and maintenance spares. For MTD unique parts I tend to call the MTD number on my Operator's manual. They talked me through finding my parts manual on line and I have saved it as a PDF file so we can compare notes as we talk. I have heard horror stories about local maintenance and warranty claims but the customer service people I talk to are great. Parts seem to be reasonably priced, normally ship the same day and arrive within 3-5 business days. The last such part I bought was a tie-rod end. I ordered it on a Monday, it cost about $15 with $10 shipping and arrived on Thursday.
The other source I use for parts like belts, blades, spindles, oil filters, etc. is amcpartsstore.com. They are located in Oregon, have nearly everything I ask for readily in stock, great prices, immediate shipping and great service. I called this morning for some more spindles and ask that they be tapped for full length bolts instead of those self tapping screws that don't work well for me. The ones in stock were for ST screws so the rep sent them to the machine shop and had them tap them for me. Cost for 3 spindles was about $98 for the set of three while they are about $85 each here locally. Shipping was free and the whole order shipped today.
BTW - did you know you can replace the spindle shaft if that is all that is damaged? I save my old ones exchange them as the occasion arises. The ones I saw were about $27 while a whole spindle with bearings, seals, etc is under $33 from AMC.
Just thought I'd pass this info along. Happy mowing.
Much better luck then me finding old mower parts. I have an old ford lgt 160 mower with a 16 hp kohler all hydro. The closed side version they call because it has side good panels instead of open sides. I got lucky and found a parts mower with a decent deck because mine is rusted bad. Other then that can't find parts no where.
Red,
I had to replace my entire deck at the start of the year to a tune of about 1K. I think the deck was $550 + $50 shipping then the rest to transfer all the parts and a few incidentals. I now have a black and red mower with JD yellow deck. Neither I nor my grass care. The self-tapping spindle screws got loose and wallowed out big holes where they went in till they would not hold the spindle tight, the pulley would wobble and tear up belts, etc. The area where the bolts go into the deck is fluted and I could not find a welder with the skills to repair it as they could if it was a flat/straight area.
Using tapped spindles with grade 8 bolt lets me tighten each attachment point securely and I hope this one outlasts me and the mower.
I don't know how unique your mower is but the next time you are in a jam you might have you can try calling AMCparts. They are very patient and I enjoy working with them.
That old Ford was likely built by Homelite/Jacobsen which is long gone. I am a little surprised MTD will ship direct to the end user bypassing their dealer. The western Canadian distributor I worked for wouldn't.
Sawguy,
I was surprised the first time I called them too. I think I was looking for advice on a part and where to find it and they offered to sell and ship me the part so I have used them ever since. I have my machine registered with them and they are very prompt to find the parts needed, call me by name, etc. Surprisingly good service for a mower. More like our sawmill manufacturers and sponsors I find here on the FF IMHO.
I found this in my farm show paper today Almost heaven lawn mower grave yard 260 824 5087 thy are close to Ft Wayne Ind.
Thy have 4 acers of equipment from the 1940s to the present if it's mower related it looks like thy have it
Yes the old ford was by them or part of them. I've seen jacobsens identical to my ford except they was red instead of blue. My only source for parts is used and this are hard to find.