Hi Guys,

I'd like to get some advice with regards to repairing some pretty serious cracks on a solid deck Scott Bonnar 45 14". As i've been playing with my own Scotties lately, my Dad has decided to bring his around for a freshen up also. I've literally only looked at this mower a couple of times over the last 15 or so years and it's normally under a cover and covered in grass clippings. He's always had a local mower shop service and sharpen the machine and he reckons they look after him so I've never got involved, until now....

Well I hardly know where to begin... I pulled the reel out first as it needed to go off for powder coat before a sharpen. It had so much contact with the bedknife that I could hardly rotate it by hand, even with the chains removed - which were way over tensioned. The driveshaft has a huge amount of play inside the clutch and there is next to no self propulsion. The old man was informed by the mower shop that they'd replaced the clutch cable and adjusted it as best as possible but there is a design fault with the mower and this is as good as it gets. They also said there was no warranty on the cable or their worksmanship for this issue! I'm so pissed of that he's been taken for a ride by their absolute incompetence.

To make matters worse, I found this after washing it down.

[Linked Image from i95.photobucket.com]

So I'm wondering is it worth trying to fix this or is it too far gone? I'd like to get it sorted as he loves the mower and when the time comes for him to hang up the catcher he'll be glad to hand it on to my son to continue using. My welding skills aren't up to this task so I'd need to get it done professionally. I'd really appreciate any opinions or advice.

Cheers, Michael