Your comment about the head being hard to remove reminds me of last week when I tried to change the axle boots on my snapper rider. The job requires removing one wheel.
The wheel is 3 bolts bolted to a flange held on the axle by a tapered bolt. It did not look like it was ever apart. I bought this mower last year and the guy obviously
kept it clean all the time. That might have lead to the problem.(to much water) That axle flange would not come off. I used PB and endless tapping. Then I rented a
gear puller. Still wouldn't come so we put some heat on it. Still nothing. Then I finally decided to crank away a turn a day on the puller. When the flanges started to
bend, I went to the net (should have done that first) and found this is not an uncommon problem. One guy bent the arms on his puller and couldn't get it to budge.
Another guy who posts lots of Snapper stuff cut one off with a dremel tool. I didn't have one so I sawed to the axle in 2 places with the saws all. and then drove a
wedge in my saw cut. It finally came off. Oddly there was little rust or anything else on the shaft or in the flange hole. Luckily I got it off without nicking the
axle. I figured I better replace the axle bearing while I had it apart. That was pressed in. I expected the worst since that was SUPPOSED to fit tight. I pressed it
out with a bolt and nut and some washers and probably never exerted 1/4 of the pressure to remove a pressed in bushing that I used to remove the flange that was supposed
to be removable! GO figure.
The wheel is 3 bolts bolted to a flange held on the axle by a tapered bolt. It did not look like it was ever apart. I bought this mower last year and the guy obviously
kept it clean all the time. That might have lead to the problem.(to much water) That axle flange would not come off. I used PB and endless tapping. Then I rented a
gear puller. Still wouldn't come so we put some heat on it. Still nothing. Then I finally decided to crank away a turn a day on the puller. When the flanges started to
bend, I went to the net (should have done that first) and found this is not an uncommon problem. One guy bent the arms on his puller and couldn't get it to budge.
Another guy who posts lots of Snapper stuff cut one off with a dremel tool. I didn't have one so I sawed to the axle in 2 places with the saws all. and then drove a
wedge in my saw cut. It finally came off. Oddly there was little rust or anything else on the shaft or in the flange hole. Luckily I got it off without nicking the
axle. I figured I better replace the axle bearing while I had it apart. That was pressed in. I expected the worst since that was SUPPOSED to fit tight. I pressed it
out with a bolt and nut and some washers and probably never exerted 1/4 of the pressure to remove a pressed in bushing that I used to remove the flange that was supposed
to be removable! GO figure.