Don't know the age, but those had Lely cutterbars. I was told by a Vermeer dealer that the metal top was too heavy for the cutter bar and caused breakage in the cutterbar area. Quite a few of them lasted long enough to wear out so I guess it depends on how it is treated.The cutterbar is in segments, which are right and left segments, so keep up with the order they are in if you take it apart. The segments are driven by a square piece of very hard key stock. It will round off where it goes into the gearbox, requiring replacement. It might be a good idea to switch ends to even out the wear. The segments are held together by a long rod. If the mower hits something, this rod can be bent, making the cutterbar hard to turn. I understand the rod can be taken out and straightened, saving the price of a new one. Each segment has sealed bearings in it. According to HayDr, who posts on here, the sealed bearings require less horsepower to pull than a gearbed mower that runs in oil because each gear acts as a hydraulic pump.
There are also bevel gears which have to be packed in a special grease occasionally. The grease is not cheap. You have to remove the nut at the top of the blade carrier. then lift off blade carrier to get to retaining bolts. I've never done this, but my cousin who has one broke my 1 1/4 six sided socket trying to get the nut off, so they can be tough. The walls are too thick to get an impact socket in there. They do not have to be greased every year unless it is used a lot. There is a cast iron spacer between each segment. It is not protected by a skid plate and holes will wear in it after a lot of use. The holes can be filled by welding. The blade carriers will wear in two at the edge after a while. They can be reversed to equalize wear. They are made of hard steel and welding them up does not work. Cracks appear. Vermeer has bought out Lely and is now making the mowers. I took a deep breath and bought a new one 2 years ago. Love it. It is made heavier and should avoid some of the problems I mentioned. Oh, the gearbox you mentioned requires grease also. Good luck, I'm curious to hear how it works out for you. KEH
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