The treadmill is a hit for homebodies and people who work out in the gym, simulating a perspiring run and walk exercise routine minus the pollution and long-distance travel outdoors. One of the challenges that come along with having a piece of this excellent exercise equipment is repairing its defective or worn out parts. One of those parts is the walking deck. But we will not let you down with giving you easy directives on replacing the treadmill’s deck or walking board in less than 30 minutes.
Prevention is Better than Replacement
Besides walking belts, walking boards, or walking decks should always be checked and maintained to avoid the degradation of treadmills’ performance and lifespan. Once your walking deck is damaged or defective and left unchecked, it will create a riffling effect on your treadmill, gradually damaging your walking belt and motor consequently.
You can quickly diagnose your walking board by relaxing the walking belt tension through the rear roller adjustment Allen screws. It is a good habit to do only three to five equal turns on both alignment Allen screws until your arm can fit inside the walking belt. Then, check the surface of your walking board, and it should be smooth and no dents, grooves, or protruding wood. Good for you, if your walking board is damaged, you don’t need to replace it yet since most walking boards have double wear life. Check the other side of your walking board, and if it’s still in good shape, then follow the steps below and flip it over instead of replacing it. If both sides have dents or grooves, carefully assess if you can sand them down and put a new plastic mylar covering. If none of these is applicable, then you need to buy a new walking deck.
A Word of Caution
Before finally working on repairing your treadmill, we warn you that although these are just easy steps, this can be dangerous because it is an electrical machine. We may encounter injury risk for amateurs and users alike due to its technicality and weight. You may want to hire a technician to aid you in repairing your treadmill for safety. Proceed until you are assured and confident to fix it by using proper tools such as work gloves for protection, Philip screwdrivers, and Allen wrench set.
How to Replace Treadmill Walking Board with 11 Easy Steps
A walking board is a platform, sometimes called a deck, on the treadmill where the walking belt that you step on slides. While the walking belt stimulates running and walking, the walking board supports the belt and lets it slide smoothly that it relieves friction from your feet. Now, what do we do to replace the deck if it got worn out or wholly damaged
1. Safety first: wear your work gloves and prepare your Philip screwdrivers, Allen wrench set, and confidence. Make sure your treadmill is unplugged from any extension or power outlet to avoid any accident. Remember to remove the safety key as you repair.
2. Using your Philip screwdrivers, carefully remove the bolts or screws that secures or fixes the motor hood on your treadmill frame. It is located below your treadmill’s console. Then, remove your motor hood, set aside, and leave it for a moment.
3. Fold or raise the treadmill upwards and activate the latch. Carefully remove the bolts or screws that fix the side rails.
4. Bend the treadmill lower again and remove rails. Remember to ask for assistance as the latch that secures the treadmill will not lock or get a grip once you remove the foot rails. Remove securing bolts of your walking deck from the tracks on the side. Stoop down and take out your damaged walking deck from the belt.
5. Do not forget the walking deck’s attachments. There will be cushions attached to the deck, and you need to detach them. Get your deck replacement and attach the new cushions to its respecting slots.
6. Slide your new walking deck and reinstall the mounting or fixing screws found on the walking deck’s four corners to help it stabilize as you fold the deck up. Make sure that the screws or bolts are locked.
7. Fold your treadmill upwards again. Ask for another person’s assistance as you attach the screws back.
8. Reinstall the corner mounting bolts and the foot rails. And finally, put your motor hood back and do not forget to reinstall its securing screws to lock it in.
9. Plug the treadmill to an outlet and put the safety key. Check whether the console is working correctly and accordingly or not. Let it simulate for five minutes or so. Be careful in the simulation and do not step on it yet.
10. If your walking belt is not correctly tracking or not rolling in the center, unplug the power cord and adjust the Allen bolt of the rear rollers. Repeat this process in small increments until your walking belt is rolling in the center.
11. Turn the treadmill off and lubricate your walking deck thoroughly with a silicone lubricant that is usually along with the new walking deck. Make sure that you are spreading it evenly with any long tool that can stick between the deck and belt. After the lubrication, restore the treadmill’s power and disperse the lubricant applied by running or walking on the treadmill for a couple of minutes.
Here’s a video from Sears:
Conclusion
We know that you may be scared to take on the role of replacing your defective or worn out deck instead of hiring a technician. But do not worry since if you follow these 11 easy steps, you can be confident that you will be doing what any experienced technician will do. Therefore, it is perfectly fine to take it easy and slowly as long as you are doing the steps in this guide. And what’s most important is to accomplish this task safely.
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