I am struggling to find helpful information on this. I recently purchased the Cub Cadet XT2, LX42. If I set the cutting height between 3-4 inches, I cannot adjust the anti-scalp wheels to be 1/2 inch above the garage floor (as per the owner's manual). The scalp wheels are at 2 inches off the floor when the deck is at the 4 inch cutting height. This causes scalping on my uneven lawn or on an incline. Has anyone else had the same issue?. Everything else has been leveled properly per the manual. Thanks!
XT2 anti-scalp wheel issue
Markus2
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I am struggling to find helpful information on this. I recently purchased the Cub Cadet XT2, LX42. If I set the cutting height between 3-4 inches, I cannot adjust the anti-scalp wheels to be 1/2 inch above the garage floor (as per the owner's manual). The scalp wheels are at 2 inches off the floor when the deck is at the 4 inch cutting height. This causes scalping on my uneven lawn or on an incline. Has anyone else had the same issue?. Everything else has been leveled properly per the manual. Thanks!
If there's no hole available to install the wheels any closer to the ground, well, you can't, short of making a bracket extension so you can.
But scalping the ground with the deck at 4"...it wouldn't surprise me if it still scalped the ground. That is pretty uneven ground.
Edit:
Adding brackets so the AS wheels can be mounted further down can also potentially cause problems with the deck getting too high (as the wheels force the deck up, relative to the frame of the tractor). This can result in the front and/or rear wheels coming off the ground, the brackets for the AS wheels bending, or possibly something else getting damaged from the deck being forced against the frame of the tractor.
But scalping the ground with the deck at 4"...it wouldn't surprise me if it still scalped the ground. That is pretty uneven ground.
Edit:
Adding brackets so the AS wheels can be mounted further down can also potentially cause problems with the deck getting too high (as the wheels force the deck up, relative to the frame of the tractor). This can result in the front and/or rear wheels coming off the ground, the brackets for the AS wheels bending, or possibly something else getting damaged from the deck being forced against the frame of the tractor.
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Making a new bracket, etc, could allow moving them, like dave_r said. But you could also maybe find larger-diameter wheels, which would reach closer to the ground, even when mounted to the same locations.
I agree with dave, though. I'd want to check that the deck being pushed up like that wouldn't damage anything. To explore this, you could maybe put the deck at your preferred height, then lift one side of the deck, and slip a 2x4 under it, to raise it higher. Do the same for the other side. Do this on pavement or something, not grass, to better control the heights. Now see if the deck is going to jam or damage anything, if it is lifted higher by bumps in the yard, etc. You can add more wood to raise it even higher, of course. I'd make sure the deck won't hit anything, and that the linkages that set the height aren't being over-extended.
I agree with dave, though. I'd want to check that the deck being pushed up like that wouldn't damage anything. To explore this, you could maybe put the deck at your preferred height, then lift one side of the deck, and slip a 2x4 under it, to raise it higher. Do the same for the other side. Do this on pavement or something, not grass, to better control the heights. Now see if the deck is going to jam or damage anything, if it is lifted higher by bumps in the yard, etc. You can add more wood to raise it even higher, of course. I'd make sure the deck won't hit anything, and that the linkages that set the height aren't being over-extended.
Thank you very much for the advice. I did what you recommended and realized that if the deck height is set to 4 inches...there is no further allowance for the deck to float any higher. This is because the deck is pressing against brackets that won't allow further up movement. I decided to only cut my lawn at 3 1/2 inches. This will allow 1/2 inch of up travel for the deck. At the 3 1/2 inch deck setting, the anti-scalp wheels are currently at 1 1/2 inches from the garage floor. I'm thinking of finding a metal bracket to allow the anti-scalp wheels to lower 1 inch. I've learned a lot about the limitations of this machine regarding the deck height.
Thanks again!
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402 Posts
Maybe I'm not picturing this right. You want to mow at 3.5", leaving a half inch of clearance to the frame, currently the anti-scalp wheels are 1.5" over ground level, you want to move them down 1", leaving them only half an inch above ground. This means a 1" bump in the lawn will cause the deck to contact the frame, and any more would be risking damage. You say your lawn is uneven, and it must really be if you're scalping at 3.5" setting, so you must have bumps that are at least 3.5" high? This just seems like a no-go idea to me, unless you can explain the flaw in my vision.
No, there's no flaw in your vision. 
The owner's manual specifically states to choose the desired height and to set the anti-scalp wheels 1/2 inch from the level cement floor. So with what you are saying...then I am restricted to not cutting at 3-4 inches due to the limitations of this machine. I thought that many folks out there prefer to cut around 3.5 - 4 inches?
The owner's manual specifically states to choose the desired height and to set the anti-scalp wheels 1/2 inch from the level cement floor. So with what you are saying...then I am restricted to not cutting at 3-4 inches due to the limitations of this machine. I thought that many folks out there prefer to cut around 3.5 - 4 inches?
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402 Posts
I think most just disregard that statement about the anti-scalp wheels. 3.5-4" seems pretty long to me. My lawn is pretty uneven and I cut it 2.5-2.75".
I guess I'm just not visualizing what your saying either; I run 42" decks on a 17+ yr. old 2166 and a 2019 XT3 GS and have no issues adjusting the anti scalp wheels to the desired cutting height. I've never measured what the actual cutting height is but my XT3 stamped deck has 10 positions of which I mostly mow on #8 and the a/s wheels are adjusted to approx. 1/2" above my cement drive in that position. I just don't encounter scalping at those settings and my yard is not golf course smooth by any stretch.
You're saying that when you have the deck set at the desired cutting height and the a/s wheels are in the lowest hole the bottom of the wheel is still 1 1/2" above ground level?
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You're saying that when you have the deck set at the desired cutting height and the a/s wheels are in the lowest hole the bottom of the wheel is still 1 1/2" above ground level?
Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. There are only 5 holes to choose from and the bottom-most hole is not low enough to allow the wheel to be 1/2 inch from the floor.
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