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Deck Leveling 101!

12K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  jseim 
#1 ·
The 48 inch deck on my old 140 does not cut level at all. Side to side is OK, but the center cuts lower than the sides. What do I need to adjust to bring the center up?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
Assuming your lawn is level and you are not scalping a hump:

Check for bent blades or worn bearings first.

All 3 blades should be at the same height. and if it's cutting irregularly, something mechanical has to be wrong.

Center anti-scalp roller?
 
#4 ·
In my, admittedly limited, experience, I can never get the blade tips to be the same height on each side. If I set the knob at 3 and get the lh blade to sit at 3" at the front and the rear to be at 3.125 to 3.250 then the rh blade tips will be something up to .250 out at each measurement. I might can get the front tip on the rh side to be 3" but the rear is also 3". The only way this can be happening is the deck surface that the spindles bolt to is not in the same plane.

I have rotated the blades and measured them both at the front and the number comes up identical so the blades aren't bent.

I have leveled the deck on probably 10 different machines in the past year or so. A couple I could get almost perfect but the rest would have at least one measuring point that was 1/4" out of kilter. You just have to compromise.
 
#5 ·
I had this happen on a new X540 48" deck, and along with other numerous troubles, I had to trade it off for a X720 to correct it..............:sidelaugh
 
#6 ·
Deck Leveling 101A

The easiest way for me to level just about any deck is to use wood 2X4's as a tool, one length of 2X4 on the left side, one for the right side. The 2X4 tools are about 18" long.

Make sure your blades and spindles are true, yes, your deck can get warped in the area of one or more spindles if your blade tips are not matching, and usually requires a sledge hammer to straighten back out (but that is another story). Have a flat concrete floor to work on, make sure all the tires are true also.

Raise deck all the way up

slide tool under left side outer lower lip of deck (2X4 laying flat on the floor)

slide another 2X4 under the right outer lower lip of the deck.

Lower deck until it 'just begins to touch the 2X4 at any point, be it left or right or forward or back', find the closest notch with your lift lever to lock against.

Notice that none of the rollers or deck wheels are touching the blocks of wood.

Look for any bent, twisted, broken or missing linkage components.

Notice which point is touching either of the blocks first, as this is 'the lowest hanging part'.

Notice the difference from left to right, and measure how much. They should be equal

Notice the difference from front to back, and measure the difference. The deck should be lower in the front, than the back. Typically 1/8-1/4" lower in the front. This is the attitude.

Adjust whatever you have to raise or lower the front until the front is lower than the back by 1/8-1/4". If your deck has (2) front trunnion nuts on the front hanger assy., those nuts should be equally measured from the end of the trunnion studs & hanger assy. Adjust both trunnion nuts incrementally, until the deck attitude is where you want it.

Raise the deck up & down till the deck is just touching the blocks, to verify that your attitude is proper. Make sure each trunnion nut is equal to the other by measuring from the end of the studs to the nut.

Then adjust the left & right as necessary, adjust at the deck hanger(s) most decks have one static hanger, and one adjustable hanger.

Raise & lower the deck until both left & right outer lower lip of deck 'just' touches the 2X4 blocks.

Adjust as necessary until both left & right are equal. Yes, you have to get on the floor and look, sometimes it is helpful for a helper to raise the deck while you look when and where it touches first.

Notice if your deck attitude has changed, readjust front trunnions if necessary.

Adjust rollers & deck wheels, depending on how rough your ground is, if very rough ground, then put the wheels in the lowest mounting holes (the wheels will hang down farthest).

But for most lawns, adjust your wheels so they will 'catch' the deck from actually touching the dirt, (usually about 1/2" below the lower deck lip)

The deck wheels are not intended to be running on the ground all the time, they are only for 'catching' the deck in rough areas.

Test.

wwxx
 
#7 ·
Well I would love to get a newer one but my 140 has been doing great the last two years an has only cost me a total of about $500!

How do I adjust the front to back level of the deck? Do I shorten the mule drive arms?

Thanks


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#8 ·
I had some 2x2 wood and used my chop saw to make a 3" and 3.5" gauge tools. Pretty simple to run these around and check the blade height at various points.
 
#9 ·
It's a multipurpose tool hahaha

Thats right, KennedyDiesel whatever size scraps will work, as you know both the blocks of wood must be equal thickness whatever you chose.

I also use my 'leveling blocks' to grind out the floor stains with oil dry.

wwxx
 
#16 ·
That's pretty funny. I'd ultimately like to have a Grasshopper someday but now that my $500 140 mows level I've about got a power flow put together for less than $200 we will see. Kinda hard to justify several thousand when sometimes a guy can get lucky and turn nothing into something!


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