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pix of 4518 mowing deck linkage

4041 Views 11 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  larryccf, 
L
curious if anyone with a 4518 with a 46" mowing deck has any shots of their deck's linkage

i bought a 4518 46" deck to mount on my 3813
and bought a junker 3813 to have for parts and for this project -

i've removed the seat pan/rear fenders and the floor pan for better visibility

in trying to mount the 46" deck i had the idea that a lot of the parts would be interchangeable and they are - the seller i purch'd the deck from, sent me the seat subframe which is where the deck lifting handle with all the handle hardware & drop links are, and he included those - and it bolted right up in place of the 3813's subframe. I already had most of the other linkage but not all

the linkage i do have shows me the hook up is definitely different from the 3813's - where the 3813 uses a pararrel link set up, and the lift handle connects to the "axle" of the rear wheel, lifting it and when it lifts, the pararrel linkage lifts the front edge of the deck. The 4518 has a hinged bar hanging off the frame (think in terms of a "see-saw" )- and it can't raise / lower both the front and rear of the deck at the same time, ie if one side goes up, other side is forced down

i know i'm missing some pcs, but the parts schematics available do not show all the link pcs - some are listed under deck linkage, a few with front tensioner pulleys, etc but there are or have to be some short pcs missing from the schematics

I've even gone to honda's web and read the 4518 owner's manual hoping for something there - but nothing i can see that i need

would like to get a sense of how this linkage is supposed to work - i can fabricate the missing pcs, but want to avoid having to copy the 3813's deck brackets and welding onto the 4518's - would like to leave the deck as original as possible

tks in advance if anyone has any shots
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L
or a scan of the page(s) from the 4518 svc manual showing the adjustment procedure - that would work as well
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Dave4514
Here is a pdf link to the manual for a 4518 lawn tractor. In it are drawings of the grass cutting deck and linkage.

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/pdf/manuals/31758811.pdf
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Dave4514
I should have read your first post more carefully. The link I posted is something you already have, sorry.
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L
appreciate the effort though

it's frustrating that honda doesn't show, on their parts pages, all the lienkage items

the few pcs of the linkage in that manual i have, but there are or have to be some interconnecting pcs that i know when i see, it will be a "slap myself on the back of the head" moment

there's a seller on egay that just started parting a 4518 out, and has already posted a few of the linkage pcs - i'll watch his listings to see what shows up
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Dave4514
I have found some more info on the linkage for the mower deck. This was in my parts catalog and the same mechanism is used on the 4013, 4514, and 4518.
The first picture is of the height adjusting lever and shows the handle with a button on the end just like an auto parking brake. Parallel to the handle are two levers that move the two vertical bars labeled #2. These bars are attached to the deck linkage shown in the second picture. At the bottom of these bars is a horizontal pin that will engage the hole in the link on the left. The spring used in the assembly is quite strong and is used to offset the heavy deck weight.
Looking at the two horizontal links, there is a pin roughly in the middle. This pin engages the mower deck. The nut and washer are used to attach these two links to the tractor frame. Finally, the two short links at the front are used to attach the front of the deck to the mule drive brackets.
The deck stays level throughout the four inches of adjustment. This must be because of the geometry of the linkage.

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Dave4514
Wow those pictures are big. Someday I'll figure out how it works.
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L
those are exactly the pcs i have, including the handle that raises the deck (seller sent me the seat / rear fender subframe that that handle rides in and it bolted perfectly onto my 3813's frame

those parallel links that have the pin on the side in the second pix - those are what i was referring to as the "seesw bars" and i didn't realize the front end attached to the frame and that's why i assumed there was or were short pcs that went down to the deck -

have i identified the attachment points in the below image correctly?

post edit - just went out to garage and unless i've mis-interpreted your descript, it's making sense, a lot more sense - now to get my hands on a set of front tension pulleys

one last question - the front end of those parallel links that attach to the tractor frame - how far below the frame do they attach - ie, is there a bracket hanging down or do they bolt directly to the frame "C" channels ?

mucho gracias for the assist



and btw, reason your images were so large, you had your resolution set way way too high at 1000 (i use 100 but 72 dpi would do for most internet images, and because of that the image page size was something like 300 inches wide - i reset to 8" -
i've got adobe photoshop but most photo editing programs will allow resizing - hope that helps
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Dave4514
Yes the RED notes are correct. The end of the link that attaches to the frame has a shoulder that fits the hole drilled in the link. Tightening the nut and washer will bottom on the shoulder and allow the link to pivot and the attachment point on the C channel is just below the sheet metal of the foot rest.
I had trouble getting the picture size down to 144K but did resize the image using Paint.net. When I went to save the cropped image off I set the jpg resolution low which somehow causes it to open in a large size. I needed 1000 to make the text readable at 100 it was not. I have learned my lesson and can now make any size jpg image using only 144K bytes.
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L
tks again
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T
On the front two bars, the front connects to the frame, the back to the deck. The two bars in the back of the picture and connected to the main frame on one end and the back of the deck on the other, the hole in the bar goes over a bolt with a hole for a pin.
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L
tks but got it worked out - before Dave4515 turned the lights on for me, i was trying to hang the parallel bars by that pin near the center - on my 3813, there's a hanging bracket with a hole in it that matched and was in the exact spot it needed to be, for that pin to pop into - i was tunnel visioned, and didn't think the 4500 series decks don't use that bracket

now i'm waiting for an auction for a set of the 4518 front tensioner pulleys w/brackets to end to see if i won - need those for the front links to connect to

as an aside, it's interesting how much is interchangeable - i've actually gone back to the 3813's seat subframe with it's height selection handle - the linkage from the 4518's was interfering slightly with the clutch linkage, 3813's had an offset to the drop linkage that clears the linkage and still puts the drop links where they need to be

after this deck is done, next project is moving the radiator (& fan) to behind the engine and moving the battery forward - putting the radiator in front of my knees and hoping to at least make it more convenient to clean the screen, if not lessening the amount of debris that collects and clogs the radiator screen
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