I don't have a diverter valve, so can rule that out. Searching sounds like others have had the same issue and it is not normal. Finally figured out how to lift the air ride seat and it is low on oil. I will pick some up and see if that helps.

Edit: Added almost a quart of oil and the deck raises and lowers much better now. It was a good thing I looked into it I guess. The air ride seat had a bent prop rod. Being new to me and not having installed it, I did not realize it was not supposed to look like that. If the prop rod is not bent, the air ride seat should lift up easily, and then you just have to lift up on the prop rod to lower back down. Prior owner or dealership must have tried to force the seat down and bent the rod. Everything is working now and good to go.

 

The deck will have a delay. The lift mechanism travels further than required, so the delay is getting the lift mechanism back up to make contact.

The choppiness can be improved by applying some oil to the lift mechanism joints. WD40 will help for a bit, but I prefer to add a little 30W oil with a small oil can. There aren’t grease zerks everywhere so a little oil helps.

Thanks for indicating you have no diverter valve, because that’s where I would have started.

 

The deck will have a delay. The lift mechanism travels further than required, so the delay is getting the lift mechanism back up to make contact.

The choppiness can be improved by applying some oil to the lift mechanism joints. WD40 will help for a bit, but I prefer to add a little 30W oil with a small oil can. There aren’t grease zerks everywhere so a little oil helps.

Thanks... that is good to know. Fresh off the dealer truck it did not seem right, and then lifting up and down playing with the wash port yesterday decided to take a closer look. There might be a little bit of a lag on occasion now, but nothing compared to before. At least it does not seem like there is something broken now.

 

Sounds like there might be (or have been) air in the cylinder. I would verify that it's all the way up on fluid and then run the deck up and down when set on 1 with the wheels all the way up to get the most travel about 10 times. Look at page 6 for the prop rod to flip your seat forward: https://www.greenpartstore.com/asse...ssets/images/instructions/2020/john_deere_bm24379_installation_instructions.pdf

 

Oh - i reread your postings and see that you found it was low on oil. Maybe the installation instructions can help tease out if the prop rod is bent on you. That's a nice machine with a very nice seat. I upgraded to the previous generation of the SE seat and it was totally worth it!

 

Maybe the installation instructions can help tease out if the prop rod is bent on you.

I was able to bend it back in shape and the seat lifts up and down now. Not like new, but think it will work. Looks like the replacement part is $10 if it comes to that. I would have never bought the seat if it wasn't included, but wasn't terribly disappointed it was included either. Truth be told I hated the air ride seat it at first. It beat the heck out of me the first few weeks. I thought who in the heck would pay money for that darn thing. I decided to read the manual and noticed the warning that the 12v outlet needed to be turned on. Turned on the switch and seat started to fill with air. It works much better when the seat has air in it!