Cub Cadet 53AH8ST5050, 53AH8ST3050 service manual Deck leveling Procedure

F. Deck leveling Procedure

1.Park the mower on a flat paved surface, engage the parking brake, shut off the engine, remove the key from the ignition switch, disconnect the spark plug wires and using the foot pedal, lower the mowing deck into the 3" height of cut posi- tion. (The 3" height of cut position is recom- mended in order for one to see and obtain a measurement. Any height of cut position is acceptable as long as a proper measurement can be taken.)

2.Check the right and left front tire pressure. Adjust as necessary to 20-25 psi. Tire pressure can affect blade height by as much as a 1/4”.

3.Check the right and left rear Drive tire pressure. Adjust as necessary to 8-10 psi.

4.Measure blade-to-ground height at the front tip of the right blade. To obtain an accurate mea- sure, align blades in parallel with mower center- line, (i.e. front to back).

5.Measure blade-to-ground height at the front tip of the left blade. Be sure to measure at the blade tip with the blades arranged in proper position.

6.To level the deck,(side to side), place the deck in the (3” suggested) cutting position. With a 3/4” wrench loosen the lower jam nut of the left side of the Lift Link. To adjust the side of the deck up or down turn the upper jam nut clockwise (to

jam nut Left Side

jam nut

Adjustable Lift Link

Figure. 13

raise) or counter clockwise (to lower) a few turns.

7.Measure the blade-to-ground height at the right rear blade tip. Again be sure to measure at the blade tip at the rear of the right blade when aligned along the mower centerline. The blade- to-ground height at the rear of the blade tip should be 1/8" to 1/4” (1/8” for 1-1/2” and 1/16” for 1”) higher than the front tip. This is referred to as blade pitch. The same height difference should be true for the left blade, measured front and back.

8.To change the pitch (front to rear), loosen the lower nuts on the rear Lift Links. With a few turns, adjust clockwise (to raise) or counter clockwise (to lower) the upper nuts of the rear Lift Links. Once the deck is adjusted, retighten lower nuts.

9.The final adjustment would be to set the Trailing Link by adjusting the jam nuts on the threaded link. Loosen the jam nuts and tighten the inner nut to achieve the correct length and belt ten- sion. (see Fig. 13).

10.In many cases it will be necessary to adjust deck height using both eyebolt adjustments and pitch adjustment to achieve the correct blade-to- ground heights. If you remember that the front right blade tip adjustment is fixed and you level to that height, adjusting the decks will be simpli- fied.

Height of Cut LInk Outer Jam Nuts

Front

of Unit

inner Jam Nuts

Trailing Link

Right

Side

28