LEVELING THE MOWER DECK

Although the mower deck is designed to operate with the front caster wheels and rear gauge wheels on the ground, some mowing conditions may require the mower deck to be operated with the deck wheels off the ground. To assure a quality cut in those situations, the deck should be properly leveled. Correct adjustment of the mower deck will level the deck from side to side, and provide the correct front to back pitch of the mower deck.

The mower deck should be leveled during the initial installation of the deck, and then periodically checked and re-adjusted as necessary.

WARNING!: Before leveling the mower deck, position the tractor on a hard level surface, engage the parking brake lever and turn ignition key to the “OFF” position. ALWAYS stop the engine after utilizing the tractor hydraulic lift system. When handling the mower deck, be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp blades.

Side to Side Leveling

Most of the side to side leveling of the mower deck is accomplished with minor adjustment of one of the rear lift rod assemblies. However, the initial front to back adjustment of the front lift rod assemblies may affect the side to side leveling. For the initial leveling of the deck, perform the side to side leveling described below, adjust the front to back pitch of the deck, then recheck the side to side level and adjust as necassary.

NOTE: Check for proper tire inflation before checking and/or making a leveling adjustment.

When the deck is properly leveled, the left and right blades will have corresponding cutting-edge-to-ground measurements within 1/16 inch of each other.

•Use the tractor hydraulic lift system to raise the deck so that its wheels are off the ground. Stop the engine.

•Carefully rotate the outer cutting blades so that they are positioned perpendicular to the tractor frame. See Figure 19.

Figure 19

•Measure and record the distance from the level surface to the outer-most cutting edge of the right blade. Repeat this measurement for the left blade. If the two blade heights are not within 1/16 inch, the deck must be leveled. Note which blade had the larger distance between the cutting edge and level surface.

•From the rear of the tractor, work on the rear lift rod assembly on the side of the tractor with the larger ground to blade cutting edge measurement.

•Loosen the jam nut from against the ball joint on the rear of the rod assembly. See Figure 20.

Use 9/16" Wrench on Rod Flats

Lengthen

Rod

Loosen

Jam Nut

Figure 20

•Use a 9/16" wrench on the flats of the lift rod to turn the lift rod in the direction shown in Figure 19 to lengthen the rod. Turn the rod only in small increments, while continuing to measure the outer blade tip heights.

•When the blade tip heights are within 1/16" of each other, re-tighten the jam nut against the ball joint.

Front to Back Leveling

The front of the mower deck should be approximately 1/4" lower than the rear of the deck when hanging from the subframe with the front caster wheels and rear gauge wheels off the ground.

The front lift rods are adjusted at the factory, but may require additional adjustment when performing the initial installation of the mower deck onto the tractor.

WARNING!: Engage the parking brake and turn ignition key to the “OFF” position. ALWAYS stop the engine after utilizing the tractor hydraulic lift system. When handling the mower deck, be careful not to cut yourself on the sharp blades.

•Start the tractor engine and use the 3-point hitch control lever (refer to the tractor operator’s manual) to raise the mower deck so that its wheels are off the ground. Stop the engine.

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