LEVELING THE MOWER DECK
When leveled correctly the mower deck should be level side to side, and should be approximately a 1/8 to 1/4 inch lower in the front of the deck.
Side to Side Leveling
If the cutting deck appears to be mowing unevenly, a side to side adjustment can be performed. Adjust if necessary as follows:
•With the tractor parked on a firm, level surface, place the deck lift handle in the top notch (highest position) and rotate both blades so that they are perpendicular to the tractor frame.
•Measure the distance from the outside left blade tip to the ground and the distance from the outside right blade tip to the ground. The measurements should be equal. If they’re not, proceed to the next step.
•Compare the two measurements as follows:
-Model
-Model
•ZT42 - 42 Inch Deck ONLY
-Loosen, but do not remove, the hex cap screw on the right deck hanger bracket. Refer to Figure 30.
-Level the deck by using a wrench to turn the adjustment gear (found immediately behind the hex cap screw just loosened) clockwise to lower the right side of the deck, or counterclockwise to raise the right side of the deck. Refer to Figure 30.
-The deck is properly leveled when both blade tip measurements taken earlier are equal.
Raise | RT. |
| Lower RT. | ||
Side of | Deck |
| Side of Deck | ||
Adjustment |
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|
| Hex Cap | |
| Screw | ||||
Gear |
| ||||
|
| ||||
Figure 30
-Retighten the hex cap screw on the right deck hanger bracket when proper adjustment is achieved.
•ZT50 - 50 Inch Deck ONLY
-Loosen, but do not remove, the hex cap screw on the left deck hanger bracket. Refer to Figure 31.
-Level the deck by using a wrench to turn the adjustment gear (found immediately behind the hex cap screw just loosened) clockwise to raise the left side of the deck, or counterclockwise to lower the left side of the deck.
Lower LT. |
| Raise LT. | ||
Side of Deck |
| Side of Deck | ||
Adjustment |
|
|
| Hex Cap |
| Screw | |||
Gear |
| |||
|
| |||
Figure 31
-The deck is properly leveled when both blade tip measurements taken earlier are equal.
-Retighten the hex cap screw on the left deck hanger bracket when proper adjustment is achieved.
Front to Back Leveling.
The front of the deck should be approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch lower than the rear of the deck. Adjust if nec- essary as follows:
•With the deck raised off of the ground, rotate the blades so that they are parallel to the frame of the tractor.
•If the side to side leveling was done correctly, measuring just the right blade should be acceptable to attain the correct back to front pitch of the deck.
•Measure the distance from the front tip of the blade to the ground and the distance from the rear tip to the ground. The front distance should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch less than the rear. If it is not, proceed to the next step.
30
