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WheelHorse_of_course

36 inch old-style deck

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WheelHorse_of_course

Hey guys,

On my 1969 Charger I have a 36" deck that is a bit of a put-together by a PO. It is the older style deck with the J-shaped pieces across the top - I'll call this the leveler bar. Mine also has the old style mule drive, but that is not relevant to the issue at hand.

Here is a picture of the deck:

2447113847_c96f5af91f.jpg

Like most WH decks, this one mows too low. When I lived in OH it was high enough I could get by, but over a year ago I set out to raise the deck, and this year it became a priority due to moving to VA where the grass is different.

My first attempt was to simply put larger gauge-wheels on the deck. This raised the rear, but surprisingly to me, it did not raise the front. If anything, the front was lower (I suspect on the newer decks this might be all that was needed ).

I examined the design carefully, and determine that the leveler bar sits on a pin that is attached to, and parallel to, the shaft for the Wheels. This leveler bar serves to raise the front up, and since it is pushed up more or less depending on the setting of the wheels, the deck is supposed to remaining level.

The only adjustment is that some decks have more than one set of holes for the pin that pushes on the leveler bar. Mine does not even have this crude adjustment.

So, the geometry is such, that in order to raise the front, I need to push the leveler bar up more.

So, the next thing I did was remove the pin and put a piece of 3/8 diameter pipe over it. This made very little difference (but it left it since it makes it all operate more smoothly).

Next I bolted the bottom of the leveler bar a few wood blocks topped off (bottomed off maybe since it is on the bottom of the bar?) with a piece of metal to make it last longer.

Here is a picture:

3759365028_56afbe394e.jpg

The two smaller shims were my first attempt, I had to add the larger piece to get the deck level. I used carriage bolts which is why you can't see the heads.

It cuts really nicely now. I'll see about getting a shot of the lawn posted tomorrow. It did take some trial and error to get the right amount of shim.

Perhaps this should go in the FAQ?

:thumbs: :thumbs2:

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WheelHorse_of_course

Here is a picture where you can kind of see the quality of the cut after the mods:

3765949511_5c373a283d.jpg

I am a happy camper :thumbs::thumbs2:

Carry on!

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can whlvr

Very cool trick,its nice to be able to modify things to suit our needs

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