How to inspect a mower deck

[cod 116]

Might as well make this a day for mower deck questions so here goes...

 

Besides rust, old belts and worn spindle bearings what are the best ways look over a deck to see if it's been bent or twisted?  I friend of mine has a 1990's 42" RD with the reinforced lower edge and it looks great but it just doesn't seem to mow smoothly and we're stumped as we don't see any obvious issues.  We've taken it off his tractor and measured the distance from the lower lip to the floor of his garage and opposite sides are within 1/16 of each other.  We've tried leveling it using the instructions in the manual.  We flipped it over and when we rotate the blades by each other they are all within 1/32 of an inch.  The only glitch we've found is that when the deck is installed and he raises it to travel position, the left stop hits first and stops while the right side is still coming up.  We're assuming the rubber bumpers could be worn and raising the deck should affect how it mows but...

 

We were joking that this winter we may tear the whole thing apart, lay the deck on a surface plate( he's a tool maker ) and measure some more but I doubt any deck has that kind of tolerance.  He does like to mow his grass high and perhaps we need to look at a way of leveling the deck with the height wheel on the highest setting instead of one of the middle ones?

 

So any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks - Cod

[KyBlue 652]

I have a 42" that does the same thing ... Found out that when I picked it up the deck shell was twisting from a few cracks and prior WTF rust repairs ...

 

There's my thread and pictures...might give you some idea of where to look for trouble spots.

 

I'll be media blasting the shell next weekend and getting busy with repairs ...

[Lane Ranger 10,530]

I  have a recycler deck 42 inch with the baffles inside.   The deck is in good shape and has the same reinforced edge on it Cod.   What I found by investigating is the idler arm on the deck had been wallored out in two places  (one underneath the idler pulley) and the deck  lift frame that attaches in the center to the tractor lift also had wallored out holes from use (20 years or more).   I replaced both of these pieces .   I have not used the deck again  as I am waiting for Spring to do so.   But I think that had a lot to do with the bad cut I was getting on the 42 inch recycler deck.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2014 by Lane Ranger

[daveoman1966 3,629]

When mowing grass, with 36 42 or 48 inch decks, the deck should NOT be running on the front Anti-scalp rollers if on flat level ground.  The 3 front Anti-scalp rollers are for precisely that...ANTI-SCALP.  They should NOT be on the ground rolling all the time...that is not their purpose. 

 

Having said that, the front of the deck should be suspended by the lift hardware on a flat level surface with thr front roller slightly off the ground.  The deck rear would then be on the two rear gage wheels giving a  3-point configuration and the deck should cut evenly....think Tri-Pod.   If it doesn't cut evenly, your hardware is worn out or you have aspirations of being a sculptor.

[Lane Ranger 10,530]

Here are a couple more pictures of the wallored out idle arm off my 42 inch recycler deck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the new idler arm piece for comparison to the old one I had on the 42 inch recycler deck:

 

Edited October 30, 2014 by Lane Ranger

[PaulC 341]

That idler arms only purpose it to keep the belt taught it has nothing to do with the way the deck cuts and I believe those slots should be slots not holes. The one is a little worn in the opposing direction but I would think it will be fine.

 

What do you mean it doesn't mow smoothly? cuts good but it loud? doesn't cut good?

 

the proper way to set it up is to measure from the ground to the blade tips when the deck is mounted on the tractor and in cutting position but there isn't much room so it sure aint easy.

[Lane Ranger 10,530]

The idler belt can not run tight when the idler arm is not flat or bounces side to side as this old one did Paul.   It was made with slots not holes but the holes or slots were not worn thin and wide like the pictures show.   A new idler arm and the nylon bushings were installed and it is now tight.  The mower deck carriage had dthe same basic problem.  The slots the lift arm rides in were wallored out wider than original  specs which made the deck bounce. 

 

The cut of the three blades in the deck was uneven  before the two parts were changed.  As I indicated I will see in the Spring what it does on the cut.    I did check the blade height from the ground to blade tips at the start of my use of this mower deck and they were  fairly even height from concrete garage floor.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Lane Ranger

[cod 116]

Thanks guys for the responses and after I had a chance to catch up with my friend here's an update.  He took the tractor and placed in on a level area in his garage.  He checked the tire pressure to make sure all the tires were at the correct pressure for the front and rear.  He adjusted the height adjuster to the height he wanted, placed a level on the right side of the mower deck and started tightening the adjustment rod to make the deck level.  Once he got the bubble centered to indicate the deck was level, he went over to the left side and checked it there.  He found out that the left side was higher towards the front by at least 1/3 of bubble.  With that in mind he decided to split the difference between the two sides and live with it as he's only got a couple of more weeks of mowing to worry about and he is more satisfied with how it cuts after making this adjustment. B Before he adjusted it, the deck appeared the leave a "slight groove" as if the center blade was lower and apparently it was.

 

I suspect I'll get an "invite" later this winter to help twist it back and as he's got a refrigerator full of beer and a pellet stove in the garage, I doubt I'll be able to resist...