How to level mower deck side-side

[clip 185]

Hi all, working on the 42" SD deck.

Just finished mowing the yard and I'm noticing a frustrating stripe where the mower deck is cutting slightly uneven. All tires are new and at proper pressure, and took the rear wheel weights off just to see if the tractor was crushing the grass giving an uneven look. Mower deck gage wheels are new, and the front-rear level is 1/8-1/4" higher in the rear. On the second from max setting, my right blade is sitting about 2-1/4" and the left is at 3-1/8". This is with the blades east-west. Front-back all are slightly higher in the rear after adjustment.

How do you level the deck side-side? Will I have to cut and re-weld the gage wheel bar?

[doc724 925]

If memory serves me right, on 42 inch decks there is no side to side height adjustment (there is on a 48).  If yours is uneven, something has been bent, either the shell or the gage wheel bars.  Pull the rear gage wheel assy off the deck and with the wheels removed, clamp one of the gage wheel bars to a flat surface.  The other gage wheel bar should lie flat on the same flat surface.  If it does not, then yo have a clue where to start.  Another place to look is at the underside baffles, is one of them broken away from the shell (broken weld)

[clip 185]

Good point about the baffles. It's broken at both side spindles, but the deck lip is roughly even on both sides. I'll start with the gage wheel bar as I'm thinking that's the culprit. One wheel touches and the other doesn't when the deck is in the transport position unless I adjust the transport stops.

[skrusins 128]

Their have been alot of warped shells

[can whlvr 993]

I had to squeeze one at the discharge and then weld a round bar across the bottom to hold,like the older decks had

[clip 185]

Can you post a picture? I'm guessing you secured one side and twisted the other in line, then added a thick bar along the rear to prevent it from twisting back?

Mine already has a round bar from the factory across the discharge, I'm planning on clamping a straightedge along it and seeing if all blades measure the same across the straightedge to see if it's twisted. 

[can whlvr 993]

I was just meaning round bar,yours has that and is still spreading ?is it low on the discharge side,usually that's the side that mows lower

[clip 185]

Yeah it's lower by almost an inch. Haven't taken the gage wheel bar off yet, but might just be easier to cut and reweld that.

[cleat 7,027]

May not need to cut it. Just put one end in a vise and twist at the other end until both ends sit flat.

[clip 185]

Figured it out!

I took the gauge wheel bar off and checked it, everything was straight. No solution there.

I found two wear points that contributed to extra play: the pin that sets the gauge wheel height was worn through about 1/3 the diameter, and the gauge wheel height plate (with 5 notches) was spaced a little far away from the height lever. This meant that the pin was holding all the weight of the gauge wheels/deck. I added a little filler metal with the acetylene torch to build the pin back up to regular diameter and slid the height plate closer to the height handle so the handle takes the force instead of the pin.

The other wear point was the mid mount attachment bar. One of the spacers/sleeves had worn on the side, allowing the attachment bar to slide left somewhat and wear further. I added more filler metal to build the sleeve back to normal and gave everything a coat of paint.

I reattached the deck and mowed Saturday, and got rid of the uneven side-side cutting. I'll post some pictures if anyone is interested.

Also, if anyone needs this done let me know! Mine was driving me crazy.

[bmsgaffer 2,046]

We always love pictures! Its great help to anyone searching for help in the future that runs across these threads.

[can whlvr 993]

sounds like a great repair