42" SD Deck Questions

[Furious 23]

I have a '68 Electro 12 and recently purchased a good used '90s 42" deck model 15-42SC01.  The deck is in great shape, new blades, bearings, all new wheels, no rust.  I installed it on the Electro 12 yesterday per the Wheel Horse manual and tried a test cut.  Deck runs fine but cuts uneven side to side.  It's not leaving a strip, just cutting lower.  I haven't been able to determine what side is lower yet, I'll get to that tonight.  Any ideas on how what I can do to get an even cut?  I can post some pictures later tonight and I'll have a better idea of what side is cutting uneven after I hit a strip in the front yard.

[Ed Kennell 40,272]

This problem will probably require many pictures to resolve.  

Some suggestions;

Is the deck carriage installed fully in both sides of the attach-a-matic  with the fork hooked on the front rod?

Are the height adjustment wheels the same size?

With the deck removed from the tractor and sitting on a flat surface, do the blade tips all measure the same height from the flat surface?

Does your deck have one or three anti scalp wheels  on the front of the deck?

[Furious 23]

Thanks for the reply Ed and I agree, pictures will definitely help.  To answer your questions, it is installed properly in the attach-a-matic, however I noticed that the attach-a-matic hooks do have some wear.  All the wheels are brand new old stock, 2 new 6" adjustment wheels, 3 anti-scalp on the front and 2 on the back.  I will be bringing it into my garage this afternoon and checking level and distances as I've seen suggested on other threads.  I'll let you know what I discover.  One question I do have is that when I installed the blades, I noticed that they are actually "lower" than the deck shell.  That is, if I were to set the deck on the ground without the anti-scalp wheels, the deck would rest on the spindle shafts vice the shell...if that makes sense.  It's not a lot, maybe 1/4" below the shell. 

[Furious 23]

Update. I got the deck mostly level. I think there are several issues at once here. First, I think the deck is sprung on the discharge side or at least what I think "sprung" means anyway. I took some pipe clamps and pulled the sides in until the top of the deck was level across the width then bolted  1/4" c-channel to the top to hold it in place (my welder died a few months ago). I think that took care of that part. Then it was on to the center pulley which I found was "tilted" forward, probably from over tightening the mule drive belt.  I then hammered that back to level. Unfortunately without a welder I can't really reinforce that so I'm expecting it to give way again. Next, I had to shim each blade individually so that when the deck is installed they're all within 1/8-1/4" of each other. Took about 4 hours and multiple installs and removals but the deck mows pretty well now. I'll need to eventually replace my mid mount hooks because they're fairly worn but at least I can mow without creating unsightly strips. Long post but I wanted to update everyone.  I'll try to post some pics later. 

[Rollerman 290]

Seems like every 42"SD deck I've owned recently cuts low to the one side.

 

The deck shells do get tweaked, the later decks had a reinforcement rod around the base & helped make them more rigid.

 

I've found the height adjustment assembly the biggest culprit in the few I've worked on.

The bushings that hold it on back of the deck become worn, the hardware also gets "tweaked".

Also the bar going across with the wheel on either side can get twisted....I caught myself doing this once trimming around a post.

While creeping backwards I pulled one of the height adjustment wheels into the post (unintentionally) & noticed a difference in the cut afterwards.

Just some other things to look for.

 

[Furious 23]

Yes, I agree, the deck is weak on the discharge side. I bolted the c channel in, next step will be to weld in a reinforcing bar. Seen some pictures so it should be fairly easy. I also purchased some reinforcement plates for where the spindles mount. I'll make sure everything is square and level then weld them in. The shell should be bulletproof then.