1992 Craftsman 36" 917.256820

[Blaine B.]

I studied your latest pics a bit more, It seems I was wrong about the RIGHT side hanger, I would think, the adjustment nuts would be facing outboard on BOTH sides to make adjustments easier (nuts outside of the brackets) PATIENCE ... and thought will prevail, your efforts will pay pay-off in the end. It would be nice if you had a same type mower or a detailed service manual to guide you but just do what you think works best for you.

That's what I would think, for ease of adjustment, having the adjustment nuts on the outside of both of the deck's brackets.

I tried that too......having both brackets on the inside, and both brackets on the outside, and the alignment was too cockeyed to make proper connection possible. Also, as you can see, there is nothing obvious that is bent, either. The height adjustment linkage looks straight and so does everything else.

 

[Boobala]

there must be some kind of front support that may be the problem, it doesn't take much to upset the apple cart......

 

[Blaine B.]

I'll let you know what I find when I dig further

 

[Blaine B.]

Today, I ended up removing the deck entirely. I didn't find any bent bracketry anywhere, not on the tractor and not on the deck, either. I'm not sure why the hanger brackets seem to be slightly skewed, but I think it makes sense that all of the retainer clips are facing the LEFT side of the deck. This applies to both of the front hangers under the front axle, the front height adjustment, the spring for blade engagement, and both of the rear hanger/height adjustment brackets as well. All clips face towards the left. Probably so you can unclip the deck without having to move around to the other side.

Installed my new Oregon Gator blades, and then I proceeded to level the deck. I actually adjusted all 3 of the height adjustment brackets to their highest potential.

I mowed my lawn, and I feel as if the mower is still cutting too low for how I would normally cut in the hot summer months here in Chicagoland. The lawn also got scalped in two spots, but I'm not really concerned about this because one of those was a mistake where I dropped off of the kerb in to the street, and the other is an area where a tree used to be, and without anti-scalping wheels on this deck, this would probably be a problem with any bigger mower, besides with the normal Toro Personal Pace mowers I have been using for decades.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how to raise the deck even higher? I have all 4 tires aired up to the maximum PSI listed on the sidewall. I could add additional air, but I don't feel as if over-inflating the tires is a solution. Bigger tires, maybe?

The deck is set to the HIGHEST level, or transport mode. This just seems odd for the highest, maximum cutting level to not actually be all that high, and having a Toro Personal Pace from 2004 with "bald" tires actually beats this riding mower for height adjustment.

Secondly, I HATE side discharge. It makes such a mess, definitely not what I am accustomed to. The hole in the deck for the side discharge is a wonky shape but I'm feeling as if I am going to have to device SOME sort of blocker plate to stop this madness.

If anyone else has experienced some of the same issues that I have, I would be interested to hear if you ever worked out a solution for them!

PS, I also got the parking brake to be functional. Had to tighten up the jamb nuts against the spring on the brake arm. The brakes worked but the parking brake doesn't hold at the same force that a rider's foot will. Now it's like butter. I can leave the transmission in 4th gear (highest) and just ease on and off of the clutch to get it moving nicely as well.

 

[Blaine B.]

If you notice, the front mounting hole in the deck bracket for the hanger is SLOTTED which means that normally the hanger will ride towards the top of the slot. I drilled a new hole in the deck bracket just beside but at the equal distance to where the hanger would sit in the slot furthest downwards, which brings the deck up approximately 1".

In combination with putting 20 PSI in all 4 tires (which is above the maximum pressures by about 6 PSI) I am able to achieve 4.25" blade height from concrete to blade tip while in the highest transport mode. This is also with all 3 hangers adjusted to the highest possible position. I also had to remove the left side belt guard from on top of the mandrel/spindle as it contacted the bottom of the tractor body and would not allow the deck to come all of the way up. For some reason, the guard on the left side is taller than the guard on the right side of the deck.

This 4.25" is just about equal in maximum height with my Toro Personal Pace 22" lawn mower. So this is what I will be cutting with, as it is as good as it is going to get. I can't physically raise the deck any higher without the pullys contacting the bottom of the tractor body. The next and only alternative would be larger diameter tires.

I also ordered new belts for the ground drive and blade drive as I noticed a large crack in the blade drive belt.

My last order of business will be fabricating some sort of plate to cover the side discharge.

Other than that the mower is really useful and fun! Mowed on Friday night and then again on Saturday afternoon.

To be honest I wish it cut a little higher. What's the maximum blade height on YOUR tractors? Just curious......are there models out there that have a higher height than others? I tried searching for information relating to this but found virtually nothing besides people complaining about uneven cuts. Surely I can't be the only individual in the lawn tractor market that thought my tractor cut too low?

 

[BlazNT]

Most residential mowers get to 3.5 inches max.

Now for your lawn. Very few grasses if any should be cut above 4". They can not create a root structure to maintain that height. You will slowly kill your grass if you cut it too high and quickly kill your grass if you cut it too short. Find out what grass you have and its optimal height and cut it at that height.

 

[Blaine B.]

I am assuming that most of it is some sort of kentucky bluegrass. I have seeded two large areas that used to have river rocks and the local landscaping places told me that kentucky bluegrass was a great seed to blend in. And they were right.

I don't water my lawn here in the summer. Yes it still goes dormant during the hottest times of the year, but I normally cut around 4" I would say. If the top notch on my Toro mower is 4.25", I normally cut two notches below that, so that would be approximately 3.75" I guess. Toro claims that the 9 height adjustment notches from 1.25" to 4.25", so that would put each not at about .33" or so. However, since I have been letting my grass grow longer I believe it has improved. Less weeds, less dry-out in the summer. I remember when I was young, thinking that cutting the grass very short had a positive impact, but it really doesn't. It's going to grow at the same rate no matter what, of course, when it's dried out and dormant in the summer.

It just seemed that the lawn tractor cut lower than that before I made my adjustments. Maybe because it is heavier and sinks down further in to the lawn? That was my assessment and it was visual, too. I can tell, not not necessarily explain why or how.

 

[BlazNT]

Mow to a height of 1 1/2 -2 inches for a high-quality lawn. Allow clippings from frequent mowing to remain on the lawn. Never remove more than 1/3 of the shoot growth at one mowing. Kentucky Bluegrass may develop some thatch at higher nitrogen levels. Dethatch in early fall.

 

[Blaine B.]

While I haven't bagged my grass in years, I know that if I was to revert to cutting it that short that my lawn quality would suffer. Ever since I have started rising my mower's cutting height has my yard really started to look exceptional. It stays hydrated longer during the summer and there are less weeds.

I also do fertilize with the 4 season mixtures from either Scotts or Ace Hardware.