Evening all,
I have a 2010 BB ZT Elite 60 inch deck. Had it since new. Lately I've been having issues with uneven mowing pattern. I've tried leveling the deck according to the manual but I can't for the life of me get the front level. Every time I get it close and just need one more adjustment on the turnbuckles it goes the other way or drops the other side down. Very frustrating to say the least. I've searched google and can't find a good video for this mower anywhere.
Thanks
#2
7394
Add an extra 1/2 lb air to the low side., Till you can get it properly adjusted.
Well I started working landscaping jobs when I was 13-14, worked all through highschool in the summers mowing grass and doing landscaping professionally. So I'm particular about my mowing patterns,deck height, maintenance etc. Doesn't help I have roughly 3.5 acres of 9 to mow and its a mine field of mole hills.
Bad Boy has different ways of attaching their decks to the frame, so we are going to need to know which year your unit was built. Also, they are the only manufacturer who says to measure the deck height, not blade tip height when leveling the deck. I never use this method, as it will not take into account if the blade heights are slightly off. Too many variables I can’t control using this method.
I stated its a 2010. It has ther turnbuckles up front and the chains on the rear. I'm working on it right now. I can't figure out how the front of the deck is an inch or more higher than the rear.
Because you can’t provide us with model numbers and Bad Boy identifies it’s models by numbers, which are located under the seat on the SIN tag, not names I’m going to assume that you have a model 2300. To get to the starting point I would do the following, but that will be up to you. 1. You should be on a hard level surface. 2. Adjust the tire pressure on all four tires to 12 psi and turn the tires to the direction they would be when moving forward. 3. Set the height adjusting knob to 3.5. 4. There is NO threaded chain adapter. Set the chains so they are in the middle of the slot. 5. Set the turnbuckle adjuster so you have close to the equal number of threads both inside and outside the turnbuckle. If they are too far off you may have to remove the turnbuckle and start from scratch. After you do all this you can start to level the deck, in the case of Bad Boys I like to use a combination square and not a tape rule. Now adjust the chains so the height of the deck to be the same as close to 3.5” as possible, while also watching to get the deck level side to side. Bad Boy does not make this easy, so patience is your friend. (An optional way to do this is to cut 4 six inch long 2X4 and then plane them down to 3.625“, to put under the four corners of the deck. They all must be 3.625”. After you position the blocks adjust the chains tight. When you remove the blocks the deck will drop slight, reason for the slight oversized.) You then have to adjust the large turnbuckles to raise the back of the deck 1/4”, by turning each turnbuckle the same amount. I suggest 1/2 turn at a time on each one. After reaching 1/4” lock each adjuster with the locking nut. By the attitude you’ve shown me in your response I’m assuming you are going to say this is what I’ve done in the past, but it‘s the best I can do for you.
No attitude at all. I'll get those numbers for you no problem. I took your previous post as asking for the year, not the information on the tag. My fault for assuming. I'm just frustrated with this thing. The deck is way off if you go by bad boys reccomendation for leveling.
Thanks for your response and help. Right now I'd say the front of the deck is almost 1.5 inches higher than the rear. I think starting from scratch is best. Completely removing the turnbuckles and going from there.
Dropped the deck on wood like you suggested and adjusted the chains and turnbuckles from there. I still need to do a little fine tuning, just ran out of time.
If you started on a level surface with properly inflated tires, then set it on equal sized blocks, it should be level??? Don’t understand why it wouldn’t be??
My turnbuckles were all out of whack from prior tries fixing it. I got the front set right. I think my back chain on driver side wasn't tight enough and let it slip when I raised the deck. No biggie. I just had somewhere to be at the time.
