Mower deck not level

[fred846]

Hi,
I have an old ranch king 42" with what they call a deep deck. Actually it is a G deck. I thought I would check the deck to see if it is level. It is more than 1" higher in the front than the back and I don't know how to fix this. Is there an adjustment on front to back leveling?

Thank You Fred

 

[ILENGINE]

My ESP is currently down, so I have no idea what model of mower your are trying to repair. Post a model and serial number if you can, so I can see what you see.

 

[fred846]

The model number is 131-659G-205. I can't read the serial number it is scratched off.

I found out today that I have bigger problems than adjusting the deck.
I remembered the last time I used it I hit a good sized rock with the deck and that probably sprung something. Now the deck is pushed back on one side a couple inches. I am going to pull the deck tomorrow and see if I can find what I bent and see if I can get it back into shape. I just hope I can find something obvious that is damaged. The odd thing is that the side of the deck that I hit is actually more forward than the other side. I don't understand that.
I need to get it fixed as the grass is going to need mowed soon. I have 2 1/2 acres and don't want to have to use my push mower. LOL This is a lesson for me. Treat these machines with a little respect or pay the price.

Thank You Fred

 

[ILENGINE]

There are several possibly causes for your deck problems by looking at the part diagram. the arms that connect to the front and rear of the deck getting bent will throw the deck level off, as well as wear in the pivot points. Also the plate at the rear of the deck that pulls the deck back to engage the blades, can get sprung, and well as get excessive wear in the pivot points. MTD used that setup for years, and can be a real pain when something gets out of kilter.

 

[pfrancz]

Re: Mower deck not level: deck mis-alignment - blades keep spinning when disengaged

Dear MTD Forum:
I believe when my MTD mower deck was pushed to one side by a tree root/obstruction has caused misalignment.

1. Now the blades keep spinning when the belt tensioner is disengaged.
2. The deck being raised by the lever, lessens this by raising the belt slightly.
3. Looking for the best way to get the belt loose or deck aligned.
4. The friction brake on one of the pulley doesn't seem to hold the pulley from spinning.
5. Makes the mower hard to start and a safety issue with the blades spinning slightly. 6. Don't beielve the brake has an adjustment only spiring loaded.

I would appreciate any tips, the mower deck cuts fine when belt engages and belt does engage well. The blades idle when the belt is disengaged.

 

[ILENGINE]

When you hit the rock, it may have bent the plate that connects on the back of the deck that pulls the deck back to engage the blades, or the mounts on the deck where that plate attaches on the rear of the deck. Could have also bent the rod that pushes that plate forward to disengage. The arms that connect to the deck may also be bent. You know the ones that seem like you remove about 1000 pins to remove the deck.

 

[Ifixdit]

Re: Mower deck not level: deck mis-alignment - blades keep spinning when disengaged

Dear MTD Forum:
I believe when my MTD mower deck was pushed to one side by a tree root/obstruction has caused misalignment.

1. Now the blades keep spinning when the belt tensioner is disengaged.
2. The deck being raised by the lever, lessens this by raising the belt slightly.
3. Looking for the best way to get the belt loose or deck aligned.
4. The friction brake on one of the pulley doesn't seem to hold the pulley from spinning.
5. Makes the mower hard to start and a safety issue with the blades spinning slightly. 6. Don't beielve the brake has an adjustment only spiring loaded.

I would appreciate any tips, the mower deck cuts fine when belt engages and belt does engage well. The blades idle when the belt is disengaged.

#3 - You gotta remove the spring from the idler pulley to release the tension from the belt. That's the safer method over using a large pry bar to release the tension off the idler pulley with the spring still attached.
#4 - Take a look at the friction brake pad. If it's not holding either the pad is excessively worn from stopping the pulley and should be replaced or maybe there is debris or an obstruction preventing the brake pad from pivoting freely.

 

[pfrancz]

Re: Mower deck not level: deck mis-alignment - blades keep spinning when disengaged

#3 - You gotta remove the spring from the idler pulley to release the tension from the belt. That's the safer method over using a large pry bar to release the tension off the idler pulley with the spring still attached.
#4 - Take a look at the friction brake pad. If it's not holding either the pad is excessively worn from stopping the pulley and should be replaced or maybe there is debris or an obstruction preventing the brake pad from pivoting freely.

Some Solutions: DYNAMARK 12/38 1985 mower, OVH XL 12, Blades and Belt spinning with engage in Neutral

In working on the deck to fix/correct the BLADE SPINNING issues in neutral, we observed the items below:
After the corrections: The belt is still when the lever is disengaged.

1. That when the deck is level and parallel with the engine pulley, less tension is on the belt and the belt doesn't turn as easily. This helps keep the brakes engaged.
2. There is some wear on the brakes, but we believe they can still hold the belt/pulleys still.
3. Also as the mower deck's front support cable was broken and the deck front dropped, adding belt tension, we rebuilt that cable, to hlod the deck level.
4. The rear deck 3/8" thick, guide bracket required rebuilding to hold the deck right under the mower, that helped keep the tension off the belt.
5. We reset the valuve lash on the OVH XL 12 hp engine to manual setting .004" (?) too tight-valve burning ? to help in relieving the compression when starting.
6. We moved the tensioner of the RH belt brake to a farther anchor point to add tnesion and brake holding power.
7. Made sure all debris under deck is removed so tensioner ca n relax and retract fully.

Thanks for you rreply and suggestions, I apprecaite your hel:smile: