I have leveled the deck but seems like even on the highest setting im at about 1.5 inches. Also on every pass it is leaving a strip of uncut grass directly in the center. The mower is the one in my sig. its an 04 model. It sat for 2-3 years prior to me obtaining it. I changed fuel, spark plug, solenoid, battery, ignition switch and oil. Had 2 pulleys locked up and lawnmower repair man fixed that problem. He charged me 85 to fix the 2 locked up pulleys and ignition switch. Belt snapped off tonight mid cut and I assume it was dry-rotted. I have no idea. Is it worth sinking more money into or am I better off getting a newer used mower? I have roughly 3 acres to mow. Front yard has about .5 - 1.0 acre that is probably a 18-20 slope. All help appreciated.
#2
reddragon
lets have the make/model/serial numbers first....off the top of my head.....bad blades/bad pulleys..bad blade brakes..deck level not adjusted...maybe even near flat tires....can you take pictures for us?.....2004 isnt old...i think its workable........Rome ITALY or U.S.A.?
There is always the issue of setting the blades in the proper direction with relationship to each other. If the blades are worn on the ends and not sharp there will be a strip in the middle. If the strip is in the middle of the mower and not in the overlap of two passes, it can't be the leveling of the deck. I'm assuming this mower has more than one blade, you know what they say about assumptions.
Speaking of flat tires, I can't count the times in the past I tried to level my deck with a tire flat.
#5
reddragon
i had that happen recently...a kid borrowed my 1998 craftsman and ran it into a ditch...bending the vortex baffle which hit the end of the blade...dulling and bent it!....never said a thing and found a week later what happened when i saw i had a 2" strip of grass left behind me...i hope i wasnt that stupid when i was 16!:laughing:
its a 2004 murray select 17.5 42".
model 425001X8A
serial 7537236431d025
Here are some pictures too. The one pic of the grass shows where its brown in the upper portion of the picture.......that is where it scalps it when I turn. The closeup of the deck is shown in the highest "6" position.
#8
reddragon
right away i can see your deck is way too low....see the adjustment slot in front of the back tire with the big plastic wing nut?.....put that at the bottom of the slot way and see how much it improves!......im surprised your belt isnt confetti yet!:laughing:
#9
reddragon
great pics by the way!...can you tip it ,carb side up and take photos of the blades?....thanks........by the way, your rig is worth keeping!....dont let people tell you murray's are junk!.....if you love it and take care of its special needs...they will serve you well!
#10
reddragon
after you raise it with the wing nuts both sides ...try to pull those pulley guards away from the pulley's a little bit....they look all twisted:thumbsup:
right away i can see your deck is way too low....see the adjustment slot in front of the back tire with the big plastic wing nut?.....put that at the bottom of the slot way and see how much it improves!......im surprised your belt isnt confetti yet!:laughing:
Funny you say that........My belt is what broke yesterday during the cut. is it because of how low to the ground? How would one suggest raising the lawn mower?
#12
reddragon
my last 2 posts told you....you can take a prybar or tire iron and put it under the edge of the mower deck and lift to relieve tension while you readjust the big wingnuts..[evenly on both sides of course]
my last 2 posts told you....you can take a prybar or tire iron and put it under the edge of the mower deck and lift to relieve tension while you readjust the big wingnuts..[evenly on both sides of course]
i actually meant raising the whole mower not the deck. i understood about the deck but you never mentioned a jack or just standing it up. I am about 300 lbs so i just lifted from the front and stood it up. pics of blades coming in a moment
only other real problem is backfire when turning off and a small gas leak near where screw mounts to frame
#16
reddragon
I GUESS YOUR A BIG BOY:laughing:...I THINK YOU NEED A SUPER HERO CAPE:laughing:....ANY WAYS, SERIOUSLY...THEY ARE VERY DULL....THEY CAN BE SHARPENED....I USE A 4" MAKITA DISC GRINDER...WHAT I CANT SEE ..IS IF THEY'RE BENT....YOU CAN USE A STRAIT EDGE LIKE A YARD STICK AND COMPARE ALL THE BLADE ENDS.....THEY ALSO LOOK A LITTLE SHORT,BUT THAT MIGHT BE THE PICTURE..YOU CAN TAKE THE WORST ONE OFF AND TAKE IT TO THE PARTS PLACE AND COMPARE TO THE NEW ONE.....A NEW PAIR WILL RUN $38....ID GET THE BLADES SORTED OUT ,READJUST YOUR DECK HEIGHT AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE:thumbsup:
Red Dragon has given you some good advice. All I would add is that if it were me, I would put some new blades on it and not try to sharpen those. Those rounded ends on the blades are probably what is causing the little line of uncut grass in the middle.
And.........as he said, it DOES appear that those blades are a little short. It doesn't look like they overlap in the middle. If you buy new ones, I would use an application guide to find the right blades instead of just matching the ones that are on there now.
My mower always backfired when I turned it off. Finally someone that knew more than me told me to leave it at about half throttle when I turned the key off. Problem solved.
I've been reading this thread, the only point that hasn't been mentioned is that the two small wheels on the mower deck don't hit the ground except when the deck is all the way down. Maybe I don't need to mention the trivial things.
I've been reading this thread, the only point that hasn't been mentioned is that the two small wheels on the mower deck don't hit the ground except when the deck is all the way down. Maybe I don't need to mention the trivial things.
They are not supposed to touch the ground. Their function is to keep it from scalping when running over a rut or some other abrupt changes in the terrain.
found a manual online for model #425001x8 murray like mine. Does it need the A at the end of the model number to be compatible for blades and belts or am I good to do with it? here is the link http://ubermanuals.com/product/murray-425001x8-12884
Ok so I inflated all my tires to right psi. Went to lawnmower shop and bought new belt and new blades. Adjusted the deck and it is still kind of low looking. Also I still have that strip in the middle if i mow above 2nd gear.
You had your deck exposed once for a picture... Do it again, but in this picture turn the blades so the tips are as close to touching as they can get... What is the distance between them? That measurement will never change, no matter what engine RPM you mow at, the blades will not stretch and interfere with each other.
One other thing I noticed, the rear of your deck looks lower than the front... That is backwards of what you want for the smoothest & best cut. The front should be slightly lower then the back.
Ok I noticed two things...
You are cutting too much in a single cut. Don't let it get so high between cuttings, you should mow often enough to not be cutting more than a third of the total height on any cutting... If you are cutting half the length or more, you will not get a perfect result & it is very tuff on the grass... :smile:KennyV
Well some of us mechanically inclined young guys aren't that stupid. I'm a 23 year old EETC certified outdoor power equipment tech and I know for a fact I wasn't that stupid at 16.
Well some of us mechanically inclined young guys aren't that stupid. I'm a 23 year old EETC certified outdoor power equipment tech and I know for a fact I wasn't that stupid at 16.
I agree with the others that the blades look way too short.
May be just the angle of the photo but turn them and if they don't almost touch they are too short.
Kenny is right about only cutting a third, If you still have some left to cut raise the deck all the way up and mow like that then lower the deck and mow it again this will work much better than cutting all of it at once.
That mower will never mow stuff that tall fast it don't have the capacity ,Mow in 1st gear it will work much better
couple more stupid questions. Do the blades come sharpened? They seemed dull stock. Also they are not touching (close) but are the exact model from the manual.
couple more stupid questions. Do the blades come sharpened? They seemed dull stock. Also they are not touching (close) but are the exact model from the manual.
The new blades will work fine they don't want to be razor sharp.
The blades should come within about 1/8" of touching.
If you think about the design you will see why I prefer a 3 blade deck.
With a 3 blade the front blade overlaps the area that the 2 blades behind will cut so as long as the deck is set properly it will do a nice job of mowing.
With a 2 blade and tall grass you must go slow or grass will not get cut in the gap between the blades.
I think a 3 blade is a better designed deck.
I believe the main reason for a 2 blade deck is less cost to manufacture than a 3 blade deck.
I know I had a problem when my son would stand on the deck of my mower. The only way I new how to fix it was to stand on the other side. Might not be the correct way but it worked. :smile:
