My JD X320 has an issue where when I raise the deck, the parking break moves as if the two were connected. Apparently, the rockshaft is moving whenever I press the deck lift OR the parking break. I don't believe both of these pedals should move the rockshaft should they?
Anyway, what this is causing is that the deck lift is acting like a break and engaging the same cam that the parking brake engages to prevent the Go pedal from operating.
Can someone clarify for me, should the deck lift operate independently of the brake pedal or are they designed to work together as one?
Also, the parking break doesn't appear to fully reset to home position, I can still pull it up with my hand. Perhaps a weak or worn spring?
Update. I figured out the problem. The deck left lever/pedal is connected to the same lever rod (rockshaft) as the brake pedal. The deck lift is simply suppose to pivot around the rockshaft and not move it. There is a actually a zerk grease fitting on the deck lift lever at this pivot point.
I managed to break it loose with a bit of wd40 lubricant but it still moves the rockshaft. I have to hold one pedal to force the other to move independently. I'm going to try let the lubricant soak in a bit more and I've also applied to grease to the joint.
Anything else you guys would suggest to make this pivot freely?
OK, after a full day of working on this I have a pretty full understanding of what the issue was and a mostly full understanding of how to fix it. For anyone who has a similar problem, here goes:
First, if your deck lift and your brake pedal move simultaneously, you have a problem. The issue here is that the deck lift pedal assembly fits onto the same axle/lever arm that the brake pedal fits on (aka "Rockshaft"). However, the deck lift assembly should freely rotate on that rockshaft arm without moving it - its only supposed to act as a pivot point on the deck lift side and nothing more. Further, there is a grease fitting at the joint where the deck lift assembly meets the rockshaft arm and that's crucial to keeping it from binding and causing the problem I'm describing. Mine had become stuck and needed to be broken loose with some penetrating oil (I used WD-40) and then grease added to the joint via the grease fitting.
Now, once you have that resolved, and if you still have some binding occurring where the deck lift action causes the the brake pedal to depress (or even slightly move), I believe the springs also come into play. These springs are crucial to the operation of independent movement of the deck lift pedal and the brake pedal. The springs on my mower, I believe have worn and no longer pull the pedals all the way back up to home position (or keep them in the home position until heavy foot pressure is applied).
So whenever I press the deck lift down, I still get some movement of my brake pedal due to the fact that I believe the tension spring that should be holding that brake pedal home has loosened to the point its not strong enough to hold and overcome the torque from when the deck lift is operated. Whenever this occurs, I have to reach down with my right hand and pull that brake pedal back home in order to regain forward motion on the mower.
Hope that helps. I'll update once I figure out the spring issue.
