I've been searching for the past couple of days looking for a mower adjustment thread I saw a while back, but have had zero luck using several different search terms. I thought I had copied and pasted it into a word document, but apparently not. Anyway, the directions provided in one of the replies on the thread were something similar to park on a level surface, check air pressure in tires, raise the deck to the top, set height adjustment knob to 4. Place a 4 inch block under the front and rear of the deck, lower the deck, and make adjustments as needed. I know where to make the adjustments both front, back, side to side. Just looking for the thread it's in if anyone remembers it or knows where it is. Thanks for your help.
Mower Adjustment Thread BX MMM
- Thread starter imnukensc
- Start date
You pretty well have it covered right there. Just set your height adjustment knob to the desired height, then adjust you anti scalp wheels just a little off the ground while parked on a level surface.
Ok I found it.
It is somthing I posted, had to do some digging to,find it.
From the book.
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19467
Ray
It is somthing I posted, had to do some digging to,find it.
From the book.
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19467
Ray
Set the deck height to whatever you cut your grass at.
Adjust tire pressures. Ideally you want the two rear tires to be equal, and the two fronts to be equal. Side to side is what you're after, not so much front to rear. Typically on the BX's, about 22 in the fronts and about 15 in the rears seems to work.
Measure your cutting height at the blades. Lots of cources say to measure at the deck shell and that's dead wrong. The deck shell doesn't cut the grass. Turn the blades so that the left and right blade are pointing to the left and right, both about equally. Measure, then adjust side to side as needed. Within 1/8" is fine, I like them to be zero from side to side but I'm picky. 1/8" difference is not noticeable when cutting.
Now turn the center and right blade so that they're facing fore and aft. Measure the back side of the right side blade, log that measurement, and then measure the FRONT side of the center blade. You want the front to be about 1/8" lower than the rear. The reason the front needs to be low is so that as the mower is traveling forwards, the front 1/3 of the blade is doing the work. This takes some load off of the deck drive and also frees up a little horsepower. I have successfully run them at zero bias front to rear and it cuts better, slightly, but it also takes more power to do it. Typically I won't set a mower at zero F-R bias unless it's something that's got plenty of power; like a BX2670 or a ZD331 with a 60", something like that. Or if I know a consumer is either mulching or extremely picky. Mulching is a whole different ballgame.
Cutting tips. Mow in different directions each mowing cycle. If you're mowing, say, a 1 acre yard that is open, one mowing you can cut it in circles. The next mowing cut it diagonally. Next time cross ways. So on and so forth. So many folks mow the same direction all the time and it will affect cut quality. Keep the blades sharp. Rounded tips will negatively affect your cut, and drastically even with a LITTLE rounding on the corners of the cutting edges. It doesn't take much to make a big difference. Blades wear out. If they're rounded, replace, don't sharpen. If the ramps are worn, replace. I see them in the shop constantly, the ramps wear right where the ramp meets the main part of the blade, and eventually if you don't watch them, they'll begin to crack. A crack will run down the length of the blade, then the cracked part falls off and goes through the rib cage of somebody's kid. Mowers are dangerous machines.
Mulching. You need to slow the travel speed down. You can't cut as much off the top of the grass. You can't mulch wet grass, not at all. Deck must be level front to rear and side to side, within about 1/8" max. And the blades should be sharp. I've found on our old fleet of ZG222's that a razor sharp edge mulches MUCH better than a "typical" edge. I used to grind the edges on brand new blades if that tells you anything. But a sharp edge like that also is susceptible to getting dinged easily, so the operator has to be mindful of what he's mowing over. On my G1900/54" I will mow everything that's under 3" in diameter but my yard is not a manicured yard, thus I don't put a lot of attention into blade/cut quality. Probably better than most of the neighbor's yards but I don't go out of my way. There is no way I'd do it with another brand mower, no way at all. I used to sell John Deere stuff and 99% of them would be back at some point with a bent deck shell. That is, until they came out with the old 7-iron decks which were about 1/4" thick steel. They didn't bend easily.
What's your mower doing? If you see 3 stripes behind you, the deck is not level front to rear. If you see a "stepped cut", it is not level side-to-side. Balls of clippings, going too fast or the grass is too wet. Uncut wire grass? Going to fast and/or taking too much off.
There's a few thoughts on mowers, for what they're worth; and all are assuming that the mower itself is in good mechanical condition. Worn spindle bearings will affect the cut. Worn idlers will let the belt slip, affects the blade speed and cut quality. Etc etc.
Adjust tire pressures. Ideally you want the two rear tires to be equal, and the two fronts to be equal. Side to side is what you're after, not so much front to rear. Typically on the BX's, about 22 in the fronts and about 15 in the rears seems to work.
Measure your cutting height at the blades. Lots of cources say to measure at the deck shell and that's dead wrong. The deck shell doesn't cut the grass. Turn the blades so that the left and right blade are pointing to the left and right, both about equally. Measure, then adjust side to side as needed. Within 1/8" is fine, I like them to be zero from side to side but I'm picky. 1/8" difference is not noticeable when cutting.
Now turn the center and right blade so that they're facing fore and aft. Measure the back side of the right side blade, log that measurement, and then measure the FRONT side of the center blade. You want the front to be about 1/8" lower than the rear. The reason the front needs to be low is so that as the mower is traveling forwards, the front 1/3 of the blade is doing the work. This takes some load off of the deck drive and also frees up a little horsepower. I have successfully run them at zero bias front to rear and it cuts better, slightly, but it also takes more power to do it. Typically I won't set a mower at zero F-R bias unless it's something that's got plenty of power; like a BX2670 or a ZD331 with a 60", something like that. Or if I know a consumer is either mulching or extremely picky. Mulching is a whole different ballgame.
Cutting tips. Mow in different directions each mowing cycle. If you're mowing, say, a 1 acre yard that is open, one mowing you can cut it in circles. The next mowing cut it diagonally. Next time cross ways. So on and so forth. So many folks mow the same direction all the time and it will affect cut quality. Keep the blades sharp. Rounded tips will negatively affect your cut, and drastically even with a LITTLE rounding on the corners of the cutting edges. It doesn't take much to make a big difference. Blades wear out. If they're rounded, replace, don't sharpen. If the ramps are worn, replace. I see them in the shop constantly, the ramps wear right where the ramp meets the main part of the blade, and eventually if you don't watch them, they'll begin to crack. A crack will run down the length of the blade, then the cracked part falls off and goes through the rib cage of somebody's kid. Mowers are dangerous machines.
Mulching. You need to slow the travel speed down. You can't cut as much off the top of the grass. You can't mulch wet grass, not at all. Deck must be level front to rear and side to side, within about 1/8" max. And the blades should be sharp. I've found on our old fleet of ZG222's that a razor sharp edge mulches MUCH better than a "typical" edge. I used to grind the edges on brand new blades if that tells you anything. But a sharp edge like that also is susceptible to getting dinged easily, so the operator has to be mindful of what he's mowing over. On my G1900/54" I will mow everything that's under 3" in diameter but my yard is not a manicured yard, thus I don't put a lot of attention into blade/cut quality. Probably better than most of the neighbor's yards but I don't go out of my way. There is no way I'd do it with another brand mower, no way at all. I used to sell John Deere stuff and 99% of them would be back at some point with a bent deck shell. That is, until they came out with the old 7-iron decks which were about 1/4" thick steel. They didn't bend easily.
What's your mower doing? If you see 3 stripes behind you, the deck is not level front to rear. If you see a "stepped cut", it is not level side-to-side. Balls of clippings, going too fast or the grass is too wet. Uncut wire grass? Going to fast and/or taking too much off.
There's a few thoughts on mowers, for what they're worth; and all are assuming that the mower itself is in good mechanical condition. Worn spindle bearings will affect the cut. Worn idlers will let the belt slip, affects the blade speed and cut quality. Etc etc.
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Lots of good information there, lugbolt. Appreciate it. Actually, the mower is not doing anything yet. I'm in the process of getting it leveled. It was way out of whack (side to side and front to rear) when it was delivered from the dealer. Changed out the stock blades for Gator blades and got it pretty well adjusted today. I'll be cutting grass tomorrow morning. Too damn hot to cut grass here in the afternoon.
dandeman
Member
Equipment
BX2230, LA211 FEL, RCK60B Mower, GCK60BX Bagger; Ford 4000, bush hog, blade, etc
The Kubota mower manuals have detailed instructions for setting up the mower..
I had assumed when the dealer mounted the mower before delivery that they would have set up the adjustments correctly.
Not true.. If the linkages and rods on the tractor itself are not set correctly, the height knob settings will not be accurate, and can make removing and reinstalling the mower more difficult due to the tractor not fully utilizing the lift range that is available in the linkage design.
Manual also includes info for setting the anti-scalping wheels for most even cut...
Park the tractor on a level concrete or other hard surface and check and adjust the lift linkages and anti-scalping wheels per the manual.
I had assumed when the dealer mounted the mower before delivery that they would have set up the adjustments correctly.
Not true.. If the linkages and rods on the tractor itself are not set correctly, the height knob settings will not be accurate, and can make removing and reinstalling the mower more difficult due to the tractor not fully utilizing the lift range that is available in the linkage design.
Manual also includes info for setting the anti-scalping wheels for most even cut...
Park the tractor on a level concrete or other hard surface and check and adjust the lift linkages and anti-scalping wheels per the manual.
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Yeah, guys, I know the manuals have the instructions for setting up the mower and the anti scalp wheels correctly and I know how to do that. I've had a 2370 for 2 years and I've been wrenching on stuff since I was a kid in the 60s. I'm not one of those folks that comes here and says I just got my new XXXX and what's this switch for or where is this control or how do I do this because I haven't bothered to read the manuals. I was just looking for that old thread that had a very simple method for setting it up the mower deck. Thanks for your help.
It is not uncommon for them to be 1/4" or more off. Dealer has a time constraint, so normally they'll grab a tape measure and measure the deck shell, that or a couple 2x4 blocks and adjust it so it sets on the 2x4's evenly, and out the door it goes. This is especially true when they're running behind, which is pretty much from March through about November here. August has been so wet here this year that everything looks like a jungle and the grass still needs to be cut about twice a week. Crazy weather.
Also those drive-over decks, IMO, are a joke. I hate them. But they work, and they cut really well once leveled. But the "easy over" idea isn't as easy as they say. 3 levers to move and you better have everything lined up and on flat ground. If it gets "off" a little while reinstalling, it can be nearly impossible to get it all lined back up. I found myself fighting them more than the old style decks. Oh, and the worst part is that the deck has to be removed to grease some of the grease fittings; which is supposed to be done fairly often. Don't care for that-not at all actually. Some of my older customers really hate them for that reason. JD did the same thing with theirs and it's not any better which reminds me of back in the late 1990's and early 2000's when JD was building the LX100 and LX200 series riding mowers. Then they got into mass marketing with the L100 series which was supposedly (according to JD) easier to work on. The local store said that they could get the deck off of an L100 easier than an LX100. I had experience with both since I worked at the JD dealer prior, so I said let's race. 3 guys. A tech who knew his way around them, the service writer, and myself. I had an LX255 with a 42", other tech had an L110/42" and the writer a stop watch. We were to remove the deck, pull it completely away from the tractor, then reinstall it. Whoever was slower bought lunch for 10 other guys who were there. I was done in 43 seconds. Other tech took about 4 minutes by time he got the belt around the wire guide and all of the pins removed. And lunch was good; even better since it cost me nothing.
Having a problem with my 2370 drive over mower deck. Just reinstalled for some grass cutting and the deck is out of square. Installed and raised the deck up and it is hitting my left rear tire when raised all the way up. Deck installed normal all the way into the pins and latched properly. Can't see where the problem lays. Nothing changed from last year. Do not see an adjustment in the service manual for squaring the deck front to rear. Deck is about an inch away of right side tire and into the left tire. Starting to wonder if something in the linkage is bent but can't see anything visually.
Any help would be appreciated.
Any help would be appreciated.
Did you hit something with the deck? If imagine it would have to be pretty hard to get it fully out of aligned square or bent the frame/ frame linkage. All felt like steel to me when I accidentally took off the linkage the first time taking off the drive over MMM.