My gutless wonder

[Steamer Pete]

A couple things to check:

1) After you have verified the deck does not appear to have any drag in it, take the tractor some place where you can climb hills, but no grass to cut. Set the deck high. Drive the tractor up the hills. We're trying to put the tractor drive under a load, but not add the cutting of grass to see where your power is...... or is not.

2) On a flat driveway, check the settings of your deck to the ground. If the front is higher than the rear, the blades cut the grass 2 times, once in the front of the deck, and again at the rear, where, if it is absolutely flat, or the front tipped down just a bit, you only cut the grass once.

 

[skeets]

I think you would like the MX if you decide to go that route that's a big difference in machines.

Fat fingers hit wrong buttons sometimes,, I meant LX ,,, I couldnt even get an MX in the barn,, lol

 

[bbxlr8]

Not much help... but my f@rd 1210 w/16hp with 60" mmm deck cuts uphill in thick growth.
Something is definitely not right.

 

[fried1765]

Not much help... but my f@rd 1210 w/16hp with 60" mmm deck cuts uphill in thick growth.
Something is definitely not right.

"Ford has a better idea"

 

[NCL4701]

I’ve seen a few on this forum and one other opine that the L4701 is an orphan model produced solely for mowing golf courses. We had a 60” rotary cutter long before we had the L so that’s what it’s paired with.

If you trade up to a L4701 and stick with a 60” mower I can confidently assure you, even if it is only good for mowing, it will pull up hills with plenty of power to mow short grass, long grass, sawgrass, 7’ tall patches of blackberries, saplings at least up to 1”, unidentified forbs up to 9’ tall, a half rotten headless deer carcass some a$$hole tossed out in the broomstraw near the road, and probably some other stuff I have yet to encounter.

If you prefer to keep working on the setup you have, an infrared thermometer is quite handy for finding rub points and dragging bearings that may not be obvious. Even a kind of decent one is pretty cheap these days and it can be a very helpful diagnostic tool. A lot of things you can even check while they’re running.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-...hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657835789177&psc=1

 

[John D 2]

I've got a B2601 with a 54 inch MMM that I use weekly. I couldn't imagine trying to mow in high range.

99% of my mowing is done in medium range. It pulls the mower without issue even at the top speed of 5.5 mph in medium.

Have you tried driving a different one at the dealership for comparison?

 

[skeets]

No I have not tried another machine, that is however next on the if I can get the stealer to bring one out to try