[sootman]

I have no problem with the side to side adjustment but when trying to adjust the front/rear height I can never get the front right wheel to get off the ground at my 3 1/2" mowing height. It looks like the PO may have smacked that wheel into a tree or something. With the mower lowered to the proper cutting height the right front wheel is in full contact with both the pavement and grass. I have the Mule drive adjustment cranked all the way in and the wheel still drags. I tried taking that wheel off and the mower drops below 3 1/2"on the right side Any suggestions?

Thanks
Steve

 

[JWE14]

Ive got a 316 that does this. other side, though. I cant get the left front up any more with the adjusting nut. 1/8" difference, I believe it was.
don't know what mower you have, but mine is in the draft plate or the deck itself. I know the plate is not even.
I'm referring to blade height, not wheel height.

the quick fix was tire pressure. I run 3 more psi in the left front, and 2 less in the right rear (than the left rear).
fixed it up fine. Jeff.

 

[mf135]

Steve...is your deck still cutting evenly? If so maybe you could bend the gage wheel bracket to where it needs to be

 

[sootman]

Thank you both for your suggestions. mf135,I believe the deck mows evenly but it looks like the gage wheel is bent in toward the deck. Any suggestions on what to use to bend it back out? JWE14, I may try your suggestion, if that's all it takes it's an easy fix.

 

[ettrick]

Steve
I have had a similar issue. I used tire irons and long pry bars to bend mine back into shape. It took some patience trying to figure out the leverage points to apply force. I did have a long bar that fit into the gauge wheel hole, but be careful how much force there or you will be welding. I also wrapped a chain with long bar and used wood between deck and pry bar to get proper angle for bending back. Good luck
Dan

 

[chuckv]

The gauge wheel at the open discharge portion of the deck shell is very prone to getting bent back a bit from various minor collisions with rocks, trunks and roots etc. so if severe you may want to try to coax it back. Lacking a Port-a-Power or similar hydraulic bodyworking/frameworking tool, Dan's method above is as good as any. Here is a view of one on my decks that is starting to need some of this attention...the one on the left tractor.


In any event do not allow the wheel to run constantly on the ground as that will eventually cause a cracked bracket if you have any sort of rough ground whatsoever.


It sounds like you know what adjustments to make if the range of motion is there, but just in case be sure that the front draft arms connecting to the mule drive are adjusted correctly for front-to-back deck leveling (just a bit lower in the front...) Here is the document that describes it all for the 46 inch deck...

View attachment OM-M78995 46 inch MidMountMower.pdf

Chuck

 

[rustyknuckles]

I had the same problem with the 54" deck on my 425. Basically, the whole right front corner of my deck was twisted and curled under, not just the bracket -- so much so that the PowerFlo unit would not go on the side of the deck correctly. Anyway, after putting a long metal pole in the gauge wheel mounting bracket, and tugging carefully, I have it about 95% of the way it should be. At least the PowerFlo goes on now. I was worried that the gauge wheel bracket would break free from the deck, but fortunately that did not happen.

 

[sootman]

Good news!! I found the culprit. It seems that someone had reversed the lift levels (I'm not sure what to call them) and Saturday I'd fixed the left side but never thought to look at the right side. It too had been reversed and now the mower is is even side to side. I was able to adjust the front to rear with the rear 1/8' higher. In the 3-years Iowned this 318 I never realized that the 2-lift arms were in the wrong position. It was only noticing in a picture here on WFM where I saw the hangers hanging straight down and not at a 45 degree angle as I had to put them that I realized mine were setup wrong.




It was hard doing this with the tractor upside down :nada:. If someone can flip the picture 180 deg., I'd appreciate it. Is there a secret to uploading photos so they aren't upside-down?

I still need to find a pipe to bend the wheel bracket straight but I'm 90% of the way done. Thanks to everyone's help...could have done it with