[Edward Preusser]

Hi Folks, I have used my 318 and mower deck since new in 1985. The deck is 48 inch. The problem even with new or sharp blades the cut is a little rough. I find a lower cut cuts slightly better but is not very presentable. I cut at about 2 to 3 inch in the Summer to help prevent lawn weeds. I run at full RPM or slightly less. I clean the underside each spring and remove and clean the upper side under the tin. There is no damage under the deck and I do not cut if the grass is wet. Any thoughts ? Thanks, Ed

 

[doug_phelps]

Hey Ed...

Things I would look at. The spindles might need the bearings changed if it hasn't been done. The idler pulley might be loose and letting the deck belt slip. The belt on the mule or the deck might be stretched and need replaced.

I've run into that problem in the past, and found the RPM's of the 318 were not running as high as they should be. My 318 was running at 3100 RPM and I hooked a tach up and tuned it to 3450 and vastly improved the cut quality.