How to Balance a Mower Deck
One of the most common causes of irregular mowing patterns is an unbalanced mower deck. Mower decks are thrown out of balance when they hit large objects such as rocks, trees or street curbs. This bends the deck so that one side is higher than the other, resulting in uneven mowing. Balancing the mower deck is a regular maintenance procedure that should be performed on both push and riding mowers at least three times per year. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Move the lawn mower to a flat location.
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2
Use a tire gauge to check the air pressure in all four tires of the mower. If necessary, add air to low tires so that all tires contain the same amount of air.
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3
Raise the mower to the highest lift setting.
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4
Place a tape measure along the edge of one side of the mower deck. Measure the distance between the bottom of the deck and the ground.
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5
Move the tape measure to the other side of the deck and measure the distance between that end of the mower deck and the ground.
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Select one side of the mower to adjust. Place a wrench on the lift link adjustment nut and turn it clockwise to raise the mower deck. Turn the lift link adjustment counterclockwise to lower the deck. Each full rotation of the link nut adjusts the mower deck height by 1/8 of an inch.
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Use the tape measure to measure each side of the deck to see if it is level.
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8
Continue making adjustments until the sides of the deck are level.
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9
Measure the deck height in the front and the back of the mower deck. The front height should be 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch lower than the height in the back.
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Adjust the front mower height by using a wrench to turn the link nut located in the front. Turn the nut clockwise to raise it and counterclockwise to lower it until it is within 1/4 to 3/4 inch of the back height
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Tips & Warnings
Deck levels are available at most home improvement stores. These devices automatically tell you when the mower deck is not level, which prevents you from having to measure it manually.
Some riding mowers have gauge wheels that must be removed prior to leveling. These are located near the height adjuster panel and require a screwdriver and wrench to remove nuts.
