Mower Deck Alignment

16 years ago

I have an unused Craftsman LT 3000 series tractor, 42" deck w/mulching option. Model #917276813. It has a 20 HP Briggs & Stratton engine.

I took a ruler and measured the alignment on my mower deck while it was parked on a level concrete floor. Sitting on the tractor, the 3 o'clock deck height is a half inch lower than the 9 o'clock position height. Two questions for the experts:

1) Is it necessary (or even possible) to align the mowing deck?

2) Can you all share any tips/tricks with this newbie on removing the deck for cleaning...in particular, the belt removal and re-attachment?

Thanks!

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Comments (5)

johndeere
16 years ago
On the lift arm there is a jam nut that you loosen then run the bottom nut up to raise or down to lower.Move the blades so there both pointing outward toward the outside edge of the deck.Measure from the blade tips and when the measurement is the same your level side to side.

To level front to back you want the front of the deck to be 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower then the back.To adjust this loosen the jan nuts on the front arbor bolt sticking out near the front of the tractor.Measure the lenght of threads and make sure there equal.If the front need to be lower run the nuts out if the deck needs to be higher run the nuts in.Make sure to tighten the jam nuts for both front and side to side adjustments.

The gauge wheel should be about 1/4 to 1/2 off the ground when mowing.
mightym
16 years ago
Before going thrue the alignment procedure outlined by johndeere, be sure to make sure that all of the tires are inflated to the proper pressures. One low tire will screw up you deck level and make it impossible to get an accurate level.
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Heh heh. It's hard to tell if a person is grinning or not when posting on a forum! So much for "tongue in cheek" humor or friendly sarcasm. Just my opinion on the matter. The bearings purchased, likely were obtained through a Simplicity source. If the bearings had been taken (or numbers from old bearings) to a bearing distributor, you might find that there are "options" of how the bearing might be purchased. You might find that the bearing is available as (1) Open (2) Shielded (3) Sealed. Some Standard bearings do not have options and will only be available in one configuration for the "replacement parts sales" market (that being a sealed type), even though the bearing was furnished in a different configuration to the machine OEM, by the bearing maker. To get a better "feel" for what the OEM of the spindles had in mind, you will have to "see" how the bearings are configured when the spindles are disassembled. If the bearings are open on one side (inside) then remove the seal or shield from that side to duplicate the OEM intent. If, you find the OEM bearings are sealed both sides, leave them just as they come from the wrapper. The grease filled cavity of the arbor housing will certainly help to keep corrosion from forming (which can have a direct effect on future bearing replacement), but I doubt any real enhancement of heat transfer will be afforded by the grease pack. Any heat that is generated will be absorbed into the inner and outer races of the bearing and dissipated into the arbor housing (outer) and the arbor shaft (inner) before it will travel through the seal or shield, and then into the grease mass. Just opinions.
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adster
Original Author
16 years ago
Any words of wisdom on the belt removal and [gulp] replacement. For some reason I think this will be a problem spot for me when I want to remove the deck from the tractor.
john_wa
16 years ago
There should be a description of the process in the owners manual if you have one. If you don't, you can usually get them online at the Sears web site if I remember correctly, or you can order a replacement from Sears. I had a different Craftsman (so I don't know if yours is the same) and though the process was a bit more involved than my JD, I'm certain you could handle it. Plus your 42" deck should be a lot lighter than the 48" deck I had.
machiem
16 years ago
There is usually a belt routing diagram under one of the foot rests on Craftsman tractors.

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Mower Deck Alignment

Comments (5)

johndeere

mightym

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adster
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john_wa

machiem

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Mower Deck Alignment

Comments (5)

johndeere

mightym

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john_wa

machiem

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adster
Original Author