could i retrofit a newer 300 sieres 48 inch deck on my old 140 47 inch deck.it looks very similar except the drive pulley is at the rear instead of at th front.i think i could change my front spindle and add the rear lifting arangement from my old deck. has any one ever done this i have a chance to buy the 300 hundred deck very reasonable. info greatly apreciated

Evworld, I have an official Deere technical manual, and I cannot find any instructions for leveling the deck! I'll keep looking. In the meantime, here are a few things to check: Make sure the tires are properly inflated; front tires should have 12 lbs, rear tires 8 lbs. Make sure that neither blades nor spindles are bent. Between the two blades, tips that vary up to 1/4 inch are within tolerance. Check that the gauge wheels are set at the same height; they should NOT contact the ground when you are running on flat, smooth ground. I'll look in the manual some more, but I have two STX-38's (several years) and have never had a problem with the decks getting out-of-level, except when tire pressure isn't equal. Sometimes new folks on the forum can't find their way back, so I'll assume that you asked that responses be emailed to you, and include the web address: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tractor/msg0507384229168.html?1

Have grass getting longer, John Deere X 300 Removed mowing deck deck to clean , lube and sharpen blades . I have done this at least twice before with out problems ( actually read manual) when attemtiing to reinstall mower deck I Found : The deck raise footpedal locked in the forward position and the deck lock pad is iin the down position and won’t budge.. Both appear to be jamned tight so the draft arms wont come down far enough to be locked onto the mowing deck. Someone mentioned 12 inch screwdriver to unlock mechanism from underneath? probably will try this before resorting to sledgehammer! i will report back with results. Thanks

When the mower is parked and the engine is off the hydraulic pressure will bleed off and the deck will lower till it bottoms. That's normal. While the engine is running the deck should stay up whether stopped or moving. If the deck lowers while the engine is running there is a problem and you need to call your dealer.