Husqvarna 2346xls front wheel alignment issue

I purchased this unit a couple of years ago and it has worked pretty well. I am lucky that my wife does all of the mowing. Recently, when she was bringing the mower back to the house, I noticed the front wheels had a significant toe-out. There didn't seem to be any adjustments and I have jury-rigged one of the tie rods to bring it close to alignment. It appears that the front axles is bent back towards the mower deck. This throws out the alignment and puts the wheels very close to the mower deck. What I really noticed was not the alignment but that the front tires were almost worn out and for a mower this new, that didn't make sense. When I look at things, I don't see anything bent, but it must be.

What is the recommendation about how to straighten out the front axle assembly? There isn't much to connect to to bend... and I would like to try to prevent it from reoccurring.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

The only other issue I have had is that on occasion, when it starts up, it smokes quite a bit.... after it warms up, it clears up... but it doesn't do it all of the time. When I purchased it, they pointed out the Vanguard engine and said it was much better than their standard engine, but I'm not convinced....

Thanks in advance for any help!

Bill in Vancouver, Wa.

Hello Bill... & WELCOME to these Forums...
Check the plastic bushings, those on the steering linkage and the wheel axles... when they fail everything will be out and the front wheels will not set right. To check this, raise the front and you will likely find you are able to move the wheels out of alignment... :smile:KennyV

Hmm, sounds familiar, only my YTH21K46 that I purchased this past May came from the dealer like that, I am pretty sure. More comments follow pic. Note how the right wheel is turned out, though the steering wheel was turned straight. The left front wheel is straight, but running like this veered the mower to the right.



I remembered noticing when I first brought it home that to go straight, the steering wheel was about a quarter turn off, and, while disappointed was not all that critical about it.

After mowing with it a couple or three times, I really began to notice how it was hard to go straight, and to go straight, I had to hold the wheel where both tires were bowed out.

I jacked up the front and noticed the plate bracket thing that attaches the tie rod to the left front wheel was bent. More comments follow the pic below.



Since under warranty, I decided to return to dealer instead of attempting to repair myself. I honestly could not remember doing anything to mess it up, but did confess that it does venture across some challenging terrain sometimes. I would not have pushed it in the least had I not remembered the thing about the steering wheel from the first day.

They fixed it under warranty. I don't know and don't really care whether they pulled it and bent it straight or replaced, but am satisfied they fixed it at no expense to me. Sometimes these things get rough treatment in their shipping crates, loading, traveling, docking at freight terminal, reloading, shipping, or wherever. I think it got jolted somewhere in that process.

bpasok said:

I purchased this unit a couple of years ago and it has worked pretty well. I am lucky that my wife does all of the mowing. Recently, when she was bringing the mower back to the house, I noticed the front wheels had a significant toe-out. There didn't seem to be any adjustments and I have jury-rigged one of the tie rods to bring it close to alignment. It appears that the front axles is bent back towards the mower deck. This throws out the alignment and puts the wheels very close to the mower deck. What I really noticed was not the alignment but that the front tires were almost worn out and for a mower this new, that didn't make sense. When I look at things, I don't see anything bent, but it must be.

What is the recommendation about how to straighten out the front axle assembly? There isn't much to connect to to bend... and I would like to try to prevent it from reoccurring.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

The only other issue I have had is that on occasion, when it starts up, it smokes quite a bit.... after it warms up, it clears up... but it doesn't do it all of the time. When I purchased it, they pointed out the Vanguard engine and said it was much better than their standard engine, but I'm not convinced....

Thanks in advance for any help!

Bill in Vancouver, Wa.

Click to expand...

had the same issue... judicious use of a crescent wrench and a long pipe I was able to reshape the flat arms. basically open the crescent wrench just large enough to slip over the flat metal arm, put the pipe over the wrench and push. there are two potential "adjustment" points, the flat part where the link arm connects (mine was bent back a little) and then the angled piece which will allow the greatest movement. basically corrected a fairly major toe out and should be able to last till the next time it won't stop before hitting something.


arm



wrench



how I attached the wrench



or on the other adjustment point



final solution


not sure how many times I can do this, but I am willing to keep trying to save $50 in parts

fcwonder said:

had the same issue... judicious use of a crescent wrench and a long pipe I was able to reshape the flat arms. basically open the crescent wrench just large enough to slip over the flat metal arm, put the pipe over the wrench and push. there are two potential "adjustment" points, the flat part where the link arm connects (mine was bent back a little) and then the angled piece which will allow the greatest movement. basically corrected a fairly major toe out and should be able to last till the next time it won't stop before hitting something.....

not sure how many times I can do this, but I am willing to keep trying to save $50 in parts

Click to expand...

I just tried the adjustable wrench thing myself on my older, new-to-me, fixer-upper YTH2348 unit. I noticed the left front tire was wearing out prematurely, with bowed out tires when the steering wheel was straight. I flexed both sides in, then out some with the front end jacked up off the ground. It seems pretty true now.

Uh, depending on where you are going to get replacement spindles and the draglink steering arms, I imagine you are saving more than $50!

I love the tight turning radius of these machines! However, I imagine that a combination of a 200+ pound operator, higher speed, a tight turn, and a slope would stretch the limits of these front ends.

chobbs1957 said:

I just tried the adjustable wrench thing myself on my older, new-to-me, fixer-upper YTH2348 unit. I noticed the left front tire was wearing out prematurely, with bowed out tires when the steering wheel was straight. I flexed both sides in, then out some with the front end jacked up off the ground. It seems pretty true now.

Uh, depending on where you are going to get replacement spindles and the draglink steering arms, I imagine you are saving more than $50!

I love the tight turning radius of these machines! However, I imagine that a combination of a 200+ pound operator, higher speed, a tight turn, and a slope would stretch the limits of these front ends.

Click to expand...

same issue for me i have the lgt 24k54 husqvarna and wish i never bought it... 2 years later tires bow out wont steer straight (i did the pipe trick as well it it does help)my other issue is you every time i mow this thing collects tons of grass clippings on the under side of the deck... dry grass is bad enough but any moister at all and it throws chunks of wet grass i scrape 10 lbs at least every time i use it...husky junk...

Repair Tech finally arrived today after 2 months. Husqvarna had a problem where the tires were towed out. They are fixing it by putting adjustable steering arms on the mowers. Mine was actually towed in almost 3 inches on the right side because of a defective part. Sears repaired it for free. Sears/Husqvarna is aware of a problem with the mowers with the new style steering and hopefully you won't have to fight with them like I did to get yours repaired.

I just had my gt2452 delivered yesterday. After parking it and beating my chest with manly satisfaction I noticed the front wheels looked funny. I got my tape measure out and the tires were toed in 1.5 inches. i didn't want to be that customer but felt I payed Good money to have a quality lawn mower and wanted to be sure it was supposed to be that was. Even though I felt like I was being picky I decided to stop by the dealer and see what they had to say. Luckly they acknowledged my concern hopefully not to just satisfy me and said they have seen this issue a few times and said they were going to order and install an adjustable drag link to correct the issue. What I would like to know is what should the toe in be. I believe there should be a slight toe in to help with tracking and ease of steering but what is it? I have see 1/4 inch is that correct?

Also I noticed the volt meter shows about 14-16 volts when you first start the mower then after 30 seconds it drops to 2 volts is that normal. Does not seem right but I feel like crap do I need to ask the dealer to look at something els. they are going to go geez we should not have sold that guy a lawn mower.but for the amount of money I would like to feel confident the lawn mower is correct from the start.

fcwonder said:

had the same issue... judicious use of a crescent wrench and a long pipe I was able to reshape the flat arms. basically open the crescent wrench just large enough to slip over the flat metal arm, put the pipe over the wrench and push. there are two potential "adjustment" points, the flat part where the link arm connects (mine was bent back a little) and then the angled piece which will allow the greatest movement. basically corrected a fairly major toe out and should be able to last till the next time it won't stop before hitting something.


arm

View attachment 23369

wrench

View attachment 23370

how I attached the wrench

View attachment 23371

or on the other adjustment point

View attachment 23372

final solution

View attachment 23368
not sure how many times I can do this, but I am willing to keep trying to save $50 in parts

Click to expand...

I have a Husqvarna that has the same problem with the front alinement and was just wondering when your bending the flat metal arm what way are you moving it to correct the problem.

bumping this cause my new TS348XD wheels are toe'd in...when one is straight the other is cocked in and there is no adjustment...i just picked it up last weekend and was just getting ready to use it and noticed it