La115 deck skewed, linkage issue, engine cutting off

[aero72]

I have an la115 i bought used last spring & I store it in my 80yr old stepdad's shed next door, he sorta "oversees" things. He has to move it to get to things occasionally so I leave the keys in it, he will tell me he added oil or put gas in it, he tinkers but I'm appreciative. He offers advice but I mow my own yard & I'm pretty handy. I had no issues last summer except a leaky tire. I bought 2 on Amazon & was informed my Step uncles had put them on for me at the end of last summer. This spring the deck belt was slipping & then it broke. I put a new belt on. One day I went to mow & noticed the deck was dragging in the front. The front linkage arm came lose\ was bent\ unscrewed. I put a new linkage arm on & adjusted the deck height but something seemed off to me, engaged the belt was super tight (correct belt). My stepdad saw me do it & told me to try mowing. When I engaged the blades it did mow but was patchy and the deck made a noise louder\different than usual, he's deaf and urged me to do another lap lol it felt slower & weird so I was about to cut it off and look at it when the engine cut itself off, it never does that. It was smoking & smelly. I assumed the belt was rubbing but he thought it could be from the oil, apparently he had just topped it off for me (I did see some oil drip out & sizzle on the hot metal plate at the front of the mower. With blades disengaged it seems okay, engine wise, but it's off, so I decided to stop taking his advice & watch some YouTube videos & observe it before I blew it up. I was checking out the symmetry & I realized the left side of the deck is 4 inches from the back tire, right side is 1/2 an inch from the back tire, it's skewed. More inspection & the drag(?) link or tire rod from one of the front tires is misshapen, bent upwards like and the tire is slightly pointed out. Opinions? Should I watch more YouTube and learn how to replace the rod (easy to do?) or does it seem like more is amiss? It could be the tinkering by his brothers putting the tires on MMA driving it with the tire loose maybe could have damaged it? Could it be a bit axle and how would I know if it was? Any opinion is helpful. I'm divorcing, mortgage, etc barely scraping by so I'm trying to save as much as I can. I scraped my last mower and spent less on buying another one then the mechanics around here wanted to charge to fix it. Crazy prices. Any help is helpful. Thanks.

 

[Rivets]

This manual should help you with the proper steps for installing and leveling the deck belt and deck. https://techinfo-omview.apps-prod-v...gacy/cceomview/omgx23404_i9/Output/Index.html

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

This manual should help you with the proper steps for installing and leveling the deck belt and deck. https://techinfo-omview.apps-prod-v...gacy/cceomview/omgx23404_i9/Output/Index.html

Decks not being same distance from back tires is somewhat common.
Belt smoking and burning up from rubbing (and smell) vs oil dripping on muffler (and smell) and smoking two different issues obviously.
Check to see if blades are bent, tires are aired up to correct pressure, and check with tape measure on concrete levelness of deck.
Good on you for doing basic checks and maintenance on equipment!

 

[Olustee bus]

Someone using my L 100 hit a tree hard and it broke one of the deck rear bracket. I had it welded and it still would not engage the blade correctly. Now the deck is lined up correctly but I still have a problem. There is a bar on the deck that swivels to tighten the belt. It was broken also. I have had a hard time getting it put together as They don't sell the Bars bolt/washer assembly to the rod. I cobbled some washers and lock nut to reinstall but I have not finished it. Check to make sure your brackets in the rear of the deck are ok and take a look at that bar that engages the blades (tightens the belt to the pulleys).