S130 Grass Cutting Issues

[TiIngot]

Hello,

I have a John Deere S130 Riding Mower. My problem is that when I mow, the grass is cutting unevenly. I have checked the tire pressures and they are all good and even. I also checked the deck and it seems pretty balanced. You can see the weird cutting patter in the picture below. Please help!

View attachment 66941

Had same problem on my D105. Deck was bent where one of the spindles mounts holding the blade. Grandson must have hit something. (Make sure one blade is not bent first.). Remove the deck and turn it over. Rotate the blades by hand and see where they meet in the middle. They should match each others height where they almost touch in middle of deck. Even a 1/4 inch off will be noticed in your cut if one is off.

Look at outer edge of the deck as you rotate the blades and try to determine which blade is off. Remove the blade and spindle. Use a wood block and heavy hammer to straighten the deck. Will need to hammer both sides until deck is no longer bent. Install blade and recheck. Adjust as necessary.

 

[Jack17]

I, too, can't see any uneven cut. What I do see in the pic is the grass that must be a foot tall (bottom right in pic). Correct me if I'm wrong, you've got a newer model rider, 42" deck with 2-blade arrangement. Are you cutting or mulching? Given that your mower checks out as far as proper adjustment / maintenance, wear and tear, etc. I think that you're just pushing it too much...making it work harder than it can handle.

 

[Born2Mow]

My BIL who owns that same model had a weld break up inside the deck adjustment mechanism. Made his grass look the same way. You couldn't spot the issue with casual observation, but careful measurements proved it was there. His mower repair guy was able to repair the broken weld.

 

[lbrac]

I, too, can't see any uneven cut. What I do see in the pic is the grass that must be a foot tall (bottom right in pic). Correct me if I'm wrong, you've got a newer model rider, 42" deck with 2-blade arrangement. Are you cutting or mulching? Given that your mower checks out as far as proper adjustment / maintenance, wear and tear, etc. I think that you're just pushing it too much...making it work harder than it can handle.

I noticed the same thing you did. I suggest cutting the same area again while pushing the clippings to one side to clear the surface of excess loose grass, then inspect the area afterward to reassess the evenness of the cut.