Toro Timecutter mower deck adjustment tips and questions

[packardv8]

My lawn is large and rough, so I adjust my mower deck when I install new blades each spring. Each time, I curse the clueless guys who designed the deck and wrote the Owner's Manual how-to. Obviously neither has ever done the process.

"Support the weight of the deck by placing wood blocks under the edge of the deck." WTF does that accomplish? There's no suggestion of how to raise or lower one side to even the side-to-side height.

"Loosen the left side hanger bracket lock nuts enough to move the bracket to the desired height." How the f*ck is one supposed to achieve and hold the desired height? With the deck set at the suggested mid-point, the left side of the blade is not visible. It takes two hands working by feel to determine the height of the left side blade. How are we moving the deck up and down while it's sitting on wood blocks? How are we holding it while tightening the two lock nuts?

The usual way of adjusting mower deck level is to have one side fixed and the other adjustable by a threaded adjuster; no wood blocks and no wrestling with a loose deck. WTF would Toro not know this?

Here are my tips:
1. To compare right and left blade levels, I use an inside machinist's caliper.

First, I set it on the right side blade which is visible through the discharge chute. Then, lying on the garage floor on the left side, with two hands, one can feel if the caliper has clearance (left side high) or hits when trying to get under the blade (left side low)

2. To adjust the right-to-left levels, I use a auto scissor jack which is just the right height to fit under the left side of the mower deck. It's micrometer adjustable as one crawls from right to left and back and holds the deck steady when the lock nuts are being tightened.

What deck adjustment tips have you discovered?

jack vines

 

[Rivets]

The blocks hold the deck at the proper height while you make adjustments to take all slack out. Height adjuster set at 3”. Front blocks are 2.625” thick and rear blocks are 2.875” thick. This will give you a 1/4” pitch, front to rear. Unit should be on a level surface. Don’t see why this should be so difficult, manual spells it out quite clearly.

 

[packardv8]

The blocks hold the deck at the proper height while you make adjustments to take all slack out. Height adjuster set at 3”. Front blocks are 2.625” thick and rear blocks are 2.875” thick. This will give you a 1/4” pitch, front to rear. Unit should be on a level surface. Don’t see why this should be so difficult, manual spells it out quite clearly.

The manual does not spell out having to cut four spacer blocks to three decimal places.

Using spacer blocks assumes the deck lips are still in the original relationship to the the spindles; nothing got bent in ten years of hard use. It does nothing to verify the actual side-to-side positions of the blade tips are level/equal.

The side-to-side leveling is mostly difficult because Toro did not use the threaded adjuster on one side as several other brands do. Four custom spacer blocks, c'mon ;>)

jack vines

 

[MParr]

Toro says to cut four blocks. Two blocks are to be 2 5/8” and two blocks are to be 2 7/8”. Set your deck selector to 3”. Put the shorter blocks under the front of the deck and the two taller blocks under the rear. Take up the slack or adjust until the deck rests on the blocks. Lock it down and done.

 

[MParr]

The side-to-side leveling is mostly difficult because Toro did not use the threaded adjuster on one side as several other brands do. Four custom spacer blocks, c'mon ;>)

You must be talking about a Timecutter with two adjustment points. Good luck with that. I’ve seen brand new ones where 1/4” left to right was as good as it gets. The Timecutter HD and Titan are hung by four chains.

 

[7394]

Yes the Timecutters have 3 points of attachment. Only 2 are adjustable..(always hated that) One can replace the fixed side link with the adjustable side same part.
It helps.

 

[jcworks]

My lawn is large and rough, so I adjust my mower deck when I install new blades each spring. Each time, I curse the clueless guys who designed the deck and wrote the Owner's Manual how-to. Obviously neither has ever done the process.

"Support the weight of the deck by placing wood blocks under the edge of the deck." WTF does that accomplish? There's no suggestion of how to raise or lower one side to even the side-to-side height.

"Loosen the left side hanger bracket lock nuts enough to move the bracket to the desired height." How the f*ck is one supposed to achieve and hold the desired height? With the deck set at the suggested mid-point, the left side of the blade is not visible. It takes two hands working by feel to determine the height of the left side blade. How are we moving the deck up and down while it's sitting on wood blocks? How are we holding it while tightening the two lock nuts?

The usual way of adjusting mower deck level is to have one side fixed and the other adjustable by a threaded adjuster; no wood blocks and no wrestling with a loose deck. WTF would Toro not know this?

Here are my tips:
1. To compare right and left blade levels, I use an inside machinist's caliper.

First, I set it on the right side blade which is visible through the discharge chute. Then, lying on the garage floor on the left side, with two hands, one can feel if the caliper has clearance (left side high) or hits when trying to get under the blade (left side low)

2. To adjust the right-to-left levels, I use a auto scissor jack which is just the right height to fit under the left side of the mower deck. It's micrometer adjustable as one crawls from right to left and back and holds the deck steady when the lock nuts are being tightened.

What deck adjustment tips have you discovered?

jack vines

The manual does not spell out having to cut four spacer blocks to three decimal places.

Using spacer blocks assumes the deck lips are still in the original relationship to the the spindles; nothing got bent in ten years of hard use. It does nothing to verify the actual side-to-side positions of the blade tips are level/equal.

The side-to-side leveling is mostly difficult because Toro did not use the threaded adjuster on one side as several other brands do. Four custom spacer blocks, c'mon ;>)

jack vines

I just use an old John Deere blade height tool. It's true, you can't see under the left side. So it's not easy & simple. You have feel it. So l press the tool till it touches the blade & make incremental adjustment. It takes several attempts & it's always off a little bit. My yard is big too & it's rough . Nobody knows though that my right & left side are off by 1/8" - 1/4 as the drive by though.