New Raptor 36" - uneven mowing pattern

Howdy All,

Just picked up a 36" Raptor with 5 hours on the meter for $900! 15 HP Kawasaki motor.

Did my first mowing yesterday and did see some pretty ugly, uneven rows. I noted that when I set my deck height (second to the very highest) the deck is slanted downward in the front. If I continue to lower the deck to one of the 2 lowest points the deck seems to be fairly level.

I plan to only mow on the 2 highest settings. I'm assuming I need to level the front of the deck with that leadscrew shaft on the very front?

Thoughts?

CMOS

CMOS said:

Howdy All,

Just picked up a 36" Raptor with 5 hours on the meter for $900! 15 HP Kawasaki motor.

Did my first mowing yesterday and did see some pretty ugly, uneven rows. I noted that when I set my deck height (second to the very highest) the deck is slanted downward in the front. If I continue to lower the deck to one of the 2 lowest points the deck seems to be fairly level.

I plan to only mow on the 2 highest settings. I'm assuming I need to level the front of the deck with that leadscrew shaft on the very front?

Thoughts?

CMOS

Click to expand...

Seems I have read here that a SLIGHT forward slope is good.

Can you explain more the mowing problems you are having?

How are your blades....sharp? level...side to side?

Yep. Park it on concrete and check all your tires for proper pressure. Then put the deck where you would mow and start measuring from the blade tips to the concrete and adjust to get them even front back and side to side.

shiftsuper175607 said:

Seems I have read here that a SLIGHT forward slope is good.

Can you explain more the mowing problems you are having?

How are your blades....sharp? level...side to side?

Click to expand...

I did just sharpen the blades myself. I will check the blade heights tonight, in the garage, which is probably the most level spot to do so. I had not thought of measuring their heights above the concrete...

The problems I'm having? - My 9-year old daughter calls me back outside after mowing the front lawn, noting that "It doesn't look even", and showed me where she saw (it was evident) uneven grass heights.:laughing: I still have the entire back to mow, which is considerably larger than the front. When I get home I will do a couple passes, in very straight lines, to better describe exactly what the problem pattern looks like.

Having said that, it's very obvious looking at the deck, that it's sloping downward in the front on the current height setting.


CMOS

Once the deck is set for level it should stay level at all cutting Heights. If it is tilted down the tips of the blades will cut a lower swats at the front of the deck leaving little valleys in line with the spindle of the blade. Also cutting at a very high cutting height if you do not have very thick grass can also leave a ragged cut because the wind from the blades can blow the grass around and they can escape being cut clean by the blades. These principles apply to any brand of Mower and mower deck.

Didn't get to mess with this last night but should be good to go tonight.

Is it correct that there is no height adjustment on the deck SIDES? Just the lever adjusting the back and leadscrew shaft on the front, correct?


CMOS

UPDATE: Mystery found. Mystery solved.

I got my wrenches to adjust the front height of the deck, only to find that there was no more adjustment to be had. The front of the deck was already at its highest position as I could not tighten that large lock nut on the very front of the pivot shaft. That seemed odd to me as the front of the deck is tilting down by at least 5 degrees. It appeared that I would need to remove that 2-inch long nut behind the large pivot pin and replace with a shorter one. What 2-inch nut you ask? Allow me to explain.

There was a 2-inch nut behind the large pivot pin, which was taking up all of the thread length that I needed to tighten the very front nut, which would theoretically raise the deck front. When I removed that 2-inch nut all became clear. The threaded shaft was broken, so the previous owner used a 2-inch long nut as a union to "fix" the broken shaft. However, the very length of the nut took up all the thread length so there was no more adjustment to be had. I will try to insert a pic below.

A new shaft has been ordered so that should take care of the odd (low) front deck height. I should get that in 3 or 4 days.

CMOS

:thumbdown: previous owner that slammed into something and broke that. Are there any other signs of crashing into something?

:thumbsup: to you for finding it.

Kremeneon said:

:thumbdown: previous owner that slammed into something and broke that. Are there any other signs of crashing into something?

:thumbsup: to you for finding it.

Click to expand...

No, everything else looks literally brand new. Not even any paint wear. My neighbor bought this brand new and used it for only one summer. Then it sat in her garage for 2 years before the "garage sale". :thumbsup: I drained the fuel out, replaced battery, and had to clean out the high speed jet, then she ran like a demon. I also changed oil and used full synthetic.

I will report back after I have the part and have done a little mowing.

TWG

Cmos,

Just remove the union, get yourself a new long thread bolt, weld it to the original and you're all set.

You could make a longer bolt to put the strain on the shaft of the bolt and away from the threads. Make it happen and you'll be done with replacing that bolt.

Max