54" deck. Uneven Cut

sivicman

Active Member
I have a 2026 JD X390 with 22 hrs. and a 54" hydraulic lift deck. The mower was delivered with the deck not adjusted from the dealer. I have an uneven cut that I can't figure out. I have leveled the deck front to back and side to side per manual with the optional JD leveling tool. The manual says to set at deck leveling position 2.5" and make adjustments. The blade tips are exactly at 2 1/2" after adjustment. I mow at 3", and again right at 3" with tool. Tires are properly inflated to the correct pressure. Anti-scalp wheels are a 1/2" from the ground per manual. What am I overlooking? Does it have anything to do with the hydraulic deck?
 
I have a 2026 JD X390 with 22 hrs. and a 54" hydraulic lift deck. The mower was delivered with the deck not adjusted from the dealer. I have an uneven cut that I can't figure out. I have leveled the deck front to back and side to side per manual with the optional JD leveling tool. The manual says to set at deck leveling position 2.5" and make adjustments. The blade tips are exactly at 2 1/2" after adjustment. I mow at 3", and again right at 3" with tool. Tires are properly inflated to the correct pressure. Anti-scalp wheels are a 1/2" from the ground per manual. What am I overlooking? Does it have anything to do with the hydraulic deck?
Cut yourself 4 pieces of wood blocks at the same length of your height adjustment tool and place them under the points described in your manual. Adjust deck as described. This saves you from moving that piece of plastic around to all four points. It will save you time and the headache.
 
Upon inspection of the blades it was discovered that the underneath of the deck was never painted from the factory. The bottom of the deck was all rusty. The dealer picked up the mower 2 weeks ago.

Update: The dealer has had my mower for 2 weeks now, and nothing has been done. I filed a complaint with JD and have a case number. What they are telling me is they took additional pictures of the bottom of the deck, and sent them to the factory rep. along with the S/N of the deck. He then contacted the factory to see how many of these mowers got out of the factory unpainted. Meanwhile the dealer is waiting for JD to authorize a new deck. I have talked to JD corporate and told them I want a brand new mower. I didn't buy a rebuilt mower. This whole issue has been handled terribly by not only the dealer but JD's factory rep. Instead of taking care of the customer first and worry about the factory second, they have dropped the ball big time. The service manager at the dealer has not communicated with me at all. I got this information from my salesman who should not be involved per corporate. They said I need to be talking to service. I said he doesn't call with updates or nothing. I also said they should be providing me with a loaner. I will update as soon as I hear something.
 
The lack of paint isn't the reason the mower isn't cutting level. The deck is evidently out of specifications or warped.
For the money you spent, you could nearly buy a decent residential zero turn..
A Bad Boy Maverick 54" would have been close to the same money.
The Maverick HD would have been about $1,000 more.
Likewise with the Hustler Raptor XDX 54 and Hustler FasTrak 54
 
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The lack of paint isn't the reason the mower isn't cutting level. The deck is evidently out of specifications or warped.
For the money you spent, you could nearly buy a decent residential zero turn..
A Bad Boy Maverick 54" would have been close to the same money.
The Maverick HD would have been about $1,000 more.
Likewise with the Hustler Raptor XDX 54 and Hustler FasTrak 54
I know the lack of paint did not cause the uneven cut. The deck was leveled per JD manual and still was cutting bad. The unpainted deck was discovered while checking for a bent blade.
 
I know the lack of paint did not cause the uneven cut. The deck was leveled per JD manual and still was cutting bad. The unpainted deck was discovered while checking for a bent blade.
You aren’t getting a new mower. You aren’t the first person to ever have problems with a piece of equipment. You should try to be patient and see how the process goes.
 
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