30
LEVELING THE MOWER DECK
When leveled correctly the mower deck should be
level side to side, and should be approximately a 1/8
to 1/4 inch lower in the front of the deck.
Side to Side Leveling
If the cutting deck appears to be mowing unevenly, a
side to side adjustment can be performed. Adjust if
necessary as follows:
• With the tractor parked on a firm, level surface,
place the deck lift handle in the top notch (highest
position) and rotate both blades so that they are
perpendicular to the tractor frame.
• Measure the distance from the outside left blade
tip to the ground and the distance from the
outside right blade tip to the ground. The
measurements should be equal. If they’re not,
proceed to the next step.
• Compare the two measurements as follows:
- Model ZT42—determine whether the right side
of the deck must be raised or lowered.
- Model ZT50—determine whether the left side
of the deck must be raised or lowered.
• ZT42 - 42 Inch Deck ONLY
- Loosen, but do not remove, the hex cap screw
on the right deck hanger bracket. Refer to
Figure 30.
- Level the deck by using a wrench to turn the
adjustment gear (found immediately behind the
hex cap screw just loosened) clockwise to
lower the right side of the deck, or
counterclockwise to raise the right side of the
deck. Refer to Figure 30.
- The deck is properly leveled when both blade
tip measurements taken earlier are equal.
Figure 30
- Retighten the hex cap screw on the right deck
hanger bracket when proper adjustment is
achieved.
• ZT50 - 50 Inch Deck ONLY
- Loosen, but do not remove, the hex cap screw
on the left deck hanger bracket. Refer to Figure
31.
- Level the deck by using a wrench to turn the
adjustment gear (found immediately behind the
hex cap screw just loosened) clockwise to raise
the left side of the deck, or counterclockwise to
lower the left side of the deck.
Figure 31
- The deck is properly leveled when both blade
tip measurements taken earlier are equal.
- Retighten the hex cap screw on the left deck
hanger bracket when proper adjustment is
achieved.
Front to Back Leveling.
The front of the deck should be approximately 1/8 to
1/4 inch lower than the rear of the deck. Adjust if nec-
essary as follows:
• With the deck raised off of the ground, rotate the
blades so that they are parallel to the frame of the
tractor.
• If the side to side leveling was done correctly,
measuring just the right blade should be
acceptable to attain the correct back to front pitch
of the deck.
• Measure the distance from the front tip of the
blade to the ground and the distance from the
rear tip to the ground. The front distance should
be 1/8 to 1/4 inch less than the rear. If it is not,
proceed to the next step.
Adjustment
Gear
Hex Cap
Screw
Lower RT.
Side of Deck
Raise RT.
Side of Deck
Adjustment
Gear
Hex Cap
Screw
Raise LT.
Side of Deck
Lower LT.
Side of Deck