LEVELING THE DECK AND SETTING THE
COUNTERBALANCE SPRING TENSION
1. Set all tire pressures to the correct specifications.
2. Rest machine on a level slab of concrete.
3. Depress the deck lift pedal to raise the deck to the
full lift height position and move the height adjust
pin to the 4.5” position.
4. Take all the force off the two deck lift springs by
loosening the nut at the front of each spring.
5. Place a level on the deck, from front to rear. If the
level is too short to reach all the way from front to
rear, lay a straight edge on the deck first, then
place the level on the straight edge.
6. Lay a .12” spacer beneath the front level. this will
automatically set the rear of the deck higher than
the front.
7. Adjust the bolts in the slot to raise the rear of the
deck (Shown below) until the level’s bubble is cen-
tered. Repeat for the other side.
8. Check to verify the deck is leveled side-to-side. To
do this, lay a 2” x 4” x 30” piece of wood under
each side of the deck and lower the deck to rest
freely on the top of these boards. Inspect the (4)
lift chains to see if tension is on each of them. If
any of the chains appear slack, adjust the bolt in
the slot to remove the slack from the chain.
9. Raise the deck up to the transport position and
lock in place.
10. Remove the 2” x 4”s from under the deck.
11. Tighten each of the counterbalance spring nuts
until springs are to the following lengths:
Deck
Lift Pedal
Height
Adjustment Pin
Deck Lift Spring Adjustment Nut
Deck
Upper
Chain Fastener
Deck
Shield
Bolt In Slot
Level on
Mower Deck
.12” Spacer At Front End
CAUTON
STOP THE ENGINE, SET PARKING BRAKE, RE-
MOVE IGNITION KEY AND SPARK PLUG WIRES
FOR SAFETY.
55” Deck-Spring length of 16”. 61” Deck-
Spring length of 15-1/2” for 3” cutting height. For
lower cutting heights loosen springs at 1/4” in-
tervals until stop hits adjusting pin in correct
height location. If deck floats, loosen springs at
1/4” intervals until deck stops floating. (Measure
from back of flatwasher to back of flatwasher)
DECK SPINDLE BELT ROUTING DIAGRAM
Spring Loaded
Idler Assembly
7”
Front Of Deck
WARNING
TO AVOID SERIOUS BURN INJURIES:
l
l
ALLOW ENGINE, OIL AND HYDRAULIC FLU-
IDS TO COOL BEFORE SERVICING TRANSMIS-
SION OR ENGINE SYSTEM
CAUTION
TO AVOID CLEANING SOLVENT FIRES:
l
l
AVOID USING FLAMMABLE SOLVENTS.
l
l
AVOID AREAS WITH IGNITION SOURCES
WHEN USING FLAMMABLE SOLVENTS.
DECK BELT ADJUSTMENT
Belt adjustment should be checked every 50 hours to
get maximum life and cutting performance from the
mower. Belt tension is adjusted by increasing or de-
creasing the length of the spring on the movable idler.
For proper belt tension on the 55” and 61” mowers,
the spring length should be set to 7” inside hook to in-
side hook with the deck in 3” cutting height position.
To adjust the spring length, loosen or tighten the 3/8”
hex nuts on the eye bolt until the correct spring length
is reached.
DECK BELT REPLACEMENT
USE ONLY GENUINE Bush Hog REPLACEMENT PARTS
A. Remove the deck shield assembly.
B. Relieve the spring tension by loosening the two
3/8” hex nuts on the eye bolt.
C. Remove old belt.
D. Install new belt. Be sure that the belt is properly
positioned in all sheave grooves.
E. Adjust tension on the belt by adjusting the length
of the spring on the moveable idler.
The correct
spring length is 7”
for the 55” and 61” decks.
F. Replace the deck shield assembly.
Engine/Clutch Pulley
(Measure from inside of
hook to inside of hook)
18