Riding mower leaves grass uncut

[fordmudduk]

Hey guys....

Long time viewer first time caller.. I have a Craftsman riding mower and I am having some trouble that recently started.

My mower is the 42in deck. I have cleaned the entire under side of the deck and replaced the blades. But it seems to leave a 1-2 inch row of grass when cutting. The row appears as if the blades meet in the middle and they can not cut this small section. Its right down the center. It does appear to be cut a little off the top. Not sure what is going on.

The history - I did have to replace the spindle last fall cause my nephew hit a small stump and the star at the bottom of the spindle was completely rounded off. After replacing that I do not remember any issues.

My buddy suggested my belt may be slipping. But unfortunately I have to order a belt from sears.com or try a local mower shop. Sears stores or tractor supply do not carry the belt for my 2003 model.

Thanks

Corey

 

[MilesToEmpty]

Our mowers all do this when you are moving faster then the blades can cut. Grass could be to thick?

 

[Scooby074]

I assume your mowing at a reasonable speed so the First thing id do, is check under the mower and ensure that the underside of the deck is clean of built up grass. I assume your deck doesnt have a timing belt? If so id rotate both blades and see if they "meet" in the middle. And check the condition of the ends of the blades. The ends get the most abuse and get dull before the rest of the blade.

 

[ToadHill]

I'd check to make sure you have the right blades on the deck. If I remember correctly the old Craftsman decks had one blade set back from the other to make sure they didn't contact one another. With this set up they should overlap by ab out 1 inch.

 

[whistlepig]

Is the blade bent?

 

[shot_gun]

Is the deck bent? If you put the blades tip to tip they should be even/level plane. You may have bent a spindle pocket. The grass could be too wet. If the belt is slipping the inside v section will usually get glazed. check to make sure there is proper tension on the belt when the mower deck is engaged also.

 

[fordmudduk]

Thanks for the replies. The blades are new. The older set I had on there also did the same as the new blades. So I am positive it is not a blade issue.

I just got back from removing the deck and it is clean as a whistle as I did that earlier today. I checked the timing of my blades and they are 90 deg from one another.

When I moved them around to meet in the middle. I noticed one blade sits approx 1/2-1 inch lower than the other blade. I am not sure if this is correct. Like I said I did replace the spindle last summer. I am not sure if this problem persisted after the spindle change.

Also the grass is not that thick. I am cutting on both 4 and 5 setting on a Craftsman Yard Tractor.

I am still puzzled and will do some more troubleshooting.

 

[Berniep]

Thanks for the replies. The blades are new. The older set I had on there also did the same as the new blades. So I am positive it is not a blade issue.

I just got back from removing the deck and it is clean as a whistle as I did that earlier today. I checked the timing of my blades and they are 90 deg from one another.

When I moved them around to meet in the middle. I noticed one blade sits approx 1/2-1 inch lower than the other blade. I am not sure if this is correct. Like I said I did replace the spindle last summer. I am not sure if this problem persisted after the spindle change.

Also the grass is not that thick. I am cutting on both 4 and 5 setting on a Craftsman Yard Tractor.

I am still puzzled and will do some more troubleshooting.

The timing really wont matter as the belt will slip a little and they will move in relation to each other in normal operation. The tips should however be on the same plane or line up with each other or you will have issues. Could be a bent blade. You could take the blades off and nest them together and this will tell you if one is bent. Otherwise is could be the deck( most common after a blade in my experience) or a spindle.
I had to take a big hammer to my old Craftsman deck to get the blades to line up.

 

[Tig]

Find the deck set up procedure for your specific mower. I seem to recall reading here at TBN, that some mower decks must be tilted forward by design to avoid this specific problem.

 

[jhwentworth]

Thanks for the replies. The blades are new. The older set I had on there also did the same as the new blades. So I am positive it is not a blade issue.

I just got back from removing the deck and it is clean as a whistle as I did that earlier today. I checked the timing of my blades and they are 90 deg from one another.

When I moved them around to meet in the middle. I noticed one blade sits approx 1/2-1 inch lower than the other blade. I am not sure if this is correct. Like I said I did replace the spindle last summer. I am not sure if this problem persisted after the spindle change.

I think you've found your problem, the two blades should be at the same height. A 1" difference is way too much. There is no "timing" between the blades needed as the two blade tips should not touch at any time.
Check the blade position by rotating one blade to compare the height to the other blade tip, then rotate again to compare the other end of the blade. Both ends should be the same, and equal in height to the other blade.

I'd guess that either one of the spindles is crooked or a blade isn't installed correctly on the spindle. That "star" pattern used by AYP can be a real problem area after the "star" gets some abuse. If the blade nut is tightened when the blade isn't fully seated the "star" will be damaged, especially if an air wrench is used. Been there, done that.

Your blades are new, but are they the correct blades? Measure the blade length between the ends of the cutting surface (the tips of the sharpened edge)