Deck height adjustment on X540

[Eric Barney]

Hello everyone.

I am wondering about why adjusting the deck height on my new X540 seems to be off...?
After now mowing 6 times with my new tractor, I noticed the uneven look of a deck not set level. So, I pulled the tractor on to a nice flat concrete surface, set all the tire pressures, and proceded to check the deck height.

I used the handy height gauge (Housed in the center of the height knob) first. Sure enough, the deck was uneven, and very low. (Here is where I start thinking something is wrong.) To get the deck to match the height on the knob, the rear adjuster bolts are now nearly at the upper end of the threads. The bolt angle put enough strain on the ball-head allen tool, that it stripped smooth. I had to use an Allen socket to continue. Once the deck was leveled to the plastic height tool, I used a calibrated height gauge to check the actual blade height. Some slight lowering got the rear tips to: 2-9/16", the front to: 2-3/8". The knob is set to: 2-1/2". The gauge wheels have to be set 1/2" lower in the back than in the front in order to get good clearances. I cut my grass at 3", so the rear gauge wheels are at: 3-1/2", the fronts at 3", and the height adjuster knob is at 3-1/4". The rear wheels are just barely off the ground, the fronts have about 1/4" clearance. Though the front wheels are not even side to side. While the blades are even.

My previous tractor, a LX188 was similar with the adjustment, and I replaced several parts of the deck lifting mechanism to correct the issues with adjusting the height. Once I had it set (On the LX188) the resulting cut was as good as I could ask for. Nice and level, with no lines. It just seems strange that I have to crank the adjusters all the way in to achieve the correct heights. That is the same with both tractors.

Shouldn't the rear adjusters be in the middle of their range when the proper height is achieved? Or am I being to critical? Why would the deck height be so much lower on the new X540 than the height knob indicates? It was at least 1/2" lower...
Also, is it normal to set the gauge wheels lower in the rear, than in the front? It seems to work well. At least it did with my LX188. (I have not cut with the X540 since levelling the deck. I will in a few days.)

 

[Eric Barney]

Update:

Bought a nice "T" handled 8mm ball end allen wrench from my Snap-on rep, and that solved the stripped wrench issue. It seems that the JD supplied wrench is made from the finest clay, and is then cadnium plated.
The grass cut is now nice and level. Not quite as good as the LX's 48" deck did, but much better than before the adjustment. It does bother me though that the adjusters are near the end of their range. Not much allowance for wear of the deck lift parts....

 

[Hostaman]

Eric,
I'm disappointed that you have no responses to your post. I have a 2012 X729 with a 54" deck and the same concerns. I have followed the manuals instructions to the letter using the adjustment gauge provided in the tool box. I have one or two threads left on one of the turnbuckles using the rear most holes in the lifting arms. I can change holes and extend the lifting adjustments some, however the main concern is that every time I drop the deck the height is slightly different.

Hopefully some of our more experienced bloggers can offer some insight. Thanks for bringing this up.

 

[Eric Barney]

I have had discussions with the guys at the JD dealer about this. I just get the "No one has ever complained about this before" response.

When I got my New X540 home, just before mowing the first time, I did a quick check with the supplied height gauge. Much to my surprise, the deck was very low, and required a fairly large adjustment. You would think that the deck would be calibrated from the factory, and then checked again by the selling dealer. I also found later that the tire pressures were way too high. They had around 30PSI in all the tires. (And the deck was still too low)

The second adjustment (described in above post) was done with 8psi rear, 15psi front. and was checked, and rechecked after moving the deck up and down, and moving the tractor around to verify a consistant measurment. I made my own tool that measures the actual blade height. It is similar to the plastic JD gauge, but is larger and much more solid. It is also very accurate.

There will be ways to work around the adjustment issues if, or when they arise. I guess I am just expecting a higher level of quality, and attention to detail from such an expensive tractor.

 

[Eric Barney]

Update:

I have been using my X540 more than originally thought. To enhance it's usefullness, I added a set of HDAP rear tires to replace the turf rear tires. The HDAP's are larger in overall diameter, thus raising the tractor slightly. This improved the deck adjustment considerably. Still, the adjuster bolts are at the high end of their range, but there is now more room for adjustment.
Other notes on the HDAP's: Much better traction, (Expected) Much better ride quality, (Not expected, nice suprise.) More ground clearance. (I was not sure about this benefit untill I got the tires and compared.) The tractor looks much cooler with the HDAP's on it! (Most important feature.)

Sure wish I had ordered the tractor with the HDAP tires. I doubt the turfs will ever go back on.

 

[TnWV]

Eric,

So far I have just under 30 hours on my 530, and have not had an issue with my deck level. So far it mows very level, except on the most uneven of ground. I also found that my tires had 30 psi in all four when I brought it home from the dealer. The first ride across my yard was the bumpiest ride ever. Not sure why the dealer put so much air in them, they clearly say 10 psi on the side of them. After correcting the air pressure I got a much better ride. I agree 100% with your comments about the HDAP tires! They hold traction very well on steep ground.

 

[Eric Barney]

My issue is not with getting the deck level, or cut quality. It is with getting the deck height to match the scale on the height adjuster knob. My X540 matches only after nearly bottoming out the rear height adjuster bolts. After installing the HDAP's, I was able to back them off a bit due to the taller tire. The difference is about 1/4".

With 26 hours now on the tractor, the deck height is still OK, and the cut quality is very good. I just think that there should be more adjustment available to keep the deck level and properly calibrated. Other than that, (Minor issue) my X540 is proving to be a very useful piece of equipment.