Leveling 914A

[SacandagaBrad]

I've done my search and have seen quite a bit of info regarding the 914A mmm not lifting level from side to side. My question is how to get it near level front to rear. I know it is supposed to tilt forward some, but mine is so much that the rear wheels won't touch the ground on a smooth cement floor.

I took delivery of my TC24D on Sat (I know, I know - pictures. They will be coming) and had to try removing and reinstalling the implements. The 914A rear wheels would not touch the ground when the settings were according to the chart, matched front and rear. Only the front wheels would touch, with the rear suspended off the ground about an inch or so. I didn't dare try to drive out the pins with that much weight on them. The mechanic came out today while I was at work and told the neighbor that the rears were not supposed to touch the ground and the mower was set up properly. But the manual says to lower the deck so all 4 wheels touch when adjusting the cushion lift system. The mechanic claims that you can adjust the rears out of sync with what the chart says to accomplish the deck removal, to provide support to release the mounting pins. Then once the deck is remounted, adjust the levels according to the chart. Is this right? I realize most of the weight of the deck is supported by the tractor through the cushion lift system, but is seems like it should sit on all 4 points with some weight to follow the ground contours.

Thanks for any advice for this newbie. Love the machine so far with all of my 4 hours on it! Been is some pretty good slop already. Also had no problems changing the other attachments, including the FEL.

Brad

 

[hazmat]

Your mechanic is wrong! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
The manual is right.

It's pretty easy to adjust. I'd snap some pics for you to go along with my description, but I just dropped my machine off at the dealer to have the front hub leak fixed, so for now you'll have to live with my descriptions only.

1. Check tire pressure front & rear - set it to the recommended pressures.

2. Makee sure the three point is level side to side & that the fixed side is in the highest setting.

3. There is a linkage that goes from the back MMM lift arms to the front. Disconnect this at the front and turn the end fitting to adjust the front/rear ratio. I can't remember off the top of my head if you want it shorter or longer to get the front wheels up off the ground more so that the back has a chance to touch.

You want to do this with the mower wheels set at your desired height. Ie if you cut at 3" set them there. To fine tune it I set the mower on the garage floor & then disconnect the front lift arms. Tweak the front linkage untill you can slip the pin thru with minimal effort.

4. If #3 doesn't solve your problem, you might have to go back thru the entire procedure as outlined in the manual (adjusting the springs etc.)

Hope this helps.

 

[mike10]

Hazmat has it pretty well right, but here are a few other things to look for:
Look at the rear linkage arms where they attach to the mower deck. You should see two holes in the mower deck where the pin can go. Look in your book and make sure the mechanic installed the pins in the correct holes. The reason there are two holes is because the tc24 and the later tc18's have lnoger wheel bases than earlier models so in order for the new decks to fit older tractors a second hole was added. If the rear pins are not in the correct hole, you will have to relieve the spring tension in order to remove the rear pins. You can do this several ways, you can adjust the gauge wheels into the highest cut and then lower the lifts arms fully, or with the deck set as you have it lower the lift arms fully and go in back of the tractor and unpin the verticle lift arms from the tractor and lower them to the ground. In any case do not remove the rear pins until the tension is taken off.

Here is how I level these decks:

Be sure you have set your gauge wheels according to the decal on the mower deck, the deck will set on all four wheels when lowered.
After you are sure the wheels are set in the correct position lower the deck until the front wheels are down and the pressure is off the front attaching pins. Remove the front pins from the front linkage arms. This should allow the deck to fully lower on all four wheels. Once the deck is setting on all four wheel, adjust the linkage at the front arms, <font color="red"> </font> (do not remove the rear pins), <font color="black"> </font> until you can insert the front pins. This will get you close to being level.

Now let's go to the back of the tractor. If you look at the back of the linkage you will see a blue spring on each side about 2" long. Raise your deck fully. Check that the deck does not hit the upper stops. If the deck is against the stops screw the nuts on the blue springs back to lower the deck some. If the deck is not hitting the stops check that the pins which lock the deck in the up position will fit into the highest hole of the rear mounting bracket. If the arms are too low for the pins to be inserted screw the nuts on the blue springs further on the linkage rod to raise the deck. adjust both sides so the same amount of hole is showing. This will get you fairly level side to side.

Now lower the deck slowly and stop lowering right before the front wheels hit the ground. Take a look at the clearence under each wheel. If the rear wheels appear to have about the same clearence under each one you will be level side to side. If one of the rear wheels appear higher than the other rear wheel, raise the deck and adjust the nuts at the blue springs on the low side to level this out. After adjusting check that you are not against the stops.

Now that you are close to level side to side with the back wheels lower the deck again. Stop lowering before the front wheels hit the ground. Again check the clearence under each wheel. I do this while I am on the right side close to the hydraulic lever. If there is much difference between the front right wheel and the rear wheels, lower the deck and see if you can adjust the front linkage some more and still get the pin in without lifting the deck. Usually if you take all the play out of the front linkage at this point you will be close enough that the deck is level front to back. You will probably notice that the left front wheel is higher than the right front. This is because of the added weight on the right side because of the chute. You can try to lenghten the left linkage but only to the point that you can get the front pin in easily.

It is common for the right side to touch first when lowering, but if you are close on your adjustments it won't be noticalbe. If it very noticable than you better check your adjustments again since this will affect the floatation of the deck.

To adjust the stop for the cushion lift system, lower the deck slowly until the wheels are on the ground. At this point the lever will be somewhere between the markings aside of the lever on the decal for the cushion lift. Move the lever stop in the slot until it is about 3/4 lower than the lever and tighten there. Now when you mow, lower the lever until it hits the stop.

Good luck

 

[mike10]

Forgot one thing. Look in your book to see if the mechanic installed the front pivots correctly. If they were installed incorrectly this would cause the front to be considerably lower than the rear. There are illustrations in your book and along with information to level these decks.

 

[thcri]

I did some checking into the leveling from front to back myself because my back ones did not touch either. My was not as bad as yours though but here is what two dealers told me. They basically told me that yes the manual says one thing but their experience is if you let the back a tad bit higher it will do a much better job of mowing. That comes from two local dealers that pretty much hate each other so they each would have the chance to bad mouth each other but both agreed, their experience is to leave the back up a bit. Maybe some of you New Holland Mechanics could chime in here but I am leaving mine the way it is for now. Also remember the 914 mower is not suppose to rely on it's wheels for mowing, it is also suppose to float on the hydraulics.

murph

 

[SacandagaBrad]

Thanks to Mike and Hazmat for the detailed instructions. Not only did your write-up solve the problem, but also helped me understand the different components in the lift system. It's actually quite simple. The manual says to set the linkage rod flush in the front turn buckle, which mine were. Following the leveling instructions you provided, I had to shorten that linkage 6 turns (3/4 inch =/-) on each side. Raises so I can place the pins for traveling, the cushion system is set so that I feel like I am lifting about 30 - 40 pounds to raise one side by hand. I wonder if the manual assumes industrial or ag tires and the difference is I have turfs. Hazmat - didn't you switch to turfs?

Murph - the mechanic from the dealer said rear wheels should be off the ground to avoid any rutting on soft ground, but I thought more than an inch might even cause uneven cutting due to the middle blade dipping deeper because of the tilt. I have always heard that a mower deck should be slightly lower in the front, especially rear discharge styles. Mine is a side discharge and the way I re-adjusted it tonight with all 4 wheels touching, it still is lower in the front by about half a bubble with a carpenter's level. That might amount to 1/4" or a little more, not sure as I didn't measure it.

Probably won't mow with it this year as we are already getting frost every night and the grass is not growing much, plus my yard is still a swamp from all the rain. I figured I would leave the deck as new for winter storage. But I will lower it and drive across the lawn to see if the rear wheels leave ruts as the mechanic thinks it will.

Thanks again. I've printed out the procedures you provided and stuck them in my binder full of manuals. So far the easiest to understand!

Brad

 

[hazmat]

Brad,

Glad we could help. Sounds like Mike is more of an expert than me - NH Tech maybe?

<font color="blue"> I have always heard that a mower deck should be slightly lower in the front, especially rear discharge styles. </font>

This is a true statement. On Exmark machines (a top of the line commercial mower) you can easily adjust the front to rear bias of the deck, depending on grass type, conditions, mulching etc.

I like to give the engineers the benefit of the doubt - The manual states that the deck should ride on all 4 wheels. I haven't measured, but they may have built in a little front/rear bias already. Anyway, this is how I run my machine & it cuts beautifully. The only time it didn't look good was when I let it go for 3 weeks due to vacation, travel & weather.

I did switch to turfs this summer. I had to adjust the deck because the front/rear balance isn't the same with the turf tires as it is with the R4s. Also, the deck comes on & off the tractor real nice at 2" with the turfs, but wants to be at 2.5 or 3" with the R4s.

One last tip, If you are having trouble leveling it side to side, for some reason if you get it front to back first, side to side is easier.

PS if it ever dries out, you should cut your lawn one last time. You want it short for the winter to prevent snow mold & other problems.