Problem with Cutting Height Adjustment - B 2601

MarkinMass · Jun 11, 2017

I have not had any issues with my B 2601, until today.

I went to go cut the lawn and dropped down the mower deck and a bolt or something came out onto the ground. I have no idea where this came from and cannot locate the piece in the owners manual.

Anyway, the issue I am having is the the height I set the deck at, will not stay at the height. I normally cut around 3 1/2 or so. For some reason the mower deck will drop down to the minimum, even though it is set at 3 1/2. More than likely the piece that fell off the tractor has something to do with the turn knob that adjusts the cutting height. See attached image below.

any idea what this part is or what affect it can have on the height adjust knob? Please help, as I cannot cut the lawn, as it will not stay at the correct height - keeps going to lowest setting. I'd hate to have to bring to the dealer over this, even though it is still under warranty (33 hours). Thanks for your help!!

jimmysisson · Jun 11, 2017

Maybe the adjuster is a bolt that screws into that part? Looks like a "captive nut" that you found. Is the bolt still there? Imagine what it's threaded into and try to get that piece in that place. Flat side toward the knob.
Jim

oldballs · Jun 11, 2017

MarkinMass.......I had the same problem earlier this spring.......My B2620 has 580 hrs, most of which is mowing. In the photo you see a cam that I replaced (probably not your problem); and you will also see a nut that goes up the center that holds the whole adjustment, knob (bolt) and all together.

.

Your deck may have some slightly different parts than mine, but the mechanics is probably the same. A new tractor may have some bolts that come loose right after it is put into service. Your actual part I can not identify either in the OE MMM manual or the tractor manual. The dealer has more computer diagrams than most of us have.

If that adjustment knob bolt/nut comes loose, the deck will not stay up. For now, just tighten it up (metric) and see if that works. The part in your picture probably has something to do with it however.

Cheers,
Mike

MarkinMass · Jun 11, 2017

That seems very similar to mine.

I tried to tighten the nut, but it seems really tight already. I think I will take a trip to the dealer in the next couple of days and see if they have one on the lot. I can either take a look or see if I can speak with one of their techs. At the very least, I can ask them what that piece was that come off of my tractor.

Juiced06GTO · Jun 25, 2017

Not sure where in Mass you are, but you can take a look at mine, it is set up for mowing right now. I had an issue where I couldn't get the deck to adjust at all, the adjustment know was stuck. I had to make some adjustments to one of the linkages as it had vibrated loose. I am in Sutton, MA if that is closer than your dealer.

MarkinMass · Jun 26, 2017

Juiced06GTO said:
Not sure where in Mass you are, but you can take a look at mine, it is set up for mowing right now. I had an issue where I couldn't get the deck to adjust at all, the adjustment know was stuck. I had to make some adjustments to one of the linkages as it had vibrated loose. I am in Sutton, MA if that is closer than your dealer.

Thanks for the offer, but it is currently in the shop. Greatly appreciate the offer though.

Ahearn Equipment sent a service technician out to my house in Charlton and he pulled it apart, then reassembled it. Not much was done, but to tighten everything up. The adjustment knob was very hard to turn after the guy came and worked on it. It was fine, until I moved the knob to lower the height of the cut. Once I did that the deck was dropping like it did before.

So now, the machine it at the dealer. They looked it over again and could not find any issues, but the deck was still dropping. They have ordered a new mechanism and am waiting for it to arrive at the dealers, so they can install it. They do not know where that part came from that is pictured in the 1st post. I just hope it works, as my grass is out of control with all of this rain. Total opposite from last year, when we couldn't buy a drop of rain!

They said I should be able to get the tractor back on Thursday, if the part comes in on time. I will update this thread to state if it was really fixed and if possible, the difference between the new and old mechanism.

Juiced06GTO · Jun 28, 2017

Is the deck dropping while the 3 point is not? The cam on the adjustment knob acts as a stop to the lever that connects to the 3 pt hitch arm, so unless the adjustment bolt on that lever backed all the way out the deck shouldn't move without the 3 pt arms moving. I'll have a look at mine the next time I am out there, hopefully the techs get you taken care of!