2017 BX23S drive over mower deck stuck at "top" dial position

[JWR]

Wow. Good pictures and verbs to go with it. I had this issue with a much less complex older BX2200 of my daughter's. Not a drive over deck. I tried jacks and jumping up and down on it and several other crude attempts to get it loose. Finally gave up and took it to a nearby (other manufacturer's dealer's) shop. They put the whole rig up on a lift and removed enough obstructions to where they could reach/work on/get at the circular gear thing you show. Some call that a cam. When I questioned them about how the heck they got it loose they had no better story than that they lubed the heck out of it, jarred it with mallets and rods and eventually jarred it loose. That was about a year ago. No problems this season.

I imagine the drive over deck is more complex in the hanging hardware (not an automatic connect design is it? I shudder to think what that might involve.) Even so, if you have need for mowing capability on this machine you are surely better off to learn to cope with the MMM than to even consider pulling the backhoe, adding 3pt hitch hardware, and all that.

 

[whitetiger]

I bought this BX23S equipped with loader, backhoe, and drive over belly mower. The previous owner used it only 200 hours mowing 4 acres. I do not intend on using the mower here in the Ozarks because I have only trees, and rocks. I needed to remove the fancy drive over mower, and that is where my problems started. I raised the mower to the top, and could only turn the cutting height knob clockwise to "top". It would not go to "zero" like instructed. I have spent hours reading suggestions, and more hours trying to get the height knob to zero. I have turned the adjustment bolt behind the left tire down, and up, but no luck. I can feel the cutting height shaft jamming up against metal when attempting to turned. I even tried jacking up the mower deck to take the pressure off of the height knob shaft. At this point I just want the mower deck off. I think I was in better shape to remove the deck when it was set at 3", than top. The height knob only turns clockwise. My question is can the deck be removed without driving over it. Will the PTO shaft present a problem ? Suggestions appreciated

There is no reason the knob should not turn counter-clockwise. I have encountered very few units that the cam catches the arm at the very top and will not let it pass.
I just jack up each side of the deck end the rear corners, grasp the knob, and roll the knob and shaft outward in a circular motion while turning CCW. So far I have turned every one of them with little trouble. Some of the decks will contact the Raise stops before the cam and arm clear each other. I just remove the cam, grind a millimeter or two off of the top and reassemble when out of warranty.

Myself, if buying a new tractor with MMM, I would pay extra to NOT have that stupid mess of a drive over deck. I can put the standard deck on and off a lot quicker and easier

 

[climax102]

Wow. Good pictures and verbs to go with it. I had this issue with a much less complex older BX2200 of my daughter's. Not a drive over deck. I tried jacks and jumping up and down on it and several other crude attempts to get it loose. Finally gave up and took it to a nearby (other manufacturer's dealer's) shop. They put the whole rig up on a lift and removed enough obstructions to where they could reach/work on/get at the circular gear thing you show. Some call that a cam. When I questioned them about how the heck they got it loose they had no better story than that they lubed the heck out of it, jarred it with mallets and rods and eventually jarred it loose. That was about a year ago. No problems this season.

I imagine the drive over deck is more complex in the hanging hardware (not an automatic connect design is it? I shudder to think what that might involve.) Even so, if you have need for mowing capability on this machine you are surely better off to learn to cope with the MMM than to even consider pulling the backhoe, adding 3pt hitch hardware, and all that.

I found a great video on youtube that shows the problem.

Kubota should redesign this "Mower link cam", and do a recall on all of them. The part number is K258144410. The guy that made this video only had 5 hours on his mower, and the dealer had to replace this cam. My BX23S is a BX23S with only 204 hrs. The previous owner only used it to mow 4 acres.

Looking at messicks parts manual, and other sources, I should be able to remove the nut on the bottom of the cam. Then I should be able to pull the knob, and shaft attached straight out. Then loosen the bolt holding a "plate retainer", and slide the cam out. This should allow me to drop the deck down to a position even lower than zero, and remove the deck I don't even need.

Kubota BX23S Parts Diagrams

Kubota Parts Catalog Lookup. Buy Kubota Parts Online & Save!

www.messicks.com

 

[climax102]

There is no reason the knob should not turn counter-clockwise. I have encountered very few units that the cam catches the arm at the very top and will not let it pass.
I just jack up each side of the deck end the rear corners, grasp the knob, and roll the knob and shaft outward in a circular motion while turning CCW. So far I have turned every one of them with little trouble. Some of the decks will contact the Raise stops before the cam and arm clear each other. I just remove the cam, grind a millimeter or two off of the top and reassemble when out of warranty.

Myself, if buying a new tractor with MMM, I would pay extra to NOT have that stupid mess of a drive over deck. I can put the standard deck on and off a lot quicker and easier

"Myself, if buying a new tractor with MMM, I would pay extra to NOT have that stupid mess of a drive over deck." I totally agree. I bought my BX23S for the loader, and backhoe. I am 74, grew up in the Kansas City area, and now live on Lake of the Ozarks. We just mow rocks, and trees. I would suspect that John Deere has problems with their drive over mower also. It does make a great commercial with the lady making it look so simple. They should show her taking it off

Thank you for the great advice. From your knowledge can I just remove the nut off the bottom of the cam, pull the shaft straight out the top with the dial handle. Then loosen the spring retainer, and slide the cam out. ?

 

[climax102]

There is no reason the knob should not turn counter-clockwise. I have encountered very few units that the cam catches the arm at the very top and will not let it pass.
I just jack up each side of the deck end the rear corners, grasp the knob, and roll the knob and shaft outward in a circular motion while turning CCW. So far I have turned every one of them with little trouble. Some of the decks will contact the Raise stops before the cam and arm clear each other. I just remove the cam, grind a millimeter or two off of the top and reassemble when out of warranty.

Myself, if buying a new tractor with MMM, I would pay extra to NOT have that stupid mess of a drive over deck. I can put the standard deck on and off a lot quicker and easier

Whitetiger,
Could you show me on the picture below where you " just remove the cam, grind a millimeter or two off of the top and reassemble when out of warranty." I numbered the two areas I believe you are talking about. My cam is not broken, or damaged. I notice that Kubota sprays what looks like a industrial grade coating on about 2/3 of the cam side, and the bottom where the steps are. on a side view I can see a lobe where the cam was being jamed from trying to return to zero.

 

[whitetiger]

The area you have labeled 2

 

[whitetiger]

"Myself, if buying a new tractor with MMM, I would pay extra to NOT have that stupid mess of a drive over deck." I totally agree. I bought my BX23S for the loader, and backhoe. I am 74, grew up in the Kansas City area, and now live on Lake of the Ozarks. We just mow rocks, and trees. I would suspect that John Deere has problems with their drive over mower also. It does make a great commercial with the lady making it look so simple. They should show her taking it off

Thank you for the great advice. From your knowledge can I just remove the nut off the bottom of the cam, pull the shaft straight out the top with the dial handle. Then loosen the spring retainer, and slide the cam out. ?

Yes, you can remove the nut and pull the shaft up out of it, then remove the cam. Beware, when you remove the cam, the deck will fall.

 

[climax102]

The area you have labeled 2

Thank you. This will be helpful

 

[climax102]

Yes, you can remove the nut and pull the shaft up out of it, then remove the cam. Beware, when you remove the cam, the deck will fall.

I had it raised, and it did not fall, but after I lowered the deck, and removed it. When I raised the remaining (orange) attachment frame it did fall. Since I have no intention of using the deck, this gives me more ground clearance. I will have to create a skid type protector attachment to protect the power steering cylinders from getting damaged.