John Deere 345 (1998) w/54" deck.......mower doesn't cut cleanly

VOL54 · Jun 16, 2015

Having an issue with 54" deck on my 1998 John Deere 345. Mower leaves streaks of grass as if the blades are very dull. Does the same thing with new or freshly sharpened blades and a clean underside. Deck has also been leveled. Does anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks.

bruceatlam · Jun 16, 2015

Ground speed too fast in tall grass ----- if you're cutting off more than about 1/4 of the blade that is

beenthere · Jun 16, 2015

First year of mowing with this deck? Tires inflated to correct inflation?

Give us some more hints to what might be wrong.

VOL54 · Jun 17, 2015

Bought this mower used about 2007. Mowing at about the same speed as always.

VOL54 · Jun 17, 2015

Bought this mower used about 2007. Same deck. Tires are inflated to correct pressure. Gauge wheels could stand replacing. Also, could there be a guard missing that routes the flow of grass beneath the deck?

meb9796 · Jun 17, 2015

I would make sure the belt is on properly on the deck. This exact thing happened to me when my belt broke and I replaced it without looking at the diagram. Took me several months to figure it out.

Yellowfever440 · Jun 17, 2015

Check you spindle bearings. Also make sure you have the right blades it you got new ones before this started. What do you mean by streaks or missed grass. Like 1 inch wide streaks or the tire tracks aren't getting lifted back up and cut off? Also do you level the deck completely flat with the ground. When you level a deck it should be an 1/8th inch lower in the front.

beenthere · Jun 17, 2015

Pics of the mown grass showing the stripes would help diagnose too.

swines · Jun 17, 2015

1. One or more of the blades is on upside down.
2. One or more of the blade retaining bolts is loose and the blade(s) is slipping on the shaft.
3. Grass is wet and is being bent over before being cut.
4. Depth of cut is too great and the front of the deck is flattening the grass before cutting.
5. PTO belt or deck drive belt is old or stretched and is slipping.
6. Deck drive belt is not on deck in correct pattern / orientation.
7. One or more of the blade spindles is binding and needs to be replaced.
8. PTO clutch is slipping.

meb9796 · Jun 18, 2015

I should've been more specific with my description. I had stripes in my lawn as well, because the outer two blades were turning the right way, so they were cutting, but the middle blade was going backwards and it wasn't cutting. So I would have an uncut line of grass in my 'path' each time I did a row. Drove me nuts and it was like this for two weeks before I finally figured it out. But it taught me to remove the deck when you replace a broken belt so you can see what you are doing!!!