X540 Front Tire Wear

[BBO]

I just bought this used X540 with 138 hours.
It is 4 years old, so the guy did not mow much. He traded for a push mower.

I had suspected the hours because the front tires were almost completely worn out in the center.
How could you possibly wear out these tires in 138 hours?
However they swear the hour meter has always worked.

I 1st found 20 psi in the front tires, so I know that's way too much air.
Next I noticed that the power steering seems to be stiff.
When looking at this I found the front tires terribly out of alignment.
I am not sure if lawn mowers need any "toe-in" at all, but this setup was cross-eyed bad.
With the left wheel straight, the right was pointing towards the left!

I measured the rear edge of the wheels was at least 1/2" wider that the front edge.
It's a simple 1/2" rod connecting the 2 ball joints that adjust this.
Loosen the lock nuts and rotate the rod (LH & RH threads) to adjust the toe-in.

Now I have the wheels almost aligned and the steering is for sure easier to turn.:thumbsup:
I do not know the JD sets this up or the dealer has to mount & align the wheels.
But someone had sure screwed this up. And the nuts were not loose for sure.
I had to remove the complete assembly and use a bench vice to get everything loose.

It's not easy to measure this alignment. You need 3 people.
One on each side with some straight edges, and another to read a tape measure.:shocked:
I wonder what an auto shop would say if I took the mower there asking for a front end alignment?!:laughing:

I actually worked underneath with a folding rule measuring to the actual metal wheels.

 

[4get gto]

No help with your problem but usually front tires dry rot before they ever wear out.

 

[Dave M7040]

My brother and I at one time had very similar sized Cub cadets..

His was a commercial model with power steering while mine was strong arm steering since brand new.

He always wore out his front tires much faster than I did because, where I would be making wide sweeping turns, he would just crank the steering wheel to full lock.

From your description of one wheel turned out while the other is straight ahead, it sounds like something was hit by a tire and wheel and the tie rod bent

A way to do a one person toe adjustment.

Get two pieces of 3/8" wood dowel. Each piece too short to span the inner distance between the front wheels.

Hold the dowels together and down between the front wheels in front of the front axle.

Since you need a bit of toe in, slide the dowels apart until they touch the inner sidewalls of the tires ahead of the front axle.

Now hold the two dowels firmly together so the don't slip or put a mark to show where they were slid to.

Go to the back side of the tire behind the axle If you have some toe in, the two dowels will be close to but not touching the inner side walls behind the front axle.

This method will get you the level of precision necessary in a simple easy to understand way.

If adjustment of the tie rods is necessary, some tractors have a place to insert a pin to hold the steering wheel centered near the bottom of the steering shaft.

I don't know if your machine has this feature. The trick is to not do all the adjusting of the ties rods on one side as you will end up with a steering wheel not straight when driving straight ahead.

Dave M7040

 

[Zebrafive]

Over inflation and out of alignment was the cause as you discovered. Maybe original owner overinflated the tires to make it steer easier?
My 285's front tires lasted over 1000 hours and 25 years before the let go and then it was side wall cracking.

One neighbor likes to mow perpendicular to the road. He pulls out on to the road, turns hard and mows another pass, turns and mows back towards the road. I know these hard, fast turns on a blacktop road will shorten his tire's life.

 

[oldnslo]

On My X540 I run the front tires at 16 - 20 PSI in the winter for carrying the snow plow and limit the chance of popping a bead while turning/ plowing etc. Agree that the toe in alignment was the major cause of this wear.

 

[beenthere]

One neighbor likes to mow perpendicular to the road. He pulls out on to the road, turns hard and mows another pass, turns and mows back towards the road. I know these hard, fast turns on a blacktop road will shorten his tire's life.

And that trick may shorten his own life.. as happened locally when a crotch-rocket motorcyclist was flying fast down the road and the lawn mower met. Both killed.