How to Set the DECK WHEELS on Your Riding Lawn Mower - CUB CADET

[@scottburghart9278]

Here we go again......EXCELLENT tutorial! I feel so stupid, I had no idea those wheels were adjustable! Such a huge help, THANKS! Big thumbs up!

[@fixitFlip]

Ha ha, thanks for the support! Any many people don't know these wheels are adjustable, unless you read the manual, and WHO DOES THAT? lol

[@onesadtech]

My father bought a Husky ride on last summer and I used it for the second time just the other day, and partway through mowing my parents' very uneven property, and after getting stuck and/or scalping a couple high spots, I noticed the anti scalp wheels weren't really helping at all. Did a little googling and here we are! Thanks for the great resource, looking forward to trying the mower again with this adjusted. 👍

[@fixitFlip]

Awesome, hope it gives you a much smoother cut next time. It should!

[@ChuckP25.]

Flip -- I've had my XT1 54in rider for 3 years. I never knew I could do this. Thanks HUGE!!!!! Thumbs up.

[@fixitFlip]

No problem. Glad I could help, Chuck! Happy mowing.

[@warrenscorner]

I recently purchased a used XT1. These videos are a great help. The deck was way out of adjustment. All of the wheels are set to the lowest setting. They are very wobbly so I definitely need new ones. Thanks for the videos.

[@fixitFlip]

No problem, glad I could help! I have links to all my videos about this mower in the description below the video if you need more tips.

[@508homes]

Thanks! New you could adjust those but didn’t know how low they should be. Helpful informative

[@fixitFlip]

No problem!

[@TheNewenglandboys]

Glad I found this channel and subscribed last night! Super helpful! Thanks

[@fixitFlip]

Glad I could help and glad you joined!

[@bjbarlow]

Very good video, clear and easy to follow

[@fixitFlip]

Thank you!

[@kotaspremiere2931]

I have a new xt1 lt46 and i had bad scalping issues in my yard (my yard has pretty bad dips in certain areas. I also noticed uneven cutting when turning in certain areas. Everyone was telling me it was bent blades and im thinking like...theres no way because i JUST bought it back in may. I lowered my wheels one step up from the lowest hole (i like to cut at about 2 and 1/4 or 2 and 1/2) and my yard is now cutting way more evently. The only concern is that when i turn i do notice the deck wheels kinda sliding against the grass, but ill settle for that since my yard looks better. As long as nothing bends im happy. I can always buy new wheels if they wear faster.

[@fixitFlip]

Yeah, that's ok if they slide along a little bit. Also, check out my video on leveling your deck if it is scalping some: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZm0i4V4iZdrhtE

[@everythingvideos24]

I cut my grass at 2 1/2” and sometimes 3” my yard is uneven and bumpy. I had my wheels at the highest hole and the deck scalped my yard. I put the wheels at hole 2 and ever since the wheels prevents scalping but the wheels ride the ground.

[@fixitFlip]

Yeah, when the grass is thick mine will kind of ride too, but sometimes you have to just cut it a little taller with this set up on this cub if you don't want them to ride. But if they are riding, worse case scenario is you just have to replace them a little sooner. Not the end of the world. But the deck is meant to be free hanging, not riding on the ground.

[@dougmottert2258]

Great stuff. thanks for your help . I am a subscriber now just found your channel .

[@fixitFlip]

Awesome, welcome aboard. More videos on this mower coming soon!

[@stevem.9022]

Great tutorial man. I wonder if one could fashion a simple extension piece from an "L" bracket to get the extra 1/2 inch?

[@fixitFlip]

I don't see why not!

[@fixitFlip]

If you try that, let me know how well it works because I'm curious now!

[@cristinafarmer112]

Thanks. Good information!

[@fixitFlip]

Thank you!

[@daven7915]

[‎7/‎20/‎2023 12:00 PM] I just bought a house with acreage, Yay! Too much for the old push mower. I just ordered an XT1. I have no experience with riding mowers and decks. Do you re-adjust your anti-scalping wheels when you change mowing height? My lawn is some kind of fancy grass that needs to be cut at one inch, and my crab grass and weed field has some really un-even ground that will require the 4" setting to avoid bottoming out. It would seem to me that if I set my wheels 1/2" up for the 4" deck setting, when I drop down to the 1" setting the wheel would be riding the ground real hard. Am I going to have to change the wheel height every time I change cutting height?

[@fixitFlip]

I would probably set the deck wheels down to where you don't scalp the fancy grass that is down low. Then just leave them there. I wouldn't worry too much about scalping the weed field! Just leave them in the one position. Congrats on the mower. Check in the description under the video, I have a bunch of how-to videos for this mower!

[@KeyFobRob]

Thank you!

[@fixitFlip]

No problem!

[@rorygoodden3845]

Thanks just did the front today, mosquitoes wouldn’t let me finish the back, wish I had an impact driver, pita getting fronts off, let sit for a day after spraying with WD40 and some penetrating oil. DIY tools not enough toque, hammer and wrench then socket and wrench.

[@fixitFlip]

Yeah a big breaker bar from Harbor freight comes in handy sometimes too if you don't have an impact. They bolts don't have much surface area to grab onto for sure.

[@rickkeiderling1331]

How do you level front to back? I dont see a video in your videos.

[@fixitFlip]

Should sit level side to side but front should sit slightly lower than back. Here’s my video on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZm0i4V4iZdrhtEsi=1KGEQrdNaemDi_GP

[@suziesturgill2462]

I have same model and mine is rubbing on the mower shut, any suggestions

[@elyk1619]

How tight do you need to tighten the deck wheel bolts?

[@fixitFlip]

I don't know an exact torque. Let's call it "good and snug."

[@elyk1619]

@@AnX8765 thank you

[@fixitFlip]

@@AnX8765 Duh. Yes I did. Sorry, brain fart. Long day.

[@nathanprickett1597]

So I inflated my tires, leveled my deck, and the left front deck wheel sits lower than the right front deck wheel.... Thoughts?

[@fixitFlip]

Are they set in the same corresponding hole?

[@nathanprickett1597]

@@fixitFlip yep, I have mine lowered to lowest setting as to help with the scalping

[@fixitFlip]

@@nathanprickett1597 That should not be the case, then. I wonder if the bracket is warped or bent. That's the only thing that makes sense to me.

[@johnhendel7357]

Same here. The bracket has been bent outwards, but not downwards. It sits about one hole lower than the rest. Deck is level, tires properly inflated.......and so on. 🤔

[@bethmurrow5626]

Hi Flip...I am new to your channel, glad I stumbled on to it. I have a XT1 LT42 Cub Cadet, I purchased 2 years ago. Here is little info that some ppl may not know. If you buy a Cub from a big box store, such as Tractor Supply or similar, you will be buying an inferior product compared to buying, the same exact model, from a Cub dealer. You will pay just a few hundred dollars more, not much, for the amount of differences. Because, at the dealer, they deal with more commercial service sales unlike the Harry homeowner customer. They use less plastic parts, more added accessories such as armrests and more. Ok, that was my tidbit of the day. Now for my question...I recently needed to change the deck belt due to it coming off sonetimes. Instead of just reaching under and replacing it, I decided to check out the condition of all parts on the deck. I removed it, removing those crazy cotter pins things was a real bear especially the one holding the cable on. Anyways i noticed a pulley break needed replacing, so i did that. But the pulley it was associated with which is attached to the arm that engage/disengage the blades....wobbles some, especially when disengaged. When engaged it still wobbles some but not nearly as much. I replaced the shoulder spacer(round metal disk with holes) but it still wobbles. Any guess as to what it could be? While the deck was off I cleaned, scrapped, power washed, painted, and put "Slip Plate #1, we will see if i get less grass sticking under there. But i have to solve my problem first. Thanks for your videos, they are awesome!

[@fixitFlip]

Thanks for joining the channel. And I agree, I always buy from a local dealer. That’s where I got mine. If you have a wobbly pulley, I would recommend replacing that pulley. If that doesn’t fix it, then I would replace the spindle.

[@wandahughes5439]

So you set all of them in the same hole

[@wandahughes5439]

I have a jd x320 back wheel don't hit ground the front does I got all set in same hole but I'm scraping the yard in spots

[@fixitFlip]

Well, you want each want to sit about a half inch off the ground. If that means different holes, then that is fine. Also, making sure the deck is leveled properly will make sure nothing is out of whack. I have a video on that as well. @@wandahughes5439

[@cricri3534]

ah .. that explains the scalping I have 😒

[@fixitFlip]

Yep, that will do it!

[@timr31908]

I've got the same lawn mower same year... I think the cut quality is horrible... MTD made a terrible deck design and they had to make these airplane lawn mower blades to compensate for the bad deck design. The only way I've seen more decent is when you're cutting really short like 1 in. We know that's the worst thing you could do to your lawn if you set it at 3:00 you can see how bad it does not cut because it does not suck the grass up to cut it off. Shame on you MTD America's tired of your garbage

[@samkitty5894]

I think this is wrong. Mower deck is supposed to float and scalping wheels come in play only on uneven ground. If they are installed to low, like yours, deck will rest on them most of the time causing premature wear, and uneven cut. There are other videos here that correctly explain this procedure.

[@fixitFlip]

Hi, Sam. I don't have any uneven cuts. And I'm literally making this adjustment exactly how the manual says to do it.

[@samkitty5894]

@@fixitFlip Why did it come from the factory with incorrect settings?

[@fixitFlip]

@@samkitty5894 The factory doesn't know what kind of grass you are cutting or what height you are cutting it. Cutting Bermuda down really short would require a higher setting than cutting tall fescue where you would put them down low.

[@samkitty5894]

@@fixitFlip Again, scalping wheels are NOT meant to adjust the height of the cut. Their only purpose is to prevent scalping in event of a bump/dip in the terrain. The height of the cut is adjusted via a lever that has multiple settings.

[@fixitFlip]

@@samkitty5894 I'm fully of aware of that. You want to set your deck height to where you most typically have it, THEN set your deck wheels in the hole that will get you closest to 1/2 inch from the ground or so. You don't want the deck wheels riding on the ground, but you don't want them so high that they don't prevent scalping in a dip either.