Lokking to raise blade heigth. Is there something

Deck bearing locked up or something jamming the deck

On ZTRs you raise the whole front of the mower including the deck. To prevent the blades from while loosing and tightening you use a wooden block between the blade tip and the mower deck.
When retightening the blade torque the blade bolt to 45-55 ft/lbs (60-75 Nm).

Your lawn tractor will have a lever that raises and lowers the mower deck which houses the two cutting blades. By lowering your mower deck to the desired cutting height, the blades should automatically engage. By raising the deck back to it's highest position, the blades will automatically disengage. Should be simple enough. You can consult your mower manual. If you don't have one, you can easily find it online using the make, model and year of the lawn tractor.

On a clean lever surface, raise the deck as high as it will go. With the motor OFF, look under the deck. One of the blade tips will be lower than the others. That will be the source of the problem.



If you hit something with the deck, the deck itsself may be bent, or the blade may be bent. If everything is really worn, the assembly holding the deck up may be worn on one side, causing it to sag on that side, but this should be visible to the naked eye.

sounds like wrong belt you raise it belts tighter lower belts looser or the tensioner has come loose

make sure you have the proper belt

If your blades won't engage when you raise the lever to engage them AND that lever moves freely without the normally expected resistance, then you've lost the cotter pin that connects the lever rod to the mower deck assembly. Very easy fix! Using the mower deck raise/lower lever, lower the mower deck to "down" position. Now, lay on your side along the right side of the mower and look up (use a flashlight) under the mower at the top of the mower deck while moving the blade engagement lever "up" (which pushes the connected rod down). At the end of the rod, you will see a hole where the mower deck and rod connect. Align the hole at the end of the rod with the matching "pin" on the mower deck (you'll see it) and insert a new cotter pin to secure them together. Use a nail if you don't have a cotter pin. Voila! you are done. The blade engagement lever will now engage/disengage your mower blades successfully. Just remember that mower deck must be down, or lowered, before you engage the blades!

Something is bent, be it the blade or part of the deck. With the mower off you can look under the deck with the deck fully raised. Turn the blades by hand to see where it is hitting. This really would be easier if the deck was removed. If you need instructions to remove the deck then reply asking for them and I will type it out for you. Not too hard for you to figure out if you are good with your hands. If not good with hands it is relatively easy proceedure to follow.

If this was really helpful, please rate.

Try replacing the blade , its most likely bent.

it sounds like the deck and or the belt needs to be adjusted and aligned. 1st make sure mower is OFF and blades are disengaged. check to make sure the deck/blades are free of harden grass, twigs, branches, and that they are free moving. 2nd make sure belt is in its correct path. 3rd make sure the deck can be lowered and raised without obstructions 4th make sure no parts have been bent and the pulleys are parallel to the deck and the deck is not cracked or broken by the blades hitting something hard and the deck being damaged. 5th the belt adjustment needs to be tight but not over tightened (see a service dealer).
hope this has been helpful. contact me if you need further help.
Thank you.