JD L110

A couple a months ago, I bougt a JD L110 from my brother. Heres a short history: He boguht it new in 2006 I think it was, but shortly after maybe the next year, he hit something hard enough that not only did it warp the spindle, the sllightly bent the deck. It didnt cut too bad, so he just used it like it was. A couple of months ago, he bought a new deck for it, and before he could get it on, he came across a deal on a new zero turn, so he bought it, and I bought the JD and deck from him. I bought new blades, spindles, pulleys belt and blades. Cut great, and my oldest son really likes this mower. Last time he cut with it, the longer he would cut, the worse the yard looked, as in it looked like one blade had gotten bent, but theres nothing in the yard he could have hit. So yesterday I boought new blades, but its cuts just as bad. I made an attempt at leveling the deck, but that just made it worse, so I set it back the way it was, and thats where Im at now. This deck is built different than the original, but Mother Deere included the new hangers in the kit so thats not a problem, I dont think. Anybody have any experience with these?

Hi John, I hit a railroad spike with my Int. cub,I replaced the blade but it didn't help because the spindle was bent.

Stan

A low rear tire will cause it to cut uneven. That is simple to check.

Make sure the blades are not on upside down. If you are sitting in the seat with the deck on the mower, the blades should spin clockwise if you are looking down at the top of the deck. If you are looking at the bottom of the deck, The cutting edge should be down and blades spin counterclockwise.

Remove the deck from the mower to check blades and spindles. If you remove the blades, they should stack neatly on each other. That is how I tell if they are straight.


With the blades on the deck, spin them around 360 degrees. They should be about 1/2" from the bottom of the deck edge. Next, hold one blade still in the center, and spin both edges of other blade to the center to see if the edges are about the same height. Do the same thing with the other blade. If the blades are true, that should show you if the spindle is bent.

tires are OK, one of the first things I checked. Blades are on right, really cant mess that up. I did pull the deck and turned the cutting edges to each other, they are off by like 2mm, but the book says thats OK, and it is consistant between the 4 edges. The thing is, when he first started cutting, it was doing fine, nothing he could have hit in this part of my yard. After 5 or 6 "rounds", I noticed it was cutting uneven, but not enough to worry about, the longer he went, the worse it got. I thought maybe the adjusters had come loose or were somehow back down, but the ywere, so I checked the level, and it was off, but when I leveled it back, it made it even worse so I set it back. It not cutting right side to side, like one blade is sitting lower than the other, not just like its higher on one side than the other. This is a new deck, with new spindles and each checked out the same dimensions when I pulled them yesterday. Nw, the old style deck isnt being made, but the new one is identical to the old one, except the way it hangs in the rear, and there was a kit with the new deck to adapt it to work. I did talk to a dealer mech this morning and he told me with this model, you have to level the blades, not the deck, and says that the deck itself sit at an angle, but the blade are level. I dont know at this point....

I think my spindle are fine, they are new with only like 20 hours on them, and there was no noticeable wobble when I checked them as rrobert described, and was only off 2mm, which the book says its OK.

That kind of makes sense what the mechanic said. You can make a gauge out of wood(1). Tape it perpendicular to a long stick(2). Set the deck at a medium height. Spin the blades so they are going left to right. Make the gauge(1) short enough to fit between the blade and the ground. Use the long stick(2) as a handle so you can slide the gauge to check each blade edge thru the grass chute.

From your description, it almost sound like the belt is losing traction. I had an MTD that did this. Turn on the deck and it would have a certain sound. As soon as I went into grass, you could hear the deck slow down. Still did it even with a new belt. I sold it to someone else as is and not sure how it was fixed. Maybe someone else has come across something like this.

Check the blade pulley on the engine. See if the belt bottoms out in the "V". If so, then the belt may not be gripping on the sides like it is supposed to. Check the idler pulleys for the belt. Make sure they are not stiff. Make sure the belt isn't threaded wrong. Inside of belt goes to v pulleys. Outside of belt goes to flat pulleys. If this is an electronic pto, then the magnet might be slipping. Or battery doesn't have enough power to give the magnet full power. If mechanical, make sure the springs have tension when engaged.

I guess it could be the belt, but its fairly new. Some of the grass he cuts is kinda thick, so maybe it has wore it some. Ill have to double check it again today. A buddy of mine says he thinks he still has one of those "tools" that you set the height via the blades, so if he cant find it Ill use you method! Thanks alot!!!

where are you leveling from,sounds like the deck edge,you cannot do that you have to gauge it from the blade tips, first in the for aft position,then the blades in the side to side position. try that see whst you get,also check the deck belt for tightness and is the motor be opertated at full throttle. both of these can do what you are seeing

That is a quick way to ruin a new belt. You can't use auto belts for the deck. I use green or blue belts if I use generic belts.

My nephews like cutting grass like this. Full speed thru tall grass. I can't get them to understand: Only go as fast as the blades can keep up cutting.

I have had to mow slowly twice over dry tall grasses.