Mowing 2210/62C mower height

prosperity · May 27, 2003

I know this is kind of stupid, but this has been bothering me. The mower adjustment dial goes from 1-5 with an increment between each number. According to the manual, the mower can cut at heights from 1" - 5". Well, the scale on the adjustment knob doesn't match the actual cutting height. I mow different properties, and like to know where I'm at. I did a measurement of the blades at the different marks on the dial to know where I am at. I was just wondering if my machine was set up different than others. Does anyones 2210/62C mower adjustment knob match the cutting height? Or is this just supposed to be a "scale" to go by.

Told you, probably stupid, but things like this bother me sometimes.

joecdeere · May 27, 2003

A lot of it depends on the person who mounted the mower to the tractor. When they first set the deck level, most people tend to either keep raising to level or keep lowering the deck adjustments to level it. Before long.......the measurements on the dial no longer match the blade height. If it's mowing level, i'd leave it alone and index it in my mind, or you can find a rainy weedend, a flat level floor, and a blade guage and reset and level it out. It would suprise you how many people don't notice it, but you wouldn't be the first

wisconsinguy · May 28, 2003

hi

I spent a couple days when I first got my 2210 trying to set the mower up so 3 inches was 3 inches. If I would set the lift arm then it would not lift high enough to engage the lock to hold it up, if I would set the attach links to the mower then it would bottom out on the up stops. I made several trips to the dealer and he had no idea, it was always an inch off, finally one of the mechanics said they are coming from the factory with the decal around the adjustment knob installed wrong. He gave me a new decal, witch I have not installed yet cuz I haven't figured out how to get the knob off. Its kinda low on my priority list right now since I know what is wrong, someday I will "calibrate" the mower, for now I just set the dial an inch higher then what I want.

Phil

prosperity · May 28, 2003

I can see your point of trying to adjust everything. I looked at all the linkage, and it seems it would be difficult to get everything the way I want because of the stops, lock etc. Mine seems off even more: at #4 I'm mowing at 2 1/2", #5 at 3 1/2", etc. Lock does lock though - the deck just drops about 1/2".
Anyway - thanks for the replies. It's something I can live with, just kind of bugs me. At least I know it not just me.

CHUCKG · May 28, 2003

Hi Prosperity:

Not sure if this will be of any help to you, but this is what I have encountered with the 62" MMM on my 2210 that I have had now for about a week. Got the unit with the FEL, MMM and Herd spreader. Removed the FEL and spreader to do some mowing. Thought the MMM was in the locked position, but I could not get it unlocked. Could not raise or lower the MMM and could not move the height adjustment knob. The knob was set on the 5" mowing height setting according to the MMM adjustment knob decal. Based on this cutting height setting, I believed the MMM was not "locked" in place, rather, it was stuck in the up position.

The dealer salesman and mechanic came to the house and both had to lift the MMM up and down and it finally became unstuck, if that's what you want to call it. Here is what the mechanic finally found. The MMM could go all the way down, but not all the way up to the point it would lock in as it is designed to do. You could only turn the dial up to the 4" setting on the decal. What he then found, and I hope I can explain this so it's understandable, is that the "L" shaped piece of metal that the 3 point hitch arm engages to raise and lower the mower was factory made defective in that the angle of the "L" was not great enough to lift the MMM high enough so it could be locked in place. They have ordered a whole new "kit", not just the defective "L" shaped piece of metal. I don't know what the kit entails but I should find out soon.

Sorry for being so long winded, but I wanted to mention this in the event others might encounter it. Once this repair is completed, I am going to address the proper location of the adjusting knob decal, adjusting the MMM to the adjusting knob decal settings and the respective cutting heights. I'll let everyone know how that turns out.

Chuck

Anonymous Poster · May 28, 2003

Thanks Chuck. I can only lock mine up when the deck is off. It will go up to 5 with deck on. Keep us informed.

wisconsinguy · May 28, 2003

hi

I'll try and confuse the issue here, I would recommend getting out the owners manuals as it shows how to adjust the mower. I don't think the dealers pay much attention since they are new. I'll try and explain but look in the book as the pictures will make it clearer. There are 3 adjustments,,,maybe more. check page 6 and 7 of your manual. First I would disconnect the lift arms on page 7 item g. Then adjust the lift rod shown on page 6 , I don't know if your bracket is bent but you can adjust the lift by turning that rod. It must be adjusted to the full up and you should be able to turn the mower hight adjustment knob all the way around 360 degrees. A word of caution here make small adjustments if you go too far you can bend the rod quite easly. If you adjust it so it goes a bit higher then the mower will drop more with the lock installed if you adjust it so the lock just goes in then it will not drop as much. Now moving on to page 7 the lift ams links should be adjusted so with the mower all the way up you have a bit of clearence on the upstops, If you cannot raise you mower all the way it may be hitting these stops before it is all the way up. Now to futher complicate things, these lift arms should be adjusted to level the deck left to right and for proper hight. You should be able to set your hight adjustment knob at 5 inches and adjust the lift arm links so the mower is at 5 inches but it seems that it wants to bottom out on the up stops or not raise all the way, if you cannot get it adjusted properly the dealer tells me they have been coming with the decal around the hight knob installed wrong. I like to think as myself as mechaniclly inclined as I fix 747's for a living but this mower adjustment has been a real pain. I would suggest making the dealer set it up according to the manual or at least till your happy with it.

later
Phil

mhalla · May 28, 2003

There seems to be an awful lot of confusion surrounding the lock position and mower deck height adjustment knob on the JD 2210.

I too found that the height adjusting knob would not initially turn to the lock position on my 2210. The knob is actually supposed to be able to turn a full 360" and not stop at any point. The knob is now working fine on my tractor.

There are very clear instructions in the mower deck operator's manual that I followed to correct the problem. Too many dealers are ignoring the adjustment during set up based on the number of posts I have seen here and elsewhere regarding problems with the adjustment knob not doing what it is supposed to do.

You have to adjust the length of the yoke that runs between the mower deck and the 3pt lift arm until the knob can turn freely a full 360 degrees without stopping. You also need to ensure that the specified space is maintained in the fully up position between a part of the deck and a stop on the tractor body. To complete the adjustment process and maintain the stop space it may be neccesary to change the length of the two lift links on which the deck hangs. Again the manual is pretty clear on what to do but you may have to go back and forth betwen the two adjustments to get everything the way it needs to be so the knob spins freely and completely around without stopping.

Of course the dealer should be performing this adjustment for you before delivery but for whatever reason too many dealers (including my own) are ignoring some of the steps required to complete the deck installation. The reason, IMHO, seems to be that dealers are not taking the time to read the owner's manual that comes with the deck and making invalid assumptions about how the deck needs to be set up and how the adjustment knob is supposed to work.

It makes me wonder in the earlier post within this thread, if there was really an improperly bent part that was manufactured or if the dealer didn't know how to make the necessary adjustments or just didn't bother. It will be fun to see if the new kit actually solves the problem. The angle of "L" shaped piece of metal would have to have been defective to the point that the turnbuckle on the yoke could not provide a compensating adjustment. Then again maybe the "L" shaped piece of metal got bent on the tractor the first time the 3pt lift arm raised the deck and it raised it too far.

I suppose it doesn't matter since the dealer is addressing the problem but it is still irritating when something doesn't work the way it should.

Do keep us posted Chuck.

Mike

Anonymous Poster · May 28, 2003

Having read all the replies, I'm now very curious about my 2210/62C. My lock position works but I cannot spin the height knob 360, it does reach a point and stop. Once or twice when new the knob got "stuck" in the lock position but I was able to free it. Now that I have a few hours mowing I'm not having this problem.

I have my 335/54C set at 2.5 inches and to match this with the 220/62C I have the knob set at about the "3" setting. Seemed strange to me but have not had the time to research it.

Time to deep-dive the manual and figure it out.

mhalla · May 28, 2003

Looks like Phil and I were replying at about the same time but he hit submit quicker. I'm glad he had access to the manual to make his explanation more clear.

Phil said in regards to the manuals ( I don't think the dealers pay much attention since they are new. ) From my perspective this is all the more reason for the dealers to be consulting the manual!

Based on some other 2210 postings regarding 62c mower height I need to get out a ruler and see just how close the numbers on the decal work out to the actual cutting height of the blades.

Mike

prosperity · May 28, 2003

Thanks for the input winsconsinguy. I've looked at what you've said before, but not real closely. It's a rainy afternoon here, so armed with my manual and your post, I'm "going in". Going to play around with it to see what I can do.

I don't have the problems others have stated (won't lock or knob won't turn). Just the actual adjustment. I seem to recall that my lift arms are within 1/2" of the stops on the frame, so I doubt I'll have much to work with. Maybe it is as simple as the decal not being right.

prosperity · May 28, 2003

Ok - back from the barn.
Armed with all this information, I started out taking the deck off. I wanted to see for myself what makes this adjustment knob work. Then, I took of the adjusting bar from the 3 point. It measured 640mm. Followed the book and brought it back to 625mm. Put it back on, and the knob wouldn't turn 360deg. So, small adjustments at a time, had to lengthen the rod until the knob would turn. Ended up at 635mm. Next, I looked where the lift arms meet the stop on the frame. Had about 6mm space, so adjusted the lift arm brackets so I had the 2mm. Makes sense since I gained 5mm on the rod I gained about 5mm in height on the lift arms. Back on with the deck, and of course I had to do a little more tweaking because of the weight of the deck (supposed to do all this with the deck on anyway). Got everything set. Set my knob at #4, and measured 3" at the blade tip. Actually, I am 1/2" closer to the numbers now than I was before. Checked and measured at all the numbers on the dial and I'm 1" off from the numbers now. At least I know where I'm at. At #4 = 3" / #3=2" etc. Half increments work the same.

So.....in conclusion - the decal is off. But, the manual doesn't exactly state that these numbers on the decal are cutting measurements. Might just be indicator marks to go by.

I'm glad I did this - I'll sleep better tonight.

mhalla · May 28, 2003

On page 10 of the mower deck operators manual it states that the actual height of the cut should be within 1/4 inch of the reading on the cutting height knob so it would appear that the intent of the numbers on the decal is to provide cutting measurements.

Seems mighty tricky though to get that close a match. I suspect my deck is actually cutting lower than what the indicator says.

Mike

Anonymous Poster · May 28, 2003

Read your mower deck operator's manual!!! Page 10
Adjusting cutting height #6
/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

prosperity · May 28, 2003

On page 10 of my manual under "Adjusting Cutting Height" it goes to #5. I don't have a #6.

Anonymous Poster · May 28, 2003

This is what is in my book.
6. Check that the actual height of cut matches, within 6.35mm (1/4 in.), the reading on the cutting height knob. If they do not match, adjust mower deck side to side and/or front-to-rear.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif hope this helps

wisconsinguy · May 29, 2003

Now that we have all messed with all the adjustments and still can't get the right height and find that the decal is not right has anyone figured out how to get the height adjustment knob off to put the new decal on.

Phil

prosperity · May 29, 2003

( This is what is in my book.
6. Check that the actual height of cut matches, within 6.35mm (1/4 in.), the reading on the cutting height knob. If they do not match, adjust mower deck side to side and/or front-to-rear.
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif hope this helps )

Thanks ASC - that isn't in my book.
Anyway, I'm understanding what it is saying. But....I'm already as high as I can go with this adjustment (2mm from the frame stops when raised) and my actual cut is still 1" lower than the dial guage. Can't adjust any higher. That's why I went through the process of adjusting the lift rod from the 3 point.

prosperity · May 29, 2003

( Now that we have all messed with all the adjustments and still can't get the right height and find that the decal is not right has anyone figured out how to get the height adjustment knob off to put the new decal on.)

I haven't looked closely at the knob, but how about this? Cut the decal somewhere (like at one of the black marks), and carefully put it on around the knob. If you have a steady hand you'll never see the difference. I usually have my wife do stuff like this for me as I'm not the steadiest of hand and my eyes aren't what they used to be. She always has me sign a waiver of liability first!

Thanks for the heads up with the new decal. I can call my dealer and request one for myself. Have you looked at the new one? Do you feel that it will be right?

Why does this bug me so much?

CHUCKG · May 29, 2003

Not a happy camper!

First of all, I want to thank Wisconsinguy, Mhalla & Prosperity for the information you have all provided here.

Secondly, when I spend $15K for a tractor and implements, I don't believe I am being unreasonable to expect that unit to be delivered to me fully operational and adjusted properly. And if it isn't, I believe in giving the dealer first opportunity to correct the situation, which I have done. As I have noted in my previous post, the dealer's mechanic told me I have a "L" shaped piece of metal that was bent incorrectly when it was manufactured which is preventing me from being able to raise my 62" MMM properly and operating my mower height control knob. So, their cure here is, they have ordered the "kit" to repair this.

Thirdly, after reading everyone's comments, I lost my patience waiting for the dealer to fix this problem and I decided it was time for me to get my hands dirty. Within less then 30 minutes I discovered that based on the information you folks were providing, that I didn't even have the correct operators manual for the 62"C MMM mower as it applies to the 2210; they gave me the manual for the 62"C mower as it applies to the X400/X500 series tractors. I'll take some fault on this as I should have read the front page more carefully.

Next, I adjusted the length of the yoke that runs between the mower deck and the 3pt lift arm until the MMM draft (lift) arm was raised to a position just shy of hitting the upstop on the tractor frame. Based on this one adjustment, I was able to fully raise and lower the MMM with no problems, turn the mower height control knob a full 360 degrees, and lock the deck in the upright position and release it from that position quite freely.

If there is anything "bent" on this machine, it's not metal. It's pretty clear to me now what the problem is and I will be at that dealership today to address my concerns.

As a side note, for those asking about how to remove the mower height control knob, it simply lifts straight up, but you will have to pry it up.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Chuck