Mule Drive on my 128 is not level

[zooyorklp]

Like I said my Mule Drive on my 128 is lower on the left side than it is on the right side. I'm assuming this is why I'm not getting an even cut. When I'm mowing it seems that right after i mowed a certain spot that the grass is a lot higher on the right side. It even cuts all the way to the dirt in some areas due to the left side of the pto being so uneven. I've done some research and it seems like it could be the J bolt or whatever its called and or the spring on the J bolt. On the right side of the mower the bolt goes through the hole between an inch or two but on the left side the J bolt only barely goes through the hole probably about 1/8 of a inch. Here's a pic of both sides.
Here's the side that seems to go all the way through



And here's the side that doesn't seem to go all the way through



Now when I look at the spring on the J bolt, on the side of the pto that seems to be too low, the spring looks very old and one end of the spring is bunched together instead separated. Here's a pic.
Here's the pic of the spring I "think" is good.



Now here's a pic of the spring I "think" is no good.



So I'm curious about what everyone thinks and if yall think my problem is either my J bolt and or spring.


Also....

This little part keeps coming undone. I assumed it was because the pto is not level and was hoping if i fixed the J bolt that this would stop coming undone.


I'm only 21 and this is my first garden tractor so I'm new to all this. Thanks for your time hope somebody can be helpful!

[sawdustdad]

Two things I think. Your mule drive is coming off the bolt because the mule drive assembly is coming out of the quick attach mount on the front. put that side arm around that bolt and push the frame of the mule drive (that assembly that hangs off the front of the tractor) so the rod is held in place in the quick attach slots. there is another piece that lifts up to lock the mule drive in position. OK, that gets the mule drive secure on the front of the tractor.

If that doesn't fix the uneven cut, then forget about those spring loaded clips and look at the two hangers, one on each side of the deck under the footrests, and make sure those are both the same length. they hang the deck from the lift frame. if they are both the same length then the deck should hang level. It helps to have the anti-scalping wheels and/or bails on the deck to prevent scalping in bumpy or hilly terrain. Stand back and take some overall pictures of the tractor and deck. Maybe we can see something else amiss.

[zooyorklp]

Alright, well I think the mule drive is in the right position now. I lifted the lever thing to push it all the way in. I'm just a little confused on what I have to do to make sure its locked in?

[R Bedell]

The "locking lever" for the Mule Drive is spring loaded. See attachments...

[mattoney]

I've noticed the same problem with my 122 (pre-quick attach era) and my 107 (quick attach). It's a good thing you found out the mule drive wasn't sitting in the quick attach. That'll help straighten things up a bunch.

Something else I've found is that the lift mechanism will wear thin where the the back bar of the sub-frame slides up onto it. If you take the deck off and slide the sub-frame out, you'll see it right where the lift handle is welded to the one inch bar that does all the hard work. Those two lift arms that do all the heavy lifting should be close to parallel in every direction. Both the ones on my 107 and 122 have the right side one hanging lower than the left side. There was a difference of about 1 1/4" at the worst and it was causing my deck to be completely out of level.

So I took the lift mechanism out, had it rewelded (too poor to own my own welder), primered, painted, and now they're nice straight and even, and so's my lawn!

For what it's worth, I went to a show this past weekend and saw a few lift mechanisms for Cub Cadets for sale. Some of them had a very similar condition, so perhaps this is a common problem?

Hope you get things sorted out soon.

[TommyK]

Originally Posted by zooyorklp

Alright, well I think the mule drive is in the right position now. I lifted the lever thing to push it all the way in. I'm just a little confused on what I have to do to make sure its locked in?

Try pulling on the mule drive, as if you were going to take it off. If it doesn't come off, it's locked in. If it pops right off, it's not locked in. If you look at the quick attach closely, you'll see when it's locked and when it's not.

[Yosemite Sam]

Originally Posted by zooyorklp

Alright, well I think the mule drive is in the right position now. I lifted the lever thing to push it all the way in. I'm just a little confused on what I have to do to make sure its locked in?

If your locking bar springs are good and the locking bar is working as it should, then locking the mule drive in, is pretty-much automatic.

But if your springs are bad/broken then you have to "work" the bar manually.
The locking bar across the front is supposed to be down when you are sliding the mule drive into the attaching points, once it is in all the way then you raise the locking bar to hold the mule in place.