Mislevel Woods 42C-4

[Greenthumbfarms]

Has anybody had issues with a Woods 42 sitting with one side higher than the other? The rear arms are set at even mounting holes.

Trying to figure out how to get her sitting level again...using this as my finish mower for the time being...

[Denny Clayton]

I would say the mower was used as a step for a long time.

[Greenthumbfarms]

That wouldn't surprise me...the older fellow I bought it off wasn't moving around too well these past few years. I'm almost tempted to raise the mower and jump up and down on the higher side to see if i can get it to shift a little

[Bob McCarty]

I'd look at the lift bracket in front and see if you can see a bend in it that can be corrected. Or bend a bracket on purpose to level it.

[Rick Spivey]

The angle might be playing tricks, but it looks to me like the driver side trailing arm is closer to the rear tire than the other side. Do you have a picture of the mule drive and mounting bar?

[Greenthumbfarms]

I will take pictures tomorrow. No lights in the shed it's parked in!

[Crimson Tim]

I’m not familiar with how the mounting arms on your 42C Mount to the finals, but from my experience with a Woods 59, I think Rick is on to it.
The final brackets on the Woods 59 bolt to all three forward final implement holes. On my ‘77, however, that has obviously been used and abused hard all its life before it came to me, 2 of the 3 holes are stripped on the right final. That lets the bracket rotate to the back around the single remaining bolt, which raises the mower deck on that side about an inch vertically and maybe two to three inches to the back (closer to the rear tire) and lowers the far side. It also lets the mower belt slip.

Until I get a chance to get under there and helicoil the implement holes, I’ve found that a piece of 2x6 is just about the perfect size to jamb between the mower bracket and the draw bar bracket to prevent that rotation and keep the mower level and belt tight. The weight and leverage of the mower plus the belt tension keep enough squeeze on it to keep it in place, though rough ground can knock it loose.

Barring some similar mounting issue with yours, look it over carefully for what is bent.

[inairam]

Do not assume the PO knew what there were doing mounting the mower or even looked at the manual. I have made that mistake more than once that the" PO must have known what to do" and have been wrong most of the time. I spent a good bit of the summer fixing a c-2 where everything was not quit right and the mower kinda worked but we not really usable.

Something could be missing, in backwards or bent or for a different mower.

The woods 42 has several variations. I have a woods 42-6 that uses pins to mount. I think the -4 is a bolt mount. Messicks has some clear diagrams https://www.messicks.com/wo/95176 to get you on the path.

[Greenthumbfarms]

Here are some pictures of the mounts.

[Crimson Tim]

Right side tail to the mule drive looks bent upward, but it could easily just be the camera angle.
I can’t figure out why there is half a hole visible below the tail on the right, but no fraction of that hole visible on the left.
Curious.

[Greenthumbfarms]

It almost looks like the mounts for the mower arms on the mule drive aren't level with each other

[Rick Spivey]

I looked a long time and thought maybe the driver side mount had been rewelded at a different angle, but couldn't convince myself. But since you can see it in person and are wondering a similar thought.....it might be worth some more investigation to determine if the mounts are mirror images or not; if not, a good welder could easily fix the issue.

[Don McCombs]

It may be an optical illusion, but it looks to me like the mule drive is not level. Can we see a photo from the rear at about the same distance as the front shot?

[bofahs]

Maybe dismount the mower, set it on level ground/concrete. See if the arms are the same distance above the ground. Could just be the frame is warped.

[Greenthumbfarms]

I'll check it against the floor when I switch it back to the woods 59. Still a few waterways and roadsides to mow