How to jack up a zero turn mower is a process that you can easily do when you have to work on the mower and need to lift it can be a frustrating ordeal. Using a jack is much easier, safer, and more convenient than turning the mower on its side to gain access to its underside.
However, there is a right way to use a jack to lift the mower; otherwise, you risk damaging the machine and causing injury to yourself. In this article, we take you through a step-by-step guide on lifting a mower using a jack meant for mowers.
Contents
How To Jack Up A Zero Turn Mower In a Little Time?
To jack up zero-turn mowers, turn them off and park them on level ground. Then raise its deck, slide the jack underneath it and raise the mower as high as practically necessary. Jacking up the mower too high is dangerous and can damage delicate internal machinery.
– Park The Mower Safely First
Take your zero-turn mower to a hard, level surface and park it there. Before jacking up the mower, this is very important because you want it to maintain its balance and stay within you.
However, remember that when you are working on a jacked-up mower in an open part of your house is best, but you must be cautious in this case and not allow any kids or even pets anywhere near the mower while you are working and keep your pets away.
Remember that you should set the brake in your chosen spot and turn the engine off. Take the key out for safety reasons, followed by disconnecting the spark plug. This habit prevents accidents when a mower accidentally fires up while you are working on it. Another thing we do to keep the mower in place is to slide two pieces of wood that are two by four in dimension across the front or rear tires.
– Pull The Mower Deck Up
Next, the mower deck under the lawn mower must be pulled to its higher setting, so a jack can be inserted. In most lawnmowers, a lever is present that is pulled back so that the deck gets lifted as high as possible.
When you want to have a more specific way, the Troy Bilt mowers are one of the most commonly used in the US, and they have a separate lever for adjusting the deck height on their control panel. To operate this lever titled ‘height,’ you have to sit on the operator’s chair and then lift the lever as high as it goes without using undue force.
On the other hand, the John deere zero turn and riding lawn mowers allow users to customize mower deck heights of their choice by giving them two separate height adjustment settings. Now, once these mowers are parked and set to neutral gear, pull their lift handle as high as it goes.
Doing so, remember that you would lift lever is located on the far left side of the fender deck. If you want to raise the deck still higher, you also have the option of manually lifting it.
You have two options if you own a craftsman-type of z turn mower. Firstly, you should raise the deck using the lever on the control panel. Secondly, you may even unscrew the nuts holding the deck and manually push it upwards until you get the height you want.
– Place The Jack Under The Mower
Once you have raised the deck as high as possible, push the lawn mower jack under it. The jack must be placed under the mower right in the center to stay balanced as it is lifted. Many riding lawnmowers have jack guards attached to the lower end of their frames, and this is one to look over it.
A jack guard is a metallic frame that is square and is used to attach the lawn mower lifts jacks in place underneath. Do not worry if your mower is without a jack guard because while it is a handy part of the mower, it is not necessary when trying to jack up your mower.
A jack guard might be useful for beginners, but experts have yet to use this accessory, because of the way that it has been calibrated.
– Raise The Mower Jack High
Once you are confident that the jack is placed properly under the mower’s frame and not the body, it is time to start jacking it up.
This step is essential, because you must now, crank the lift on the jack until it raises the mower to a height of about two feet off the ground and its tires spin freely in the air. After this, start sliding each of the four jack stands under all four corners of the mower deck.
Then start cranking the jack in the opposite direction to bring the mower down, but it is very keen that only this time, the mower rests on the jack stands instead of the ground. You only need to lift the mower as high as necessary; otherwise, you risk damaging its frame and messing up its internal machine parts.
– Work On Your Mower
Now that the mower has been jacked up feel free to work on your mower as you want. Still, be careful that the jack lifts the mower, so try not to disbalance it too much. Being careless might result in injury to you or anyone who is helping you with the mower.
You can do whatever task you need, like changing the tires, sharpening the cutting blades, or cleaning the mower deck, just to make sure that you have adjusted the machine very properly.
Just as you have been done with the given task, now you must reverse the process by lowering the mower and pulling the jack stands out. Take the jack out from underneath the mower and readjust the deck height to what it used to be. Once you get used to working with a jack, you will see how easy it is to carry out mower maintenance.
– Choose Your Jack Wisely
You cannot use the ordinary car jack for lifting a z-turn lawn mower because they just aren’t built for them. For a riding-type mower, you must purchase jacks built specifically for mowers. Keep two particular specifications in mind when shopping for the right type of jack.
First and foremost, the jack needs to be of the right size, depending on the weight capacity of the mower. After doing so it is essential that the wheel span capacity of the jack needs to be appropriate so that the machine stays balanced as it is jacked up.
These lifting jacks come in several designs and forms; it is totally up to you to decide which one you want to buy. For instance, you can invest in a pneumatic lift jack is the best and the most expensive option. It uses an air compressor and an air powerlifting mechanism to push the mower upwards. This type of lift provides the smoothest of operations with the minimum effort on your part.
On the other hand, you can even have a hydraulic lift jack will need you to press down on a paddle and provide control as you pull the mower up and down. Its lifting action is almost as smooth as the pneumatic type of jack.
A drill-turned lift type of jack utilizes levers to push things up; if drills are not available, levers will help.
Conclusion
Now, you know so well how your Jack can turn on for your mower. Let us conclude this guide by summarizing everything we have learned about jacking a z turn mower.
- Before doing anything, turn the mower off and disconnect its spark plug because there is always a chance that it might accidentally start up.
- Ensure you pull the deck as high as it goes, then insert the jack under the mower in the center.
- Using your jack, you can pull the mower up safely at about two meters.
If you have been tilting the mower on its side or lifting it using wood blocks to work on it, it is about time you upgrade and buys a fancy jack to help you better.
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