# King Kutter finishing mower issues



## James Seabolt (Jun 22, 2018)

Hello this is my first post. My name is James and I am into anything mechanical. Cars, lawnmowers, ATVs, tractors, etc.

So last summer dad bought a King Kutter finishing mower for his John Deere tractor. I think it's either a 5 or 6 foot. Someone had brought it back to the distributor for some reason. They didn't like the way it cut or something. At the time I couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with it. It looked brand new to me.

He's had nothing but trouble with it and I've fixed it multiple times. I'm not sure if it's something he is doing or the mowing machine is just a piece of junk.

First issue. The pins that holds the rear wheels onto the deck keep popping off and he keeps loosing the "pipe" spacers that go between the rear wheels and the deck. I work at a chemical plant so I have access to allot of pipe and a band saw so I've made he several of these spacers. I've got to make some more spares this weekend for him.

I suggested replacing these "ring snap pins" with cotter pins since he doesn't alter the height. He said cotter pins might break but I think they would work fine. Right now he has a carriage bolt and a nut holding one wheel on. He lost the pin to that wheel.

From my memory he said the belt was slipping and smoking at times. Maybe he was trying to mow grass that was too tall or thick. I tightened the belt up on it a bit. As a rule of thumb, they say 1/2" belt deflection. He wanted me to tighten it more but I said it might be hard on the bearings.

He ended up shredded the belt on it. I replaced the belt and set the belt tension to 1/2". As I mentioned, I think he is just trying to mow grass that is too tall.

This summer he kept sheering pins where the power take off and gearbox connect. I think he broke about 4 or 5 pins. I believe he said he is using #2 shear pins which is nothing more than a bolt and nut.

So I pulled the cover off and discovered that the ball bearings on the idle pulley that sets the belt tension had fallen out. Also the nylon nut had gotten so hot it had bubbled up around the top of the nut. I had to take a propane torch and burn the nylon out to get the nut off. I hate this nylon locking nuts. I've had to cut these type of nuts off in the past. They just sit and spin when I try to unscrew them so I told him to get a lock washer and a regular nut.

So obviously this was putting the whole system in a bind and sheering the pins.

So yesterday I replaced the pulley and set the belt tension on it. This time I went with a bit less deflection, like 3/8". If I had set the belt too tight would this have caused the bearings to fail in the idle pulley?

The replacement pulley he bought was a King Kutter part but just from the feel of the pulley when I spun it, it feels really cheap. I've seen replacement pullies for lawnmowers with a better feel to it.

Does anyone own one of these King Kutter mowing machines and have had similar issues with it?


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

King Cutter is actually one of the better and more durable finish mowers, even though they are economically priced. 

Never seen nor had the issue of the adjustment clips just falling out. They set up on bushings above the top spacer and a dab of grease on the spacer to bushing surface keeps everything sliding nicely. Did have a worker try to use the finish mower in a pasture, and tall grass pulled a clip out. No big deal, fired the guy and replaced the clip. These finish mowers are like lawn mowers, never use them in tall grass and treat them just like a lawn mower. Blades sharp, deck clean underneath, and the spindles greased. I think the bolt and nut solution is just fine, overkill, but unlikely to snag and drop out. 

Mine have dual belts, so no belt issues. No idler issues either, but I keep power washers away from the top of the mowers. Just use a leaf blower on top, and wash the bottoms only.

They use grade 2 bolts as shear pins, and once in a while one will shear, maybe once in the wet spring and again after the fall rains, or when a wet mole or gopher mound is hit. Generally a case of mowing too fast in 4 inch grass.


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## James Seabolt (Jun 22, 2018)

Well that's what my father is using it for, to mow a former cow pasture. He could be hitting sticks and rocks with it. He has a Bush Hog which he should use but he would rather not have to switch them back and fourth. Really using just the Bush Hog would be more suited since it has a stump jumper on it.

This is the pin I was talking about. I didn't know what to call it.


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

That explains his trouble. The pin is called a Lynch Pin.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

I agree with RC that King Kutter makes good equipment. I had a KK 6' finish mower for many years..... sold it to my neighbor (you don't sell junk to a neighbor)….. bought an 8' finish mower. Please note that a finish mower is not intended to mow pasture with. In fact, there is a decal on your mower that states "for lawn grass only". Check it out. 

Of course, I mow/groom my pastures with a finish mower, and have done so for many years, but I mow my pastures frequently to keep the weeds & grass down. 

Wire the Lynch pin loop to the pin so it cannot come loose. Or you can use a bolt and locknut in its place. Give your father a batch of shear bolts for the PTO shaft. Put a lock nut on the axle bolt. I do not recall ever shearing a pin. Normally, you smoke the belt when it bogs down.

The best thing to do is to talk your father into using the bush hog for mowing pasture. Sounds like he is killing the KK finish mower.


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## Green Farmer (May 28, 2021)

I know this post is getting old, but I would like to renew it. I have had a 6' KK Finish Mower for years and there are many design issues. I too am looking for advice to get the mower to mow better. Some advice has already been posted and I appreciate it.

1. The mower deck has structural ribs on the underside that catches grass quite easily. A build-up of grass degrades the quality of the cut so I have to clean the underside every few weeks. What a pain. The bottom should be smooth without ribs and bolt heads that catch grass. I have tried painting, graphite paint, everything but nothing seems to work. 

2. The wheels rotate when you go forward and back which gouges the grass and leaves marks in the yard. Keeping it greased helps, but what a pain this is.

3. Yes, the clip pins that hold the wheels on do pop off. I'll turn around and find a wheel missing. I have lost many of the spacers and they are quite expensive to buy. I have made some with cut pipe. 

4. The mower doesn't cut very well. It leaves grass uncut on a regular basis for reasons I have not yet figured out. I noticed that even when I cut thick grass, I do not see a lot of grass shooting out the side discharge. It is like the blades don't have enough suction to pull the grass up so the blades will cut it. Does anyone know how to solve this problem? Maybe different blades? 

5. Belt Slippage is a huge problem. I keep tightening the belt until the belt doesn't slip when in high grass and then the spindle bearings go out. It is only May and I have replaced the bearings twice already. Is there a solution to this problem? 

6. Because of all the problems I have with the mower, I leave the cover off the mower. I would like to put the cover on, but then I cannot tell when the belt is slipping or when one of the bearings goes bad.. 

7. The mower does not mow very well when the grass gets a little high. I'm not talking about knee-high, I'm talking about a two-week cut. Any mower should be able to cut this, but not my KK. Any suggestions? My brother has an X-Mark zero turn and I have seen it go through heavy grass over a foot tall and a fast speed without missing a blade of grass. It really pukes out the grass. Why can't my KK mower mow like that? What is the secret? I do notice that the side walls of the deck on the X-Mark are way taller than my KK mower. There is a large gap between the bottom of my deck sides and the ground, where on the X-Mark, the mower sides nearly sit on the ground. Might this cause better suction to lift the grass so the blades can mow it better? 

Thanks for any advice.


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