# Sears by Craftsman garden Tractor has chassis problem



## Amar Shah (Aug 5, 2020)

I purchased Sears Tractor by Craftsman. It was in 2012, YT3000 Model 917288520. Warranty was good for 3 years. My chassis is bent. It started from the beginning, and started to get worse. I noticed after 3 years that something was not right with grass. I adjusted it so it was ok. Two years later it again had to adjust. I said something is wrong. I noticed “Lawn Tractor Deck Lift” is off. I ordered new one. Then I compared new and old, it is good. I cannot compare with chassis design, so I compared it, I measured from front to back (wheel to wheel approximately 44") ground to bottom of chassis, 11" (00"), 11 1/4" (7"), 11 1/2" (20"), 11 1/2" (30”), 11" (44”). I am positive that chassis is bent. I have few pictures to show.


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Welcome to the forum. Doesn't look bent to me?!?. You may just have to adjust the deck as per the manual now and again to get the even cut you are looking for.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

1/2" bow in the frame is not really a problem. That's like worrying about front wheel tow-in on a lawn mower that runs 6MPH at full throttle, in high gear. 

Most of the time when people notice a deck leveling problem, it's because it's cutting low on one side. That's usually caused by people using the deck as a step to mount the mower. Most OEM's say never step on the deck of a conventional mower. The deck on a conventional mower is "hard mounted" to the frame. The back adjusting mechanism will work loose with a 200LBS guy stepping on the deck every time he gets on/off the machine. You'll notice on high end commercial zero turns (Exmark, Scag, Ferris) the deck is suspended on chains. That's called a "full floating" deck. They rarely get out of adjustment and you can use the deck as step without any problems.

Park the mower on level concrete. Stack two 2x4's under each side of the deck. You're going to use the 2x4's as a 3" feeler gauge. Put the height lever at the 3" mark and adjust the front of the mower deck so the 2x4 stack will just barely "wiggle" side-to-side under the lip of the deck on each side . Adjust the back of the deck with a 1/4" gap above the 2x4 stack for the best cut (deck tipped slightly nose down). That's because you actually mow with the tip of the blades. 

This process will quickly level the deck from side-to-side when you're running on level ground. If you still have problems with that 1/2" bow not allowing the adjusters enough travel to achieve side-to-side level, you can adjust the air pressure in the back tires a few PSI to fine tune the leveling.

Most people don't realize how much just a few PSI difference in the back tire pressures makes as far as throwing a deck out of level from side-to-side on a conventional mower with a "hard mounted" deck. 

On a zero turn, it's the #1 reason a machine doesn't track straight with the control arms at the full forward position.


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## Amar Shah (Aug 5, 2020)

I do it as Deck adjustments needed time-to-time. I have problem with chassis. As Kubota Ronin said that chassis is not sturdy. The span of the wheels with the front and the back depends on the link lift assembly (fig. 101). Chassis should be higher in the middle and link lift assembly but link lift assembly (in the original picture) is off set almost 2”, it should only ½”.

One catch is warrant, if problem is chassis then it will be beyond 3 years warrant. How can we handle.


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## Groo (Jan 17, 2020)

These things are so sloppy in general, I'd think a bend would become obvious before it got to the point where it prevented it from working.


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## Amar Shah (Aug 5, 2020)

One thing it worked is the modified combination of Link Lift Assembly (fig. 101) plus Rear Lift Link Assembly (fig. 91).


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