April 15, 2025

How to level a riding lawn mower deck for an even cut video

If the deck on your riding mower isn't level, the grass will have an uneven look to it when you cut it.

If your riding mower is leaving uneven patches, the mower deck may be out of level—or your tires may be underinflated. This step-by-step video shows how to level your lawn mower deck so you can get an even cut across your entire lawn.

For additional repair help, including common symptoms and troubleshooting tips, step-by-step riding lawn mower and tractor repair guides, and articles, check out our repair help section. If you need riding mower parts, we can help with that too.

Supplies you need

Wrench set
Ruler
Tire pressure gauge
Compressed air supply
Work gloves

Hi, Wayne here from Sears PartsDirect. Today we're going to level the mower deck on a riding lawn mower.

Your lawn will end up with an uneven cut often resembling slanted steps if the mower deck isn't level. That’s because the blades will shave the grass short on the lower side of the deck and leave the grass tall on the other side.

To level the deck on your riding mower, you need a wrench set and a ruler. You also need a tire pressure gauge and air supply so you can inflate the tires evenly before checking the levelness. Wear work gloves during the procedure to protect your hands.

Park the riding mower on a level surface and set the parking brake. Raise the deck to its highest position and disengage the cutting blades. Shut off the engine and remove the key from the ignition.

Inflate all tires to their recommended pressures, so they’re at the same pressure on both sides of the mower. Uneven tire pressure on the left and right can mimic an uneven mower deck and cause an uneven cut.

Level side to side

First, we'll level the deck side to side. Position both cutting blades side to side and measure the height of each outside blade tip. The heights should be within 1/8-inch. If not, turn the lift link adjustment nut clockwise to raise the left side of the deck or counterclockwise to lower it. Each full turn adjusts the left-side deck height by about 3/16-inch.

Recheck the blade height measurements and continue to adjust the lift link adjustment nut until blade tip heights are within 1/8-inch.

Level front to back

Now that we’ve leveled the deck side to side, we'll check deck leveling from front to back. Position a cutting blade front to back and measure each blade tip height. The front blade tip should be 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch lower than the rear blade tip.

To adjust, loosen the jam nut and then turn the front link adjustment nut clockwise to raise the front of the mower deck or counterclockwise to lower it. Each full turn of the nut adjusts deck height by 1/8-inch.

Recheck the blade height measurements after adjustment and continue to adjust the front link adjustment nut until the front blade tip is 1/8-inch to 1/2 inch lower than the rear blade tip. Hold the adjustment nut with one wrench and tighten the jam nut with a second wrench.

That's it. You've just leveled your mower deck side to side and front to back. You can now get back to mowing without worrying about an uneven lawn.

I hope this video helps you out today. Check out our other videos on the Sears PartsDirect YouTube channel and subscribe to learn about new videos when we post them.