[Hatterasman]

I just purchased a used John Deere STX38 riding mower in almost new condition. It has a black deck. I was mowing this afternoon and hit a tree root. The blades did not hit the root, but the root caused the deck to fall to the ground. I stopped and looked underneath, but I cannot see how it connects. The deck lift lever does nothing now. I am thinking that it is something simple, but the mower is new to me and I am not familiar with it. Someone with more experience with the STX38 most likely knows what the problem is. I really want to finish my lawn tomorrow if I can get some advice here. Thanks!

 

[Mark / Ohio]

Welcome Hatterasman. Hopefully just a pin or bolt came loose and the root was enough to totally dislodge it. I found some pictures on MTF of the yellow deck mounts but don't know how they compare to the black deck.

STX38 mower deck mounting - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

Reminds me of the first trip I made around the yard with my brand new tractor in 2002. Mowing around a maple tree I caught the deck on a root and bent the little deflector bar on the shute back enough the blade hit it.

I never cut out any roots due to risk of harm to the tree. But that root was gone within 10 minutes of the incident. Despite that the tree is still alive today and laughing at me every week I mow. As I get near the tree with the tractor you can almost see the roots raise up.

 

[Hatterasman]

Thanks Mark! I looked at the photos in the link and it looks like the yellow deck mounts differently than the black deck that I have. I will be able to tell more tomorrow when I get the mower up in the air. It was not even a hard hit on the tree root, so I am a bit puzzled as to why the deck disconnected so easily. Any other STX38 owners have this problem?

 

[Hatterasman]

Welcome Hatterasman. Hopefully just a pin or bolt came loose and the root was enough to totally dislodge it. I found some pictures on MTF of the yellow deck mounts but don't know how they compare to the black deck.

STX38 mower deck mounting - MyTractorForum.com - The Friendliest Tractor Forum and Best Place for Tractor Information

Reminds me of the first trip I made around the yard with my brand new tractor in 2002. Mowing around a maple tree I caught the deck on a root and bent the little deflector bar on the shute back enough the blade hit it.

I never cut out any roots due to risk of harm to the tree. But that root was gone within 10 minutes of the incident. Despite that the tree is still alive today and laughing at me every week I mow. As I get near the tree with the tractor you can almost see the roots raise up.

Thanks again for your reply. I was able to get a better look underneath the mower and was able to figure out how the deck attached to the tractor. I also adjusted the deck so it is now more level. Turns out, it had a loose nut on one of the two front deck adjusting rods. I believe that this caused the deck to be too loose front to back and hitting the tree root was enough to knock the deck off of the back deck holders. It works well now. I now know that I should probably check those front nuts often.

 

[Mark / Ohio]

... I now know that I should probably check those front nuts often.

If they become problematic you could always try some loctite on them.

Loctite Threadlocker Blue 242 from Loctite Adhesives