Walk Behind Lawn Mowers

I have a HU 700H and the axle bushing failed on one side of the front axle causing the deck to ride very low (bottom out). I bought a new bushing and after the install I still feel the deck is too low as I used to be able to mow weeds and such at level 1 without bottoming out. Now the lowest level I can reasonably mow is 3. I've noticed a spring coiled around the axle [Husqvarna 583762601 (replaces 532447189) AXLE.ASM.FRT.RGD.BZP] but for the life of me have no idea what it's for or if it needs to engage the frame. All I can tell is that the installation of the axle only works in one position to attach to the lift arm so it's not like I can configure a different way to make the default deck height higher.