Identifying "commercial" components in a zero turn

[djdicetn]

Well, some ethanol-related fuel problems are to be expected, but I'd say for the money($2k) you did good!!! Thanks for posting the pictures and from what I see I would guess that this mower is at least equivalent to the current high-end Residential ZT HD series or the current entry-level Commercial Pro-Turn Gravely's. I think with a little fine tuning and not any big dollar repairs you should get another 1,000 hours out of that machine. If you have a manual, the adjustment of the parking brake and steering lever neutral position(to keep it from creeping toward the right) shouldn't be too difficult. BTW, the steering levers on my new Gravely don't "automatically" return to neutral when I "let go of them"(which if I'm moving I don't do) but as I understand it if I pull back my handbrake while moving that will bring the levers back to neutral as well as probably throw me off the front of the mower:0) Noise from the deck would be the one thing to cause some concern because it may be a spindle bearing. Do you feel any "excessive" vibration mowing(usually accompanies bad bearings)?? If you manually turn the blade on that side with the mower not running is there any resistance to turning or can you feel/hear any grinding from that spindle? I hope that's not your problem though. Keep us posted on how things go and welcome to the growing Gravely clan on these forums!!!

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

Congrats, I think you did well for the money...I agree should last a long time with proper maintainence...

 

[BleedingOrange]

Commercial, and heavy duty, are words that seem to be way overused. I would closely check out whatever unit you are interested in, and feel you are getting your best bang for the buck.

 

[sox3]

You did good as that unit new was a top end commercial unit. If you adjust the linkage for the hydro. jack up the rear so you watch the wheel that is moving. Small adjustments at a time. You may have to put a jumper wire in the seat switch to keep it running with brake off. The adjusters are easy to get to on that unit if I remember correctly. To find the noise we would remove the belt from the deck and spin each blade and idler pulley. You will hear and feel if one has a bad bearing in it.

 

[djdicetn]

You did good as that unit new was a top end commercial unit. If you adjust the linkage for the hydro. jack up the rear so you watch the wheel that is moving. Small adjustments at a time. You may have to put a jumper wire in the seat switch to keep it running with brake off. The adjusters are easy to get to on that unit if I remember correctly. To find the noise we would remove the belt from the deck and spin each blade and idler pulley. You will hear and feel if one has a bad bearing in it.

That's excellent technical advice for the OP!!!! And I would guess that this 7-yr-old model had the separate hydro pumps & wheel motors instead of the unitized Hydro-Gear units that currently dominate the ZTR industry. Would probably be a good idea to check/replace the hydraulic hoses if there is any evidence of aging or leaking. And, like you, I hope the noise is an idler pully bearings....very inexpensive compared to my first reaction of spindle bearings. With only 500 hours it's doubtfull the spindles are having any problems!!

Guido455,
I totally agree with your statement and the "industry" is much to blame for how they describe their machines. IMHO, there needs to be a universal adaption to classifying ZTR's based upon their components. Something maybe like "Residential-Light Duty", "Residential-Heavy Duty", "Commercial-Light Duty", "Commercial-Heavy Duty" and then the ones designed for Professional Lawn Maintenance designated as "Industrial Duty". What I've seen as a common thread, regardless of brand, is those kind of categories with the "Residential-Light Duty" ZTR's as what you buy from Lowes, Home Depot, etc. and the remaining categories what you find at a "Lawn Equipment Dealer" that carries/services the dominant brands. That sure would make shopping/comparing/giving advice a LOT simpler don't you agree???

 

[Schneeky]

Hey fellas, I got distracted with boat work for a coupla days. Danged bill-payin' work cuttin in on my "fun" work. Hehehe.
One of the fuel lines I ran was apparently too close to something hot or that cooling fan (shoulda been a clue). So it got abraded/melted thru. Rerouted that. Thought I wouldn't like the hydraulic deck, but after a little use that bugger is schweet.!! Rummaged thru the paperwork and found receipts for service, a parts and owners manual.

sox3- Thanks much. I'll try that out and see what I can come up with. One thing I'm diggin is that they seem to have made this puppy to be easily worked on. Nice. Much different than the big-box JD.


Lookin forward to the grass growing back. Who'd-a-thunkit. d:^) Schneeks..

 

[sox3]

Yes, they are easy to work on. One you get all the little things fixed it will give you years of service.

 

[Schneeky]

Checked the deck and spindles. Spindle moved freely/smoothly w/o any grinding and quiet. I could feel a tiny bit of play side-to-side but couldn't actually see it. Prolly a few .001's. No excessive vibration I noticed with the blades engaged. I'm thiknin the noise I'm hearing is coming from the pulley/spindle covers. They're only secured on the one side and don't fit overly tight on the other. And given their shape they're 3/4 of a cowbell. Apt to be noisy, I'd say.
Put some slick'em on the moving parts and that seems to help a bit with things sliding instead of jerking.
Funny how that stuff works. d:^) Schneeks..