RZT 50 Trans

[lstewartff]

I have read alot about the trans going out on the RZT50. I have a 2005 RZT 50 (that I bought in 2006) that has 426 hours. Just this year it has started stuggling on hills, I have had some trouble with the right trans at start up. I dont know what I am doing different than everyone else but i guess it has worked if everyone else's is going out around 200 hours. I always let my mower idle for at least 5 min after i mow to let everything cool down before I shut off the mower. Does anyone think this might make a difference?

 

[rcbe]

may be too late now, but keeping those twin trannies free of dirt/debris (blow off with compressed air or such) can help. Excessive heat buildup will not do them good. Oil breaks down, foams, tranny loses drive torque.
Chk yer manual - if you can, drain replace tranny oil along with new filter. 400+ hrs sez time for maintenance...

 

[JTKub]

WOW! 426hrs in ~3.5 mowing seasons! That's a LOT of use for this machine. If I was a bet'n man, I'd suspect Hydrogear builds the EZT series to last about this long. They must be a hot commodity these days since I haven't seen any on eBay for some time. Bad thing is, the buggers are ~$500 a piece on-line. Quite the racket Hydrogear has going.

Joel

 

[margegeneverra]

WOW! 426hrs in ~3.5 mowing seasons! That's a LOT of use for this machine. If I was a bet'n man, I'd suspect Hydrogear builds the EZT series to last about this long. They must be a hot commodity these days since I haven't seen any on eBay for some time. Bad thing is, the buggers are ~$500 a piece on-line. Quite the racket Hydrogear has going.

Joel

Cub Lists them for $800 each. Assuming that they last 400 hours. you're paying Cub/Hydrogear $4 per hour to use (rent?) the transmissions! $7.50 per hour if you replace the whole ZT at $3000. Add in gas & your time, and the kid next door mowing your lawn is looking good. ...Except that the kid next door probably doesn't mow lawns as a summer job any more

 

[JTKub]

Cub Lists them for $800 each. Assuming that they last 400 hours. you're paying Cub/Hydrogear $4 per hour to use (rent?) the transmissions! $7.50 per hour if you replace the whole ZT at $3000. Add in gas & your time, and the kid next door mowing your lawn is looking good. ...Except that the kid next door probably doesn't mow lawns as a summer job any more

I agree that It might not be cost effective for some users, but someone like me that avgs around 30hrs/year usage, it would take me ~13.3yrs to accumulate that 'mileage'. ~$3699 (what I paid for my new Z-Schwartz 44) over 13yrs ain't bad at all IMO.

Joel

 

[lstewartff]

I have read alot about the trans going out on the RZT50. I have a 2005 RZT 50 (that I bought in 2006) that has 426 hours. Just this year it has started stuggling on hills, I have had some trouble with the right trans at start up. I dont know what I am doing different than everyone else but i guess it has worked if everyone else's is going out around 200 hours. I always let my mower idle for at least 5 min after i mow to let everything cool down before I shut off the mower. Does anyone think this might make a difference?

Found out what was wrong. It was the brake, under the mower on each trany there are sprokets. when you set the brake two arms move to hold the prokets where they can not move. When you release the brake these arms release. one of mine on the right side had the bushing seized up so it would stick when I released the brake then release after a minute. So if you have one side that will not move after you release the brake then after a while work fine until the brake is set and released again you might look at the arms holding the sprokets on the tranys. I hope I explained this good enough for everyone to understand.