RZT-S50 tearing turf

[DRGSE]

I got a new RZT-S50 last season and loved it; about 20 hrs on it......this season I began to see spots of turf torn out, about 6 inch by 6-8 inch swaths. thought it was from the front wheels tearing out on turns, but was seeing it also when going straight.....looking at the tears, you can see the rear tire tread in the sod, and it seems that the grass is folding under itself as if the rear wheel intermittantly spins out of sync and "rolls" the sod under; you can straighten it out and replace it just like a divot. Checked th tire pressures and they were to spec. Greased all the fittings. Got worse as the season progressed. Talked to my dealer, who never heard of or saw this occurring. Didn't have any thoughts or suggestions. The only maintenance issues I've had was it threw a drive belt last year and the throttle cable locked up at the beginning of this year.

Anyone else had this happen? Any thoughts on a fix?

 

[The kid]

You need to practice turning. Pulling one handle and pushing another. I do that all the time which simply mean your spinning only one tire. Think about it. If one tire goes in reverse and one forward it will not tear the grass. Your levers may need to be adjusted so they produce the same amount of hydraulic pressure to prevent one from turning faster that the other if your using the levers correctly.

 

[rcbe]

if you are making sharp 90 degree (or sharper) turns on the fly whilst mowing, you could be momentarily freezing the pivoting rear wheel allowing it to grab/dislocate a chunk of turf... I usta run a CC tank 2560 and it wus heavy enuff to do such if I got to horsing it too hard thru turns... just had to get in the habit of doing those corners a bit slower/gentler. Might also try doing the y turns...
Also, if it was tranny or brake probs while going straight ahead, seems like you'd notice a sharp tug/pull to left/right? Or a jerk if both rear wheels were hesitating/spinning..?