Bent Frame???

[Lawnworks]

I may have bent my frame on my Hustler Z. Both rear tires are not wearing evenly, and have a considerable amount of wear on the inner portion of the tire. My dealer thinks something might be bent, and they said it would be up to the factory's discretion whether it will be warrantied. What could be the problem and how would this NOT be a warranty item? Mower was purchased new in June and has 600 hours.

[mowerconsultant]

I seriously doubt the frame is bent, unless the mower fell off the trailer at 30+ MPH.....
What tire pressure have you been running in the tires?
Are you running a Bac-Vac on the unit?

[Lawnworks]

No bagger... will check the air pressure.

[Envy Lawn Service]

Lawnworks and Pj,

If I may stick my nose in here and offer a few points, I think it might help.

1) Lawnworks, I doubt you have a warp or misalignment. I say that because I have seen this on other Z's with the same size tires and the same rear track width. But I say that without seeing pictures of the extent of the wear and rather or not it's on both sides.

2) Pj, I believe if Lawnworks has a true issue there, I would doubt it was from use and or abuse, but rather because something was not welded up aligned true.

3) To all, I happen to think a 24" x 12" wide tire on a 52"-53" rear track width don't mesh well. Little too narrow of a track width for that width and height tire. I think it just twists the tread off the insides of the tires, with the insides being in the smaller part of the turn circle radius.

[Doc Pete]

I seriously doubt the frame is bent, unless the mower fell off the trailer at 30+ MPH.....
What tire pressure have you been running in the tires?
Are you running a Bac-Vac on the unit?

AND...... I would hope the dealer "can" tell if the frame is bent or not.......Or, maybe it should be taken to another dealer who is more qualified.
Pete

[Doc Pete]

aligned true.

3) To all, I happen to think a 24" x 12" wide tire on a 52"-53" rear track width don't mesh well. Little too narrow of a track width for that width and height tire. I think it just twists the tread off the insides of the tires, with the insides being in the smaller part of the turn circle radius.

True,
Even 60" (and 72"on pavement turns) machine suffer from the same problem. Frankly, a taller thinner tire would work better, but companies supply what the average LCO's "thinks" they want. I'm having great luck with an 8" footprint on a 54" machine. IAH (in all honesty), this is one of the reason riders need more "K" turning than necessary. Tires divot on their edges, not in the center of the tread.
However, in an attempt to curtail the tire traction problem of riders, when going down hill, companies continue to make the tire wider and widerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........
Pete

[Lawnworks]

Here is pic. I cannot find a pressure gauge nor can I ever remember to get one when I am out. This tire has about 600 hours on it... so not too much to complain about.

[Lawnworks]

I am a little bit agitated by the fact that they would be reluctant to warranty a bent frame!! In my opinion, it should not even be a question. This would not be my first experience w/ a Hustler weld breaking.

[mowerconsultant]

I am a little bit agitated by the fact that they would be reluctant to warranty a bent frame!! In my opinion, it should not even be a question. This would not be my first experience w/ a Hustler weld breaking.

Do we know if the frame is bent? No we don't.
Who says we are reluctant to warranty a bent frame?
I rarely hear about a bent frame, when I do it is a case of a mower falling off a trailer or retaining wall etc...etc... I am not saying this is what your case is, I am just saying it is very rare.
E-mail me your dealers information along with yours and I can have someone from our service department help find the cause to your tire wear.

Pj

[Lawnworks]

Do we know if the frame is bent? No we don't.
Who says we are reluctant to warranty a bent frame?
I rarely hear about a bent frame, when I do it is a case of a mower falling off a trailer or retaining wall etc...etc... I am not saying this is what your case is, I am just saying it is very rare.
E-mail me your dealers information along with yours and I can have someone from our service department help find the cause to your tire wear.

Pj

PJ, I did not say you were reluctant to warranty my situation... I am just relaying what my dealer told me. Information is on the way.

Also, we seem to have problems w/ our steering levers breaking. They break where the top bolt is. Have you heard of any problems like this? I have repeatedly weld them back, but finally got new bars and they would not warranty them. Is this a wear item?

[Envy Lawn Service]

OK, after seeing a picture, here is my input...

Others of us, including myself have non-Hustler machines with the same rear track width and the exact same size and type of tire. The wear pattern I'm seeing in your picture is consistant with what is being seen on mine and others. The most wear being on the inside two lugs of the tread pattern and worse on the second row.

However, yours seems a bit more of an extreme case. But I'm not sure if it's a case of more extreme uneven wear without question. I say that because it could be more pronouned due to the fact your tires have seen a lot more hours and wear overall... or it could be due to different air pressures. Personally, I can't get 600 hours out of tires.

All in all, I think for the most part this is a characteristic of the build of the carcass of this tire and running it on this application. But it's not something I'm seeing with the same tire on a wider rear track width, so I stand firm there.

However, I would follow Pj's instruction and just check it out to be sure. It could be a problem due to the severity, and there is always the chance that what I'm seeing is a problem also.

[Doc Pete]

Do we know if the frame is bent? No we don't.
Pj

PJ,
Remembering after much talk on tires/rims with Brian, I believe the rims on that machine (as with my stock machines) are inset. This makes the "standard" turning pressure (pivot point) on the tire in the "inside" portion of the tread. I realize it's not much, but from the operators view, he thinks he's zeroturning the machine (centrally) where in actuality he's pivoting more toward the inside edge of the tread and not the middle.
I know this because the "two" of my machines has "outside" set rims for a larger foot print, while my older machine has inset rims and you can see the difference in "where" the tread is wearing.
Hope this helps, since I believe this should solve the question of a bent frame...................
Pete

[Doc Pete]

OK, after seeing a picture, here is my input...

Others of us, including myself have non-Hustler machines with the same rear track width and the exact same size and type of tire. .

I believe my post should answer your thoughts, too.:drinkup:

[gene gls]

Here is pic. I cannot find a pressure gauge nor can I ever remember to get one when I am out. This tire has about 600 hours on it... so not too much to complain about.

My tires wore like that when we were running alot on blacktop.From job to job maybe 3/4 mile total, 2 times a week. My front tires also wore out in the same area. I changed to a narrower front tire for a fix.

[gene gls]

PJ, I did not say you were reluctant to warranty my situation... I am just relaying what my dealer told me. Information is on the way.

Also, we seem to have problems w/ our steering levers breaking. They break where the top bolt is. Have you heard of any problems like this? I have repeatedly weld them back, but finally got new bars and they would not warranty them. Is this a wear item?

I have had this problem also. They are designed with a "flex" in the steel plate to adjust the handles if they touch each other. Cut a 1/4" steel plate to fit the pattern of the original steel plate and weld it on. It will widen the gap between the ends of the handles and will stiffen the mounting plate so it will not bend. Mine bend from hangging on, on slopes.

[mowerconsultant]

Also, we seem to have problems w/ our steering levers breaking. They break where the top bolt is. Have you heard of any problems like this? I have repeatedly weld them back, but finally got new bars and they would not warranty them. Is this a wear item?

The new bars should take care of the problem.
And they should be warranty, unless the breakage is from someone using them as leverage getting in and out of the seat.

Pj

[P&J Lawncare]

I would go see another dealer for now on, I have owned probably 20 different zero turns through the years and they all wear more towards the inside of the tire, I always assumed that it was from the way the mowers turned on the tires (weight of the mower shifting on turns) causing the inside wear of the tires. Regardless of why it happens your dealer should of known that this is normal wear due to the hours (600) on the machine. The frame being bent would of been the last thing to check (hours of use,air pressure,mowing conditions) would of been better explanations then a bent frame. Did they even check to see if it was bent after they said that. I once had a trailer come off my truck while I was doing 40 MPH and the impact of hitting a curb at 40 MPH bent my frame but under normal conditions I would never expect a frame to bend. The best solution is to rotate the tires so that the inside becomes the outside, that will probably get you another 400 hours. I'm with envy on this one though be happy that you are getting 600 hours on one set of tires.

[Bunton Guy]

Lawn- what dealer are you using ?