Stutter in forward drive...

[Chris "Greenville"]

I have the 19/52 mini-z and have lately noticed when I'm going at a slow speed climbing a hill a stutter feeling in the wheels. It has 215 hrs. purchased Oct 2008. I took it back to the dealers service department today and they test rode it and felt the same thing. They were unsure of what it may be but suggested a change of hydro oil and see if that works... any thoughts? Thanks, Chris

[mowerconsultant]

Well the 200 hour interval is good for a hydro fluid change and filter change.
I would also check the belt.
The tensioner also needs to be checked for correct tension / being free and not froze up.

Pj

[Chris "Greenville"]

Thank you first for the reply.. I changed the oil today to the 20w50 and used the Hustler brand filter per my dealer. It felt better on forward speed but the struttering was the same or slightly worse when going up hill. I feel it more in the left side then in the right. Could it be air in the hydro pump and if so how would I solve that issue? Thanks again. Chris

[mowerconsultant]

I would still be checking what I mentioned above.
If you think you have air in the system you need to run it out, get the mower up on jack stands and run it in forward in reverse for a bit then try it again, repeat until air is out of the system.

Pj

[LouisianaLawnboy]

Check your hydro fluid level, and maybe change it.
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[Chris "Greenville"]

PJ, Sorry I didn't respond to your suggestions directly. When I took it back to the dealer they put it on the lift and checked the tensioner and the belts. The drive belt was replaced at 40 hrs. All in good shape according to the mechanic. I took it out today and did 5 yards. It started with the same feel and then over the course of the first yard started getting better. I thought maybe it was air and it was working itself out. Then by the last yard, lots of up hill slow trimming, the stuttering /skipping feel was back in full force. I have 10 yards left to go this week. I'll push through those unless something happens and get it back to the shop over the weekend I guess. Chris

[G. Ramey]

I have the same stuttering with my mini z. It started about 50 hrs ago. changing the fluid made no difference. I will check the tension in the drive belt if P.J. will tell me how to properly adjust it. the stuttering is very bad when I first start the mower in the morning. It stutters and lurches when going forward and really gets bad if I try turning left or going up a hill until the mower warms up. It has gotten worse over the last week or so. My feeling is that the left drive motor is going bad.

[mowerconsultant]

I have the same stuttering with my mini z. It started about 50 hrs ago. changing the fluid made no difference. I will check the tension in the drive belt if P.J. will tell me how to properly adjust it. the stuttering is very bad when I first start the mower in the morning. It stutters and lurches when going forward and really gets bad if I try turning left or going up a hill until the mower warms up. It has gotten worse over the last week or so. My feeling is that the left drive motor is going bad.

There is no adjustment to it.
It is a spring tensioned belt to a fixed anchor point.
You need to remove the belt and check the tensioner to make sure it is not froze up.
Also check the condition of the belt and or replace it.

pj

[treemeat]

this is interesting, and I don't want to hijack your post but I have been through at least 6 hydro belts on my super z (500hrs). yesterday I replaced a broken one and immediately I have the same stutter on the left side . what causes this is belt slippage on the left pump pulley. if you look at the belt it will be apparent that it is slippage because the surface will look shiny or "galled". my dealer always says "belts are not under warranty" but I think there is a problem with hustler's setup. I will pursue this more vehemently with my dealer when things slow down.

[puppypaws]

this is interesting, and I don't want to hijack your post but I have been through at least 6 hydro belts on my super z (500hrs). yesterday I replaced a broken one and immediately I have the same stutter on the left side . what causes this is belt slippage on the left pump pulley. if you look at the belt it will be apparent that it is slippage because the surface will look shiny or "galled". my dealer always says "belts are not under warranty" but I think there is a problem with hustler's setup. I will pursue this more vehemently with my dealer when things slow down.

This is not normal, no matter what anyone thinks or says. When you see a belt that has low hours and it has slipped enough to see glazed spots on the sides, something caused the slippage by not turning properly. Pulleys, pumps and wheel motors are the only components capable of causing this, if nothing was thrown into the belt route such as a stick.

[Chris "Greenville"]

Treemeat,
When I took it back to the dealer they said that the belt and tension were all good. I had the belt replaced after it snapped at 40 hrs. and I now have 177 hrs on that belt. I'll check it out in the morning. After each time that you changed the belt did the "stutter" feeling go away? Thanks for the reply. Chris

[Mickhippy]

Sounds like what happened to me before total pump and or wheel motor failure!

[Chris "Greenville"]

Just to keep this post alive... still looking for answers.. getting worse..help!

[rosenlawnservice]

Treemeat are you replacing the belt with an excel belt from your dealer or with a belt from an auto parts store like napa? After my original belt broke on my super z I got a replacement from napa. I started going through a belt every 50 hours or so and had broken 4 belts before I got a replacement from my dealer. Have been over 200 hours since without problem. Alot of replacement belts from these auto parts stores are very poor quality and will not hold up.




this is interesting, and I don't want to hijack your post but I have been through at least 6 hydro belts on my super z (500hrs). yesterday I replaced a broken one and immediately I have the same stutter on the left side . what causes this is belt slippage on the left pump pulley. if you look at the belt it will be apparent that it is slippage because the surface will look shiny or "galled". my dealer always says "belts are not under warranty" but I think there is a problem with hustler's setup. I will pursue this more vehemently with my dealer when things slow down.

[Chris "Greenville"]

Update: May have the solution..at least it's working so far... Prestone belt dressing on the drive belt. I think that the spring on the tensioner pulley has stretched out just enough to cause the belt to slip on the left wheel motor. I'll be replacing that next but for now the belt dressing has worked. I spryaed it on and ran for about an hour and started to feel much better. FYI, Chris

[mowerconsultant]

Update: May have the solution..at least it's working so far... Prestone belt dressing on the drive belt. I think that the spring on the tensioner pulley has stretched out just enough to cause the belt to slip on the left wheel motor. I'll be replacing that next but for now the belt dressing has worked. I spryaed it on and ran for about an hour and started to feel much better. FYI, Chris

Good to hear.
I would replace the belt and the spring at the same time, while you have the belt off I would check the idler arm pivot point also.

Pj

[Chris "Greenville"]

Well heres the update... stutter in the left wheel motor has not gone away. The tractor now has 413 hrs and back to the shop today. It continued with the same stutter problem in the left and now is increasingly hard to push forward on the right control. The shop (Southern Indiana Equipment 812-952-1706) tested the tractor and said the left wheel motor is bad and will put the order in for a replacement. They said just continue to use it until we get the parts in and we'll give you a call. They also said it might be awhile because they can't get parts with about two dozen other tractors sitting in pieces waiting for parts also. My next question is if I continue to use the tractor how it is right now will I not destroy the pump and right wheel motor in the process? What to do? I can't afford down time with this...any help? thanks Chris

[mowerconsultant]

Well heres the update... stutter in the left wheel motor has not gone away. The tractor now has 413 hrs and back to the shop today. It continued with the same stutter problem in the left and now is increasingly hard to push forward on the right control. The shop (Southern Indiana Equipment 812-952-1706) tested the tractor and said the left wheel motor is bad and will put the order in for a replacement. They said just continue to use it until we get the parts in and we'll give you a call. They also said it might be awhile because they can't get parts with about two dozen other tractors sitting in pieces waiting for parts also. My next question is if I continue to use the tractor how it is right now will I not destroy the pump and right wheel motor in the process? What to do? I can't afford down time with this...any help? thanks Chris

I am not sure why they cant get the parts, our regional warehouse is up in Indy.
I will email our regional manager and have them call Ron and find out what is going on.

Pj

[Chris "Greenville"]

PJ, Thanks for the reply. I'm confident based on the other postings that you are the "get it done guy" to go to. Thanks and I'll wait for the call from SIE. Chris

[Chris "Greenville"]

Kind of surprised here....no call yet 7 days later... now it is getting increasingly hard to push forward on the right control arm and the mower seems to be slowing down dramatically. I'm a part-time guy but still have 16 customers that expect me to be there on time. Like I said in the previous post, I'm concerned with continuing to use it that it's self-destructing the whole drive. I'm not upset, still think that Hustler is the best, but I need to get this thing right. Thanks, Chris

[mowerconsultant]

Kind of surprised here....no call yet 7 days later... now it is getting increasingly hard to push forward on the right control arm and the mower seems to be slowing down dramatically. I'm a part-time guy but still have 16 customers that expect me to be there on time. Like I said in the previous post, I'm concerned with continuing to use it that it's self-destructing the whole drive. I'm not upset, still think that Hustler is the best, but I need to get this thing right. Thanks, Chris

I talked to the regional manager last week about this, he told me your parts were at the dealer and they were going to call you, have you called the dealer?

[Chris "Greenville"]

They told me to wait for their call. I'll give them a call first thing in the morning. I appeciate your help. Chris

[Chris "Greenville"]

Well the veridict is still out.. it will get tested tomorrow. I picked up my mower today after they replaced the left wheel motor and drained and replaced the hydro fluid. The test will be to hold the hills without the stutter and also not have to force the right control arm forward. I'll let you know how it turns out on Wednesday.... Chris

[Chris "Greenville"]

Well it's what I had a fear of happening. I did 4 yards with it today and returned to the shop. The left side felt great with the wheel motor replaced, stutter gone. But as mention before, it was getting harder and harder to push the right control arm forward. Now the right side and pump are going out and need to be replaced. The guys at SIE have been great representatives of the Hustler brand (especially Mike in the shop). Parts are on order so I'll wait and go from there.

[mowerconsultant]

Ok, let us know.