Help with Exmark

[Runner]

Some of you guys may have read my thread I wrote about the trouble I had with my Exmark leaving streaks of uncut grass. Some even offered suggestions. (appreciated) Well, my Lazer went to the dealer the other day. They reset the deck adjustments, checked the spindles,- perfect, tried yet a different set of highlift blades, and changed the deck belt. It's still doing it even at crawling speeds. Now, my question is this. I've had this mower for 3 months now, it has less than 300 hrs. on it, should I ask for another deck? I can't be leaving uncut grass on all my jobs for the next two years! Also, does ANYONE else have this problem with their Lazer? PLEASE give me your input. Thanks again.

[Edited by Runner on 09-23-2000 at 03:19 PM]

[Third Day]

My Lazer Hp 44 in does not have any problems with leaving strips of grass. Yes I do think its time to ask for a new deck. When you bought the machine, you thought that you were getting something that would cut all the grass you went over. I bet they would not discount the mower based on the satisfaction rate of your customers. I would call and DEMAND a solution. Good luck.

[jaybee]

The blades on my Lazer almost touch. They are that close. It doesn't seem possible that any grass could go uncut. I have a 60'deck. I definitely would want to see the factory rep about your problem.

[bob]

Tell them you want a new mower. They will probably say no. Then they'll come back and say we can only get you a new deck.

[bdemir]

My turf tracer never did this! It sounds weird that you can leave behind strips. I just cant imagine how the spindles could be off unless the deck was wring from the beggining. Im not an expert but the only thing i could think of is maybe your blades are not close enough or not sharp enough at the edges or maybe the baffles were not welded in their aligned places. Im no mower expert maybe ask Lazer he has qutie a bit of experience with exmark mowers. Usually strips are from having the wrong kind of blades on a mower. FOr example using dixie blades on an exmark and vise versa. make sure the blades are so close they almost touch if not, order exmark blades.

[Keith]

Runner, absolutely ask for something to be done about it. 300 hours and three months is nothing. You have invested too much into this machine for sub-standard results. You gave it your best shot at solving the problem and it still persists.

[geogunn]

does it leave uncut grass all the time?

my bet, even though it's been checked, is that you are loosing blade speed. just my suggestion. good luck!

GEO

[dhicks]

Hey you paid top dollar for this machine. Ask for a new mower and settle on a new deck. I wish you all the best!

[jrblawncare]

Runner,sorry to here about your problem,I picked up the new 54" HP this spring and have not had ANY problems at all.Does your dealer have any turf you can cut with your mower?If so, do it an show them the problem and state this is not acceptable what are we going to do about it!!!A call to an Exmark can't hurt either.Good luck and keep us updated on how you make out.JOHN

[FIREMAN]

NOT TO QUESTION YOUR JUDGEMENT , BUT IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE GRASS YOU ARE CUTTING IS JUST TOO TALL AND IS BEING LAID DOWN IN BETWEEN THE BLADES.

[John DiMartino]

Runner,My dixie does the same thing,it will leave grass uncut from the left front castor wheel.i know its not just mine,I can go by a lawn and i know who has a DC,because they all leave the same track in the final cut.They wont do anything about mine,DC wont even return my calls,My request were professional and I never acted in a rude or inconsiderate way to deserve no response.My 50" Dixie didnt leave any strip at all,so i know that castor placement in relation to the deck has an effect on it.It is the most noticable in wet grass,after you cut,the sun comes out and the grass that the castor ran over stands right up and looks terrible.The right side doesnt do it at all.I guess i expected to much from this mower,I thought it was a commercial machine,capable of professional cut quality.I was wrong on both accounts.If i were you ,Id try to get another deck,but i bet its a quirk with that machine,just like mine is.I am not trying to cut to much grass either,my steiner never,ever left a track,neither has any other rotary ive used.This is expected with reel type mowers that cant lift the grass up before cutting it.Rotary mowers are supposed to cut everything in there path without discrimination,within a reasonable height, that is the downside to reel mowers.I paid top dollar for mine,any other ZTR was at least 1K cheaper,I should've got the ferris,at least my back would feel better with its smooth ride and 2000 cheaper price wouldve bought a lot of parts if needed.

[Eric ELM]

You have been complaining about your mower since you bought it. I told you it sounds like your not satisfied with it and you should take it back to your dealer and get your money back. I told you about this guarantee on their home page and this is a copy of it.

If within 30 days of your purchase, you find a machine of equal cut and horsepower, that will outperform the Dixie Chopper for full out production mowing, we'll gladly refund your money.

Why didn't you take it back instead of posting time after time of how bad it is. As I have said, if the person that you talked to at DC didn't give you any satisfaction, ask for someone higher up there. Talk to the owner of the company, Art Evans and I'll bet he will do something about this. He doesn't want any unsatisfied customer and he will bend over backwards to make this machine right. If I was as unhappy about a product as you seem to be, I'd be on the phone every day til it was fixed. They have a toll free number, so dial it and complain to them. We can't do anything about it, so complaining to us won't help you at all. You have talked to Norm, now call Warren Evans, if he won't do anything, talk to Art Evans the owner. Let us know what happens. I bet they fix it and fix it right.

[Runner]

Thanks for the responses guys! The problem is the grass is being HIT by the blade, but being pushed over. Left side of center spindle where blade sweeps forward. No caster track there. It does it even in not real tall grass. We cut the service managers lawn next to the dealer, and he saw for himself what it was doing. They tried telling me "Matbe it will fix itself." I doubt it! I'm going to contact Exmark, and I'll let all of you know what there response is. Thanks again everybody.

[toddman35]

I was just wondering if you have tried different blades, or are the blades your using dull? just a though, but you've probably already tried it.

[John DiMartino]

Eric,there is no guarantee on the mower as far as cut goes,and you know as well as i do that there is no faster machine out there than the DC-so what good is that guarantee?Its worthless-now if it guaranteed to cut the grass and mow it faster-Id have a case.They know exactly how to word the warranty.As far as time goes-I bought it 4/1,and by the time the grass was thick enough(may) to notice it,I had it a month already.The 30 days is long gone.As far as a complaining goes If I can get 1 person to rethink buying a DC,and at least give another a test drive Ill feel better.Magic circle doesnt do business the right way,there are so may irregulaeritys and things that dont make sense with this mower thatI cant even get into them here.Finally I leased it and the papers are final,I am not willing to risk my credit and I do business the old fashion way.I do not want to jeopardize my relationship with the lease company at this point since I and the golf course have many other leases thru them.We have talked about this on the phone already and unless im willing to break the lease I must pay it out or sell equipment and roll it into another lease.I cant sell this POS to anyone else and sleep at night,the way it is.If i did,Id have to get 7K for it,then id still eat over 4K,+ the new lease.I cant afford this so ill live with it.Sorry if I release here once in a while-but I will tell it like it is-even if you dont like it,With all your bias towards DC,my little dissatisfaction shouldnt hurt your online sales much anyway.I realize the majority are happy and havent had the problems I have,even with much harder use.I will try to call Art,but at this point im not going to expect a reply,let alone a possible rep to look at my machine.

[Grasscape Inc]

Not sure about your mower, but we had a scag do that once.
On the scag, there is a belt pulley for each side of the deck. We tightened the left belt(problem side) and left the right one alone. That fixed it. Our Ztracks have one belt, maybe same as exmark.

[bdemir]

Sounds like grasscape has the right solution. Because if your blades are laying the grass over and your blades are sharp then either your blades are not turning fast enough or the belt or pulley turning your blade is not tight enough or is not spinnig fast enough. Just common sense. Try tightening all the blets pulleys and anything you can do to make the thing spin fast enough to cut the grass.

[Runner]

Unfortunately, there is no belt adjustment on the Lazer deck. Just a spring tensioned idler. The blades are always razor sharp, and I've tried several different types. Maybe it is possible that I need a heavier spring for the idler on the deck, but the other two blades just BLAST through grass - even wet and heavy. I'll let the dealership know, and see what they come up with. Otherwise, I AM going to demand a whole new deck be put on.

[thelawnguy]

You may have a baffle thats not positioned correctly, maybe incorrectly formed and jigged at the factory.

Have you checked that engine rpms under load are within spec? (3300rpm minimum)

Check that blades are all the correct length, actually measure, dont go by the part number.

I think the baffle might be the problem, somethings laying the grass down before it can be cut. Maybe it protrudes slightly below its normal position. Happened to me once on my TT a bolt had broken loose and the leading edge of the baffle acted like a plow and pushed down the grass, once I redrilled and fastened it everything was ok.

[Prime Seasons]

Hey, you must have checked this, but take a look again...

Check to make sure the deck pulley is wrapped correctly around the spindle pulleys.

When I first got my 48 Lazer HP, it would not cut well-- it left a streak of beaten grass in the middle. Come to find out, the belt had been improperly installed by (I believe) the factory.

Probably a long shot solution, but hope you get it figured out!

[mike48114]

we have 4 Lazers and I have had this proublem in the past, i think your proublem comes from you blades. I use either Silver Streak or Exmark blades. I have seen some other brands do some weird ****. I would call Exmark, They are usally preaty helpful with stuff like this. good luck and good mowing!

[Jim Buessing]

Ok the next thing to do is go up the chain of command. Your dealer cannot solve the problem, verbaly and in writing ask that they contact their territory rep and their distributor service manager to find out what the problem is with this unit. Your dealer has verified the problem, get this is writing ang log all of your down time. After you get no where with the Dist. Service manager you go in verble and writing to his boss the factory service manager. If none of this works you return the unit and request another or take them to small claims court and notify them of this all in writing and they will be more than happy to accomadate you! Hopefully it wil never get this far. As far as i see it, you have a dealer giving you poor service and not doing what he is supposed to do for his customers.

[Runner]

Well, they ARE working on it,... just waiting to hear back from Exmark. Fortunately, we are BLESSED to have this dealer. They are top notch in all aspects- especially when it comes to service. I explained to Exmark all they have done for me (bending over backwards) and now the ball is in Exmark's hands. I'm still woring on it myself, trying different stuff. Thanks for the input! I never thought of documenting any of it. The thing about my down time, is that I ALWAYS get a demo, so there is none, really.

[thelawnguy]

Dont forget to let us all know whats up here with your machine...

[Runner]

Well, I know this sounds sort of ludicrous, but the dealership told me it would probably go away on it's own, and it did. I'm only running single blades now, and am not sure if I should go back to double blades. Remember, it's a 26 hp with fuel injection, so it has plenty of power to push them, and the grass is drying a little, meaning there isn't as much juice in it now that the weather is cooling down. I think Mike was onto something when he mentioned the different blades. I was told of one guy who doesn't run any blade that has the u shape cut in it near the lift fin such as the Exmark and Dixie Chopper blades. All he uses is the solid straight highlift blades. This MAY help considerably. Maybe tomorrow I'll try doubles again, and I'll let you all know if it streaks again. Thank you everyone.

[River Hill]

I use only the solid foil high lift blades, I get streaks of grass down the middle when I use the notched air foil. I thought Exmark was crazy when the told me a notch would make a difference, but they were correct. I guess this is why they make different blades. I have a Truf Tracer HP 48". The blades that came on the mower are notched air foil.

[LazerZ101]

When I bought my LazerZ, I had a deck pulley incorrectly installed. This did the same thing you speak of. The dealer managed to disassemble it and reassemble it correctly. 300 hours later, and NO STREAKS!

Just my 2¢

Scott Harris
H&H LawnCare

[Runner]

Thanks, Brian and Scott. O.k. everybody, HERE is the SCOOP! IT'S ALL IN THE BLADES! My dealer gave me yet ANOTHER set of blades at no charge. (Same blades that Brian mentioned) These were a solid foil blade as well, but these are Exmark blades, unlike the Exmark blades I have with the cutouts. Exmark shipped them to my dealer to give to me and see how they work. Sure enough, no problems. Solid foil Gravely blades (given to me before) work well also. Now, the DC blades, with cutouts, work well on my Gravely, but they streak a bit on the Lazers. I guess you just never know. I hope SOMEONE ELSE got something out of all this too. Thanks for ALL the help, guys. :)

[Edited by Runner on 10-13-2000 at 03:07 AM]

[lawnboy]

I have the same prob. with my lazer leaving strips, but it is not this time of the year when the grass isn't growing. I will have to try the blades also. I was going to sell the machine. I have brought it in numerous times as well runner and they don't understand it. It sucks when you have to go over everything twice.