grasshopper & scag blues

[tranum]

my first post. hope i get it right. took delivery of a 2000 grasshopper 721d 61 inch deck w/15 cu. ft. collector 7 weeks ago. the left blade is cutting higher than the other two. dealer has had it back 3 times & it has also been looked at by distributor's rep. can't figure it out. dealer tells me the factory will be sending a rep to look at the machine on Oct.23. anyone out there had similar problem with grasshopper? anything else i need to ask the factory guy? only have 24 hrs on machine & can't use it til it's right... alsoooooo 99 turf tiger...792 hrs & i am on my 3rd driveline. splines are wearing out & twisting and the vibration gets pretty severe.one dealer says it is caused by operating in the sandy soil conditions we have here in south alabama. Would appreciate any suggestions/comments on my specific problems or these machines in general...thnxs

[BUSHMASTER]

not about your problems, but on the tiger maybe you can take a couple of serious tie straps and some rubber covering and block out some of that sand if fesable.it works on my walker where the pto shaft comes together.

[bob]

Check air pressure? Does it cut high with or without the vacuum? Fiber washers? Switch the blades around. If its a flip up deck (SL61) make sure its locked proper.

[RMc Lawn]

On the grasshopper I bought a new 725 this spring and had problems w/deck plugging. dealer could find nothing wrong other than rpms 200 too fast when that did not fix problem they replaced the deck. mows perfect now has 400 hrs. make sure tire pressure is the same in both tires 7lbs, also checkthe fiber washers.

[cos]

welcome tranum,

hope to hear more posts too in the future from new guys as well.

[tranum]

the grasshopper rep was a no show on oct 23rd. no phone call, nothing. just didn't show. i called him on the 24th & got a weak excuse. said he would be here on the 27th with a new deck & vac unit. shows up, but without deck. goes thru his routine, makes several calls to the factory & finally decides there "may" be some wear in left mounting bushing. tells me he will ship new bushing & different set of blades on monday 30th. friday, nov 3rd, have not received bushings so i called the factory (kinda P.Oed by now). they apologize & tell me they will ship parts to my dealer to arrive today 6th. still no parts. the guy at the factory said they would instruct my dealer to "cheat" up 1 link on the right side mounting chain when he installed new bushing to get deck level w/vac unit attached. i'm not the smartest guy in the world, but it sounds like they are trying to "rig" this machine instead of fix the problem. this has been going on for 10 weeks now (25hrs on machine) & i'm 'bout at the end of my rope. please, someone give me your thoughts...... P.S. these are all factory people....my dealer has done everything he knows to do & is wringing his hands just like me...thanx in advance

[Lawnworks]

I would get the Grasshopper fixed or "rigged" and sell it. I have had to deal with the Grasshopper executives and factory people and have been disapointed. Grasshopper does not deserve your business. I would go with Dixie Chopper or Exmark/Toro. If you are set on an outfront mower I would get a Walker even though they are slow and high maintence. These companies back their equipment, Grasshopper does not.

[Keith]

I wish I could tell you what to do. After several run-ins with Grasshopper dealers, distributors and the Grasshopper company itself. I was basically blacklisted :mad: I had a harness burn up and they wouldn't help me get a new one asap. The felt that I needed to go through the chain of command to order it. It was such a rare service part dealers and the distributor didn't know how to order it. There lies the reason I tried to deal with Grasshopper. They blew me off so I finally called the Georgia distributor and he was willing to help, he had the part number and everything. Grasshopper would not ship it to him, because they knew where it was going (since I had just got off the phone with them.) They refused to let him sell it to me because I was out of his area.

Boycott Grasshopper Now

[dylan]

I feel for you. A many thousand dollar machine and it does not work. I had many problems with my walk behind and after months of fustration, finally called the president of the company. Start at the top and work your way down. Couple of days later I had a new machine in my trailer courtesy of the company. It should be their goal to get you mowing.

[MJB]

I've had good luck with Grasshopper, but have also heard others having problems with customer service. I would demand a new deck, if that doesn't work let them know you will go out of your way to make it known to the lawncare industry that GH is selling machines this way. I would get a new deck or my money back. I would even go as far as to contact the media (at least tell them you will.)

Good luck, in general Grashoppers are very reliable,
and productive.

[tranum]

bushings arrived yesterday. carried mower to dealer & had them installed along with cheating up 1 link on the chain. dealer is like me, thinks this is a "rig", but as soon as rain stops guess i will give it a try. all deck measurements (pitch, etc) are now way out of whack. told my dealer this was my last shot, if it didn't do the job i will turn it over to an attorney. whadda you guys think?????? seems like 10 weeks is plenty of time..??

[bob]

Sorry to here about the run-around that you've been getting. I have 2 Grasshoppers and have had small problems, but nothing like yours. My dealer usually bends over backwards for me and other commercial cutters. Have you tried another deck?

[tjg]

Tranum, I also have always had Grasshoppers seven altogether in just the last couple years, no major problems and each machine gets about 300hrs a year put on them. My question would be if you are the only one that was running the machine, if you changed the blades did the fiber washers get put back right, have you hit anything w/it, does the deck cut sloped down to oneside or just 1 blade, the spindle could be out of alignment lose or bend, when you said "bushings", were you talking about the white bushings ,under the foot rest were the deck hooks up to the machine, or were you talking about the bushings for height adjustment for high and low heights that are on the front casters. Thats most of the things I would check first. I do have one mower w/bagger and and no problems it is only a 52" cut, your 61" deck wouldn't be affected by the blower. Besure you check your tires make sure they are the same size also.

[tranum]

tjg....i am the only person that has run the machine except the dealer & the grasshopper guys. fiber washers are installed correctly (dealer changed blades yesterday), have not hit anything but grass & a few leaves. bushings are the white bushings where deck meets machine. if there is any slope to the cut, it is very minamal. it's baically the witdth of the left blade that is higher (.50 to .75 in). it cuts this way with or without the vac although it is much more noticeable with vac. additional weight of vac seems to make left side "ride up" a bit. blade tips have been measured at front & back both down to flat floor & up to bottom of deck. nothing screwy there but that was b4 cheating up a link on the chain. whooo knowsss???