Upset 42" Mini-Z Owner

[mattie435]

Hi all,
Just venting some steam,

I am a Mowing operator and bought a Mini-Z brand spankers and after 20 hours the deck belt snapped. (I admit the belt popped off the left side and went under the pulley for about 5 minutes.) I rang the supllier to get a new belt and he said Oh I'm sorry we sold our last one 2 days ago. (I don't care about that, he should have stock for these common items) As I needed a belt straight away he said "go get a A132 belt and fit it". I did this and was happy. 2 days later, bang the belt popped off. This time it just came off, then later that afternoon. it came off and ripped out the idler pulley with it, and nearly my calf muscle at the same time. the belt was sliced as it was wedged between the pulley and the belt guard on the pully. Next morning I thought I will get another belt (so far $120.00 in belts) to do the job and take it to the supplier as I was going away for an extended weekend. Fitted the new belt and tested it only for it to do just did the same as the last belt.

So after leaving the machine with the supplier and fitting a new belt he slugs me with $110.00
then telling me that a A132 is not the right one it needs to be a power drive belt.(hang on you say, Didn't he say get an A132 belt, and that is what is in the manual)


Now what really pisses me off is that he tried to back out on what he said because he can't remember what he said and then openly admitted "I HAVE NOT READ THE MANUAL FOR YOUR MODEL".
Well if he gave me bad advice what is he telling others ( well I know because there is another operator with a Fast-Trak 44, and thats another story in itself)

The problem I face is that the next dealer is an hour and a half drive to get there. that is roughly 4 jobs each way

Cheers
Mattie435

[mowerconsultant]

Your dealer needs to check the belt routing and alignment.
E-mail me if you have a problem with the dealer getting this taken care of, I will forward it to our service manager for your region.

Pj

[msc5195]

My 42" MINI Z also slings the belt. This only happens when engauging the blades. This has happened 10 or 12 times in the last year. Other than this my mower has been flawless and love it.

[MTFORK]

Mattie

Sounds similar to my only 'problems' on my 06' 42 incher. At about the 20 Hr mark it jumped off. Over the next 5 hr or so it came off couple more times again...ate belt/streched belt by that point..bought new one from dealer, replced..mowed a few hours jumped a few more times over a 10 hour period...destroyed belt again. Was at point of taking entire machine 3hrs to Dealer but I had bought 2 belts last time at Dealer. Put I put the 3rd one on and its been running 'Jump Free' for last 50 hr's or so....knock on wood. So maybe the pulleys, spring, Idler has to 'break-in'..who knows...

But I'm Happy now...

By the way..pay-attention to your 'Tension' setting on your chain/Idler when you replace Belt, It plays big part in Blade RPM, overall cutting quality.


Take Care

MtFork

[Gautreaux's LNG]

We have seen this problem on several of these units. We started adding a taller pulley to replace the rear idler and it seems to fix the problems. If you want email my service manager Craigand he'll explain the process.

As well Hustler has warrantied every belt and pulley we have installed. It cured the problem and we now install the pulley on each unit BEFORE it is sold. The shorter you cut your lawn the worse the problem seems to be.

Good luck!

[mattie435]

Originally Posted by Gautreaux's LNG

As well Hustler has warrantied every belt and pulley we have installed.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll get my money back because the belts I was using were wrong, Only because my dealer (who hadn't read the manual) told me to get those belts and he doesn't seem to care anyway. I will get in contact and get the ball rolling for the taller pulley
Cheers & thanks
Mattie