Any Zero-Turn Mower Experts?

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ChargedDart75

ChargedDart75

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I'm working on an '06 (If I remember correctly) Exmark Lazer Z 72" mower that is having hydro issues. on flat/down grade it does fine, but going up a hill the left side shudders and bogs really bad, but doesn't make noise. I'm suspecting wheel motor, but there is no debris in the oil tank and the oil looks fairly clean. The PO claimed all the hydros were gone through and redone, but of course no paperwork. My thought would be the pump would howl if that were the issue, but I'm at a loss. I know the correct way is to pressure check the pump, but I'm guessing others have had this issue before. Any thoughts?
 
I don't know the answer to your question.
Do you have a copy of the service manual?
Why did the previous owner say that the drive units had been gone through? They have time limits on oil service and filter change. It's critical that all air be purged after oil & filter change, or damage to drive units will occur. That may be your problem. I have a TMX 6000 Toro ZTR. Toro owns eXmark. Our mowers are very similar. I changed my drive oil&filter at the first interval of 50 hrs, followed the procedure and have had no issues. My next interval is 400 hrs. My first guess is that something has happened to the left drive.
They are available on the internet.
Good luck!
 
CRUZE 418 said:
I don't know the answer to your question.
Do you have a copy of the service manual?
Why did the previous owner say that the drive units had been gone through? They have time limits on oil service and filter change. It's critical that all air be purged after oil & filter change, or damage to drive units will occur. That may be your problem. I have a TMX 6000 Toro ZTR. Toro owns eXmark. Our mowers are very similar. I changed my drive oil&filter at the first interval of 50 hrs, followed the procedure and have had no issues. My next interval is 400 hrs. My first guess is that something has happened to the left drive.
They are available on the internet.
Good luck!
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Unfortunately I don't have a service manual. No idea. My dad purchased it and the guy claimed an older man owned it, always serviced it and just replaced the pumps and motors. Of course no paperwork. That's all the history I have, and it's shady at best. The odd thing is it doesn't make noise and there is no metal in the oil. Those are the two big signs of a pump/motor failure. My thought are to replace the pump as well as the motor, flush the lines and change the fluid/filter. Right side is still strong and has no issues.
 
RammerJammer75 said:
My thought are to replace the pump as well as the motor, flush the lines and change the fluid/filter.
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Those wheel drives are expensive. I would go through the process of filter, fluid and making sure the wheel drive is bled of air first.

I had an issue with one of the drives on my Toro (commercial unit) and they tried telling me the drive couldn't be rebuilt and wanted over 700 bucks to sell me a new one. I had nothing to lose and tore it apart taking pics as I went. Turned out I needed to replace the sealed bearings. I replaced both and for 4 bucks and a little time I was back up and running.
 
Bad Sport said:
Those wheel drives are expensive. I would go through the process of filter, fluid and making sure the wheel drive is bled of air first.

I had an issue with one of the drives on my Toro (commercial unit) and they tried telling me the drive couldn't be rebuilt and wanted over 700 bucks to sell me a new one. I had nothing to lose and tore it apart taking pics as I went. Turned out I needed to replace the sealed bearings. I replaced both and for 4 bucks and a little time I was back up and running.
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What was the symptom? This one shudders pretty good under a load and almost stops pulling. I will do the fluid, filter, and bleed it again.
 
Yeah. I'm an expert. I have one. I'm an expert at hating it.
 
Maybe find a service manual for any Toro or eXmark ZTR. So that you can follow the procedure for bleeding the air out of the system. Or, perhaps go to a dealer and see if they can give advice.
It can get costly and time consuming just throwing parts at it and not really knowing.
I'm sure that you have been there and done that before! Tried to get a picture of the bleeding procedure, this site just won't upload some pictures. You should be able to get it from the web.

16160018676671862967674.jpg


1616001915875295598187.jpg
 
RammerJammer75 said:
It's a huge time saver. Mowing an acre and a half, it's quicker than any lawn tractor and even quicker than a 240 Massey Ferguson with a 6 food finish mower behind it.
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I give you that. It takes me 20 minutes to do what used to take an hour. But, no matter how I drive it, I am gonna tear up a patch or two of grass here and there. Even if I come to a complete stop before turning around. It's unavoidable. But you're right. This thing will cut just as fast as the mower will run.
 
CRUZE 418 said:
Maybe find a service manual for any Toro or eXmark ZTR. So that you can follow the procedure for bleeding the air out of the system. Or, perhaps go to a dealer and see if they can give advice.
It can get costly and time consuming just throwing parts at it and not really knowing.
I'm sure that you have been there and done that before! Tried to get a picture of the bleeding procedure, this site just won't upload some pictures. You should be able to get it from the web.

View attachment 1715709274

View attachment 1715709275
Click to expand...
I don't want to throw parts at it, I want to diagnose and fix the problem. Like BadSport said, it would be worth it to make sure it's not air in the system and go from there. It may come down to getting the pump pressure checked and going from there. I'm hoping for a cheap fix (just due to helping my mother out) and it'll be reliable for her.
 
I have 2 1/2 acres to mow, it rides rougher than hell, and am thinking of upgrading to one of the new ones with the isolater, but otherwise, wouldn't trade it for the world.
One mean mowing sob.
Good luck, hope you solve your issue!
 
I run mine at 65 to 75% throttle, it uses half the gas and still does the job. Unless you are in real tall gas.
 
The system is designed to run at full throttle when engaging deck and motion.

I have 3 commercial zero turns and they all get run wide open.
 
RammerJammer75 said:
I don't want to throw parts at it, I want to diagnose and fix the problem. Like BadSport said, it would be worth it to make sure it's not air in the system and go from there. It may come down to getting the pump pressure checked and going from there. I'm hoping for a cheap fix (just due to helping my mother out) and it'll be reliable for her.
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Why not try the cheapest thing first and just drain the oil and refill it with new?
 
Bad Sport said:
The system is designed to run at full throttle when engaging deck and motion.

I have 3 commercial zero turns and they all get run wide open.
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Yup. That's why there's an detent in the throttle lever at WOT. lol
 
RammerJammer75 said:
I'm praying for it. She's worried to death about it. She worries about a lot since Dad passed.
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Also, while you're there, check the pump drive belt, idler, spring etc. I doubt that's it because you said the one side seems to be running properly, but it doesn't hurt to look, lol.
 
Bad Sport said:
Also, while you're there, check the pump drive belt, idler, spring etc. I doubt that's it because you said the one side seems to be running properly, but it doesn't hurt to look, lol.
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The belt has been replaced, the spring and all checked out good. We initially suspected belt slip, but that wasn't the case.
 
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