Ariens Apex Weak/Defective HydroGear Transaxle?

cruzenmike said:

Hello all.

I took ownership of a brand new Ariens Apex 48" mower two weeks ago. Model number 991296. It is equipped with HydoGear ZT-3100 Hydrostatic Transmissions. I noticed while using it for the first time that it was not tracking straight in reverse. Forward travel, although not as fast as I was expecting, was straight. But when I would pull back on both handles, despite them being aligned with each other, the mower would want to pull to the right. This was most apparent when I would be at the end of one run and would turn to the right and then back to the left; it would move extremely slow to that side. I did not experience this when turning the other way in reverse. This tells me that the right side hydrostatic is much slower/weaker than the left side.

With just over 1 hour on the meter, I dropped the machine off at the dealership that I purchased it from. I got a call today from the service department and it was explained to me that the technicians were able to make some adjustments to the control/hydrostatic linkages on the right side of the machine, but the reverse tracking is still not 100% or perfect. The service guy went on to say that there really isn't any adjustment on the transmissions so any changes in the travel has to be done on the machine itself and that regardless of the machine make or model, there will never be identical wheel travel from left and right side transmissions on a zero turn. The technician made all of the adjustment possible on the machine so there is nothing more that can be adjusted. With that being said, he did state that it tracks much better in reverse than it did when I brought it in, but there is just a very small amount of pull to the right when in reverse. He even stated that I might not even notice it in operation. I will have to go up there and give it a try before taking it home.

I have owned 3 Exmarks in the past, one with separate pump and drive motors, one with ZT-2800s and one with ZT-3400s and I do not ever recall them pulling to one side in reverse. Now I cannot say with all certainty that they were "perfect" but this issue that I am having wasn't noticeable on any of those machines.

Am I crazy for expecting reverse operation to be straight and "perfect"? Should I be concerned with the fact that they have used up all possible adjustment on the right side drive control linkages?

Of course when I first heard what they said that they did and that it still wasn't perfect, I got defensive and asked that they reach back out to Ariens because I expect(ed) it to operate a certain way and it didn't, especially considering that it is brand new.

Maybe others have had a similar experience with zero turn hydrostatics and this is just how they are (okay but not perfect)?

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Rivets said:

My question is what do you mean by “perfect”? Can you get perfect when the handles are not aligned? Many times I’ve got them “perfect “ by tweeting the handles not trying to adjust the hydro. I would also check and make sure the tire pressures are all within specs.

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cruzenmike said:

Thank you both for your responses.

I actually got a call from the dealership last night and they said that Ariens sent them two new linkages to replace the ones that were installed on the machine from the factory. These would be the mechanical linkages between the drive control levers and the control arms on the transmissions. Once the new linkages were installed and re-adjusted, they were able to get the machine to track straight in reverse with both control levers pulled back all the way.

The only issue that I am having now is that the machine is able to move while the brake is set. I noticed this when I started the mower when I got home from picking it up today. As soon as I started the mower it starting turning to the left. When I disengaged the parking brake and moved the machine with the control levers it moved as expected but then when I put the brake on again, it started moving slowly to the left.

I drove the mower off of my trailer, which was on a slight angle and it did not appear to move when the brake was engaged, but if I set the brake and pulled back on the left control levers the machine will move to the left and then stops on its own. At that point it will not move any more, which seems as if the brake is finally "catching." If I disengage the parking brake and set it again immediately, it will allow movement again until it stops.

I am quite certain that this is a result of the parts that were just replaced and can be fixed with an adjustment, but this is ridiculous. I have 2.2 hours on my machine, 1 of which was from time spent at the dealership, and it is now going back for the second time in two weeks.

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cruzenmike said:

Perfect to me is simply tracking straight when the levers are pushed forward to the stops or pulled backwards to the stops. I probably wouldn't have even noticed that it didn't track straight in reverse if it wasn't for the fact that the right side was so much weaker than the left side. It was pulling so much to that side in reverse that I could have probably made a full circle in a two car wide driveway in full reverse on both levers. Taking it in to have the adjustments made, I just wasn't too thrilled with a technician telling me that they "have done all that they can do" and that "hydrostatitics will never be perfect."

I really wasn't trying to be nit picky but once I was "tuned" into the problem, I wasn't willing to accept anything but perfect (no noticeable difference in wheel speed at full reverse) on what is essentially a brand new machine.

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