arturowesley
Forum Newbie
Have a 42" raptor which does not have as much power on the right as the left side. I looked at several videos on how to check and change hydro oil but my raptor has no oil reservoir. How can I check if both sides are full?
42" hustler raptor pulls to one side.
- Thread starter arturowesley
- Start date
BlazNT
Lawn Pro
http://www.hydro-gear.com/service-and-repair-manuals/
Scroll down and find ZT-2100, ZT-2200 (EZT). That should be your repair manual.
Scroll down and find ZT-2100, ZT-2200 (EZT). That should be your repair manual.
cruzenmike
Well-Known Member
If you have no experience working on sealed hydro units, I would highly recommend leaving them alone! There are adjustments that can be made to the controls of a zero turn to change how the mower tracks when driving. This may be your issue. Google search "Hustler Raptor General Service Manual" and this should help. Look at the steering adjust and control lever stops. Good luck.
Mike
Mike
Good advice. Yup, it's pretty common for Z mowers to pull to one side right out of the dealer. Many don't spend the time necessary to get them tracking perfectly. It takes more fiddling around than they have patience for it seems. My Exmarks have knobs for tracking adjustment. My Bobcat doesn't. It was pulling to one side when I took delivery so I had to hold back on the other side and couldn't reach max speed. I brought it right back to the dealer and they adjusted it while I waited. The mechanic thought he'd checked it but it was the other machine they sent out that day, not mine. I've fine tuned it a little since then. It's not exactly intuitive what to shorter and lengthen, at least not to me. It still doesn't go straight if you pull both sticks back all the way into full reverse. Sorry, I'm rambling, but yeah, sometimes it's just an adjustment issue. Definitely want to make sure it's adjusted properly before doing anything else.
Ronno6
Lawn Addict
If you scroll down a ways you will see this thread: http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showthread.php/46370-Raptor-SD-Minor-Tracking-Adjustment
This covers the adjustment which I performed on my new Raptor SD54.
I don't know if it is the anatomy is the same for the on-SD raptor, but should oughta point you in the right direction.
Adjustments should be covered in your service manual.
Good luck!
This covers the adjustment which I performed on my new Raptor SD54.
I don't know if it is the anatomy is the same for the on-SD raptor, but should oughta point you in the right direction.
Adjustments should be covered in your service manual.
Good luck!
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
The first time I serviced a ZTR I read the manual which stated that to test the drive you should find a flat lever surface 30' long.
After warming the engine drive & pump go to the end & mark your start position.
Push the levers equally full forward then full reverse.
You are supposed to end up within 1 yard of the starting position.
Setting the hydros like this took an entire day ( like I could charge $ 480 for setting the drive ).
I had a big think about this & it struck me that this was futile as the driver automatically adjusts the tracking while driving and no lawn satisifies the hard, flat & level criteria.
Further more as the drive is fluid and not mechanical there is zero reason for it to be balance left right.
And this was the old days with one pump serving 2 motors.
Now days with individual pump/motor units there is even less reasons to expect both the be identical.
With each generation of ZTR the facitities for adjusting the drives to be equal became less & less.
Now very few have any adjustment other than neutral & max movement.
And most service manuals have dropped instructions for setting anything other than neutral point & max travel limiter.
Now because most mowers are right hand throw, the right drive gets more debris build up on it.
Also because most people are right handed they will do more steering with their right hand than their left.
Thus the right will wear at a faster rate and the oil will get hotter on the right side.
For the same reason, the pivot points and linkages on the right usually have substantially more wear on them.
The lever I have to adjust most often to prevent creep is the right.
The lever that requires most cleaning & lubing is usually the left.
After warming the engine drive & pump go to the end & mark your start position.
Push the levers equally full forward then full reverse.
You are supposed to end up within 1 yard of the starting position.
Setting the hydros like this took an entire day ( like I could charge $ 480 for setting the drive ).
I had a big think about this & it struck me that this was futile as the driver automatically adjusts the tracking while driving and no lawn satisifies the hard, flat & level criteria.
Further more as the drive is fluid and not mechanical there is zero reason for it to be balance left right.
And this was the old days with one pump serving 2 motors.
Now days with individual pump/motor units there is even less reasons to expect both the be identical.
With each generation of ZTR the facitities for adjusting the drives to be equal became less & less.
Now very few have any adjustment other than neutral & max movement.
And most service manuals have dropped instructions for setting anything other than neutral point & max travel limiter.
Now because most mowers are right hand throw, the right drive gets more debris build up on it.
Also because most people are right handed they will do more steering with their right hand than their left.
Thus the right will wear at a faster rate and the oil will get hotter on the right side.
For the same reason, the pivot points and linkages on the right usually have substantially more wear on them.
The lever I have to adjust most often to prevent creep is the right.
The lever that requires most cleaning & lubing is usually the left.
From an operational standpoint, for someone like me mowing grass all day, it's really nice to be able to have your levers centered when going straight, to operate full-stick and go straight, and to be able to move the levers equal distances in opposite directions from neutral to initiate a zero turn. I want to be operating the machine, not driving it and reacting to it all day. Having the hydros balanced and for both sides to operate identically isn't something I should have to fight for. I should be able to just tweak a knob from the operator position like I can on my Turf Tracer. Call me spoiled, lol.
arturowesley
Forum Newbie
Thanks for the help guys. Since the right side has less power than the left, the first thing I want to do is check the hydraulic fluid. How do I do that when my raptor has no reservoir.