Hello my name is Ray. I have a 2013 Hustler SD. I have an approximate 18% grade mowing area. Just the other day while trying to mow up the hill, the left hydrostatic started to lack the power to keep up with the right side. I would have to manipulate the right side hydrostat to finish the hillside. When I got it on flat ground it continued to do the same. Does this mean that my left hydrostat is going out? Any help would be appreciated.
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Hustler hydrostatic issue
- Thread starter Lizard72
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Lawn Pro
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I would contact Hustler above with question?
bertsmobile1
Lawn Royalty
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Engine rotates clockwise when looked at from above
This means that the right hydro gets the direct pull from the engine.
The left gets secondary pull from the right and all of the slack is between the left & the engine pulley.
Because of this the belt tends to slip on the left pulley which causes the left side to run that little bit slower .
Add to that the left side tends to get dirtier that the right so overheats faster
Both of these cause the left side to fail before the right.
Back when quality & longevity were more important than purchase price ZTR's had a single hydro pump & the drives were plumbed into it.
These ZTR's almost never have the imbalance problem you are having and both wheel motors run for about the same time.
Regular replacement of the belt, careful & regular cleaning of the drives, regular greasing of the tensioner pivot and replacement of the tension spring will go a long way to increasing the life of the left hydro.
I regularly replace the tension pulley with the largest one that will fit in the space.
The caveat to this is hydro drives are also built to a price so over tightening the drive belt will cause excessive wear as very few have a real bearing on the input shaft.
Some makers have started to wise up so use uncovered belts ( these get sticky when hot so resist slipping ) , or notched belts .
The down side of that is these belts tend to pick up debris which gets jambed into the pulleys and causes grief .
Mowing too fast makes this problem worse.
As I regularly advise customers,"If you don't have the time to mow your X acres then either get some one else to do it, landsape & turn it into low maintenance garden or run livestock on it "
This means that the right hydro gets the direct pull from the engine.
The left gets secondary pull from the right and all of the slack is between the left & the engine pulley.
Because of this the belt tends to slip on the left pulley which causes the left side to run that little bit slower .
Add to that the left side tends to get dirtier that the right so overheats faster
Both of these cause the left side to fail before the right.
Back when quality & longevity were more important than purchase price ZTR's had a single hydro pump & the drives were plumbed into it.
These ZTR's almost never have the imbalance problem you are having and both wheel motors run for about the same time.
Regular replacement of the belt, careful & regular cleaning of the drives, regular greasing of the tensioner pivot and replacement of the tension spring will go a long way to increasing the life of the left hydro.
I regularly replace the tension pulley with the largest one that will fit in the space.
The caveat to this is hydro drives are also built to a price so over tightening the drive belt will cause excessive wear as very few have a real bearing on the input shaft.
Some makers have started to wise up so use uncovered belts ( these get sticky when hot so resist slipping ) , or notched belts .
The down side of that is these belts tend to pick up debris which gets jambed into the pulleys and causes grief .
Mowing too fast makes this problem worse.
As I regularly advise customers,"If you don't have the time to mow your X acres then either get some one else to do it, landsape & turn it into low maintenance garden or run livestock on it "