Hustler Raptor Model 933077 52" Uneven Cutting

8

83ragtop50

Forum Newbie
My Raptor cuts smoothly where the grass is sparse or low. But when I cut grass that is dense or tall the cutting is uneven. About 17" in from the left of the swath being cut it leaves a band of grass about 8" wide that is left about 1/2 to 2/3 the height before cutting. Looks like a Mohawk haircut. The location of this is approximately where the left and center blades meet. I checked and the blade tips are less than 3/8" of their respective underdeck shrouds. I figured that I had dull or bent blades. I found the blades to be straight and I sharpened them before reinstalling. I swapped the blades to different spindles to see if the uncut location would move with a blade. But I still have exactly the same problem. Blades are torqued to specs. I do not hear any unusual noises from the spindles and pulleys. Center spindle and right idler pulley were replaced about 200 hours ago. Left and right spindles were replaced about 85 hours ago. The deck belt and tension spring were placed with the left and right spindles. I thought maybe the belt was slipping when under load so I sprayed it with belt dressing with no improvement. I am looking for other ideas. Thanks
 
Checking the blades for level
Remove the belt. Turn left blade to center blade end to end. Are they the same level? Spin both blade 180. Are they still level? Repeat the process on the right.
If they are not level you have a bent deck lid.
Are any of the blades upside down?
 
Had one like that a few years ago. What I found was that the blade was slowing down or just stopping because the belt was not riding correctly in the pulley. Replaced with an OEM belt and made sure the blade brake was fully releasing. Have some watch the problem spindle when cutting wet or long grass to see if the pulley slows down.
 
A mower is just a grass cutting/processing machine (like a harvester).
It will only process a certain quantity of grass, for a given forward speed.
Go faster than what it can handle & cut quality will suffer.
Longer grass (more quantity) requires slower forward speed. :devilish:
 
I appreciate everyone's responses.

1. I have removed the blades, sharpened them and checked them to ensure that they are not bent.
2. The belt was purchased from a reputable Hustler dealer and has less than 85 hours on it.
3. The blades are not installed upside down.
4. Slowing down when mowing taller/denser grass does not solve the problem.
5. I have NOT done a proper inspection to ensure blades tips align. I only casually eyeballed the left and center blade alignment. I will check this and also the front to rear height. I have checked the deck leveling but not the blades themselves. Would think that the problem would show no matter the height/density of the grass if this was the cause.
6. I will also check to see if there is any play (wobble) in the blades which might indicate a loose spindle or a
deck mount area flexing.
7. If nothing shows that far I will check the spindles and pulleys again for bad bearings although there is no
unusual noise from them.
8. I will also replace the belt tensioning spring.

My biggest concern is a weakened spindle mounting area of the deck. I realize that there is a whole lot of stress put on these areas.

Will attempt to do all of this over the next 2-3 days and post what I find or do not find!

Thanks again for your inputs. Much appreciated.
 
Check your engine RPMs. The engine should be at 3,600 RPMs full throttle with no load. In other words, wide open at 3,600 RPMs without the PTO turning.
Cut at wide open throttle.
 
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