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I just bought a used 34z and thought I'd make a post here. It's my first zero turn so I've got some practicing to do It's a 2009 model with 245 hours. I'll be looking around for other posts on the 34z but any tips or advice is welcome. I haven't had a chance to mow with it yet but I've driven it a couple of times. I gotta say I'm liking it a lot so far. It's pretty fast

I was going to cut some grass with this thing today. I did cut a bit and the cut quality is excellent. But... the thing died twice and backfired. I put it back on the trailer when I got it started again.
I'm used to working on smaller mowers and hand held machines. Working on this is going to be a whole new thing.
I have a huge yard to do tomorrow and I was counting on this mower. :frown:
Can't be anything too serious I think... I hope
I need to do some routine maintenance. Oil change, spark plugs, fuel filter etc. Maybe clean the carb.
I sharpened the blades. Removing the blades was a pain. The bolts were torqued down and a little frozen. One of those mojacks would have come in handy. Jack and stands worked okay.

Next day it ran great. I used it to cut that lawn. I'm going to do a minor tune up on it. Change the plugs, fuel filter, engine oil and filter, hydraulic fluid and filter. The air filter looks ok but I might change it anyway. I'm going to check the valve clearance as suggested by Fish.
I got 30wt oil and a Purolator plus filter for the engine. Mobil one 15/50 and a Mobil one filter for the hydraulics

I wouldnt own a Gravely. They are junk and money pits.

davbell22602 said:

I wouldnt own a Gravely. They are junk and money pits.

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Damn, why don't you tell us what you really thing Dave :laughing:
Don't forget this is the Gravely forum
All I have to say is there are Gravely's and then there is the pro Gravely's. This thing is built like a tank and has a Kawasaki engine. It leaves an amazing cut. That backfire and all... that was the engine not the mower itself. So far I'm loving this thing. I don't love many mowers and I've had a bunch.
But at least you replied which is something nobody else has troubled to do.
Matter of fact I think I'll skip this forum in future and stick to the forums where there is talk and friendly people.

Gravely went downhill ever since Ariens bought them. Good luck with your Gravely.

davbell22602 said:

Gravely went downhill ever since Ariens bought them. Good luck with your Gravely.

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Hmmm... hope that was before 2009. I hven't seen anything on this mower that looks cheap or poorly designed. Wish it had fans on the pumps like SnapperPro and Ferris but it does have a fan at least.

davbell22602 said:

Gravely went downhill ever since Ariens bought them. Good luck with your Gravely.

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Not sure we're you say there junk I have a lot of different brands of mowers and I think my 2013 Gravely is the best mower I have ever owned it has a great cut nice ride and has a lot of power I'm switching all my mowers to Gravely they are a great company and I have a great dealer.

Mike88se said:

Hmmm... hope that was before 2009. I hven't seen anything on this mower that looks cheap or poorly designed. Wish it had fans on the pumps like SnapperPro and Ferris but it does have a fan at least.

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Take user davbell2262's comments with a grain of salt. I'm not sure what 'experience" he has with Gravely's but they do not coincide with the experience those of us who own a Gravely describe. My 2012 Gravely was purchased after Ariens(who has made extremely reliable Residential mowers for years.....in fact my next-door-neighbor has a 20-yr-old Ariens Zoom that still cuts his yard like a golf course), and I can assure you that Ariens has not changed the materials and/or construction of the Gravely from the original Gravely specs. Ariens simply purchased Gravely to expand their lawn maintenance offerings to the professionals who demand Commercial quality ZTR's that are durable for daily use.

Kmzlawncare said:

Not sure we're you say there junk I have a lot of different brands of mowers and I think my 2013 Gravely is the best mower I have ever owned it has a great cut nice ride and has a lot of power I'm switching all my mowers to Gravely they are a great company and I have a great dealer.

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Yah, your right!!!! And I'll bet that 15-yr-old Toro Z-Master has served you well too. I almost pulled the trigger on one in 2012, but the Gravely dealer gave me a better deal than the Toro dealer would. Is yours the 2000 series, the 3000 series or what? How many hours have you logged on that Z-Master in 15 years??? You have some fine lawn maintenance equipment and I would guess that you know what you are talking about:0)

djdicetn said:

Yah, your right!!!! And I'll bet that 15-yr-old Toro Z-Master has served you well too. I almost pulled the trigger on one in 2012, but the Gravely dealer gave me a better deal than the Toro dealer would. Is yours the 2000 series, the 3000 series or what? How many hours have you logged on that Z-Master in 15 years??? You have some fine lawn maintenance equipment and I would guess that you know what you are talking about:0)

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Mine is a 200 series it's actually the mower my wife uses it has 1100 hrs. It's been a great mower it cuts and strips great! And it's for sale I'm switching to All Gravely I may keep my Ferris For now But everything else is Going to be Gravely. Oh and thanks on your comment about my equipment. Here's a picture of my Toro

More action here than usual in the Gravely forum hehe

Kmzlawncare said:

Mine is a 200 series it's actually the mower my wife uses it has 1100 hrs. It's been a great mower it cuts and strips great! And it's for sale I'm switching to All Gravely I may keep my Ferris For now But everything else is Going to be Gravely. Oh and thanks on your comment about my equipment. Here's a picture of my Toro View attachment 20202

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That Z-Master looks good for 15-yrs-old!! And WOW...1,100 hours(I am on my second mowing season with my Gravely and have just over 40 hours....at that rate it'll take me 25 years to break 1,000 hours:0)
Can't get my wife on my Gravely, which is OK cause that means I get to use it more!!! I can't blame you for leaning towards all Gravely's as I consider their quality hard to match much less beat.

Mike88se,
The word is getting out from Gravely users about the quality for the price and I have seen a bunch of users buying them over the last two years I've been on the forum. Aside from user davbell2262's rant earlier I've yet to hear any negative reviews on a Gravely.

djdicetn said:

That Z-Master looks good for 15-yrs-old!! And WOW...1,100 hours(I am on my second mowing season with my Gravely and have just over 40 hours....at that rate it'll take me 25 years to break 1,000 hours:0)
Can't get my wife on my Gravely, which is OK cause that means I get to use it more!!! I can't blame you for leaning towards all Gravely's as I consider their quality hard to match much less beat.

Mike88se,
The word is getting out from Gravely users about the quality for the price and I have seen a bunch of users buying them over the last two years I've been on the forum. Aside from user davbell2262's rant earlier I've yet to hear any negative reviews on a Gravely.

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Everybody is entitled to an opinion and I respect Dave's opinion. All I can say is I have a Gravely and it is an excellent machine. I wish I had two of them. A 48 or larger would be great for big front lawns and the 34 would be used on large backyards.
But the 34 is a good enough (fast enough) that I'm glad to have it for the big front lawns.
The only thing I can say that's close to negative is that the 34z wasn't a good zero turn to learn on lol. Kinda like learning to drive in a Chevelle SS396