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Looking at a Gravely Z44 Pro with 1700hrs, is that too many hours?

#1

R

RWlawnman

Local dealer is selling a Gravely Pro Z44 with about 1700 hours on it, Kohler 20hp engine. Asking price is $2,000. It was used as residential mower, not pro use. Serviced by the dealer. Runs good, no known issues. I offered $1,500 and dealer said he just put it out for sale, but if it doesn't move in a week or so he'd consider my offer.

My question is how many hours can one expect out of one of these mowers? I would assume an engine replacement is possible at some point, I already inquired about that and he said they charge $1,500 typically for that. Considering it seems to run good now, I don't expect that would be needed anytime soon, but eventually it could be needed. How many hours might one of these go if well taken care of (this one seems to have been), with and without an engine replacement?


#2

tom3

tom3

Just me, I'd forget it. Too many hours and too much expensive stuff that can go wrong at this point. 1700 hours is about 20 years in normal use I think.


#3

G

gainestruk

That sounds like a lot of hours for residential use, I have a 2006 ZT18/44XL as of today I have 874 hours that's an average of 62.4 hours a year which is a little over residential average.
What year is it and which engine, find out if engine has been replaced and drive pump oil has had regular service, I have a Parker drive pump and Parker drive motors on each rear wheel, my manual says change oil every 500 hrs I do mine at 250, price sounds a bit high to me, as far as how long it will last I'm 60 and plan on this being my last mower, mine is built like a tank, they only made them 2 years and I think they decided it was too well made, you can make any well made mower last for years you will just need to replace worn out parts and keep up very good maintenance schedule.


#4

Mower King

Mower King

tom3 said:
Just me, I'd forget it. Too many hours and too much expensive stuff that can go wrong at this point. 1700 hours is about 20 years in normal use I think.
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I wouldn't either....IMO, too many hours = too many wore out parts. Besides the engine being an expensive piece, there are wheel motors on each side, plus dozens of wearable parts from the front to the back.
Again, this is just my opinion!


#5

NorthBama

NorthBama

I agree too many hours on the engine and hydraulic drive system


#6

G

gainestruk

I just looked it up, it came out with a Kawasaki engine and it has hydrostatic drive pump on each wheel where mine has a single pump that drives a high pressure motor on each wheels, it does look a lot like mine.
I think I would pass on it, way over priced.


#7

R

RWlawnman

gainestruk said:
I just looked it up, it came out with a Kawasaki engine and it has hydrostatic drive pump on each wheel where mine has a single pump that drives a high pressure motor on each wheels, it does look a lot like mine.
I think I would pass on it, way over priced.
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Where did you find that info? Can you provide a link? Interestingly, I looked under the seat and I saw one drive pump under there (with the fan blades on top, right?), not two. It has the Kohler engine, maybe it was Kawi on some years or an option between the two? The dealer said they don't know the year because the serial number doesn't indicate the year, which I find odd. Seems like the year should be known.

FWIW, I offered him $1,500 for the mower, and he said they had just put it out for sale a day ago, and if it was not sold in a week to check back with him. We'll see what happens. He may find some sucker who doesn't bother asking how many hours is on it, or that knows that it's a lot of hours.

It runs really good, the only think I noticed was a little "chattering" on the front during turns, either right or left the same. He said that is normal (though I don't get it on my new Proturn 152), and when I turned it off, there was one backfire. I didn't ask about that, but I assume might be a worn valve, which wouldn't be surprising if that's the original engine, I guess.


#8

R

RWlawnman

Interesting, I found this video of what appears to be the same mower. It looks like it exactly, however this has a Kawasaki 17hp engine, which looks like the original engine from any info I could find online. So it appears the one I'm looking at had the original engine replaced with a Kohler 20hp model.



#9

G

gainestruk

RWlawnman said:
Where did you find that info? Can you provide a link? Interestingly, I looked under the seat and I saw one drive pump under there (with the fan blades on top, right?), not two. It has the Kohler engine, maybe it was Kawi on some years or an option between the two? The dealer said they don't know the year because the serial number doesn't indicate the year, which I find odd. Seems like the year should be known.

FWIW, I offered him $1,500 for the mower, and he said they had just put it out for sale a day ago, and if it was not sold in a week to check back with him. We'll see what happens. He may find some sucker who doesn't bother asking how many hours is on it, or that knows that it's a lot of hours.

It runs really good, the only think I noticed was a little "chattering" on the front during turns, either right or left the same. He said that is normal (though I don't get it on my new Proturn 152), and when I turned it off, there was one backfire. I didn't ask about that, but I assume might be a worn valve, which wouldn't be surprising if that's the original engine, I guess.
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I just typed in Gravley Z44pro. In google, it popped up several results on it.


#10

R

RWlawnman

Well, the dealer sold the 44Z. I talked with them and it turned out the engine was from another mower, so it was a used engine, but the original engine had been replaced. No idea how many hours were on the engine, and it probably wasn't a commercial engine either, so probably not worth getting. I told them I'm looking for a smaller, backup mower, and they have a few others they need to work on to sell, so we'll see what comes along.


#11

G

gainestruk

RWlawnman said:
Well, the dealer sold the 44Z. I talked with them and it turned out the engine was from another mower, so it was a used engine, but the original engine had been replaced. No idea how many hours were on the engine, and it probably wasn't a commercial engine either, so probably not worth getting. I told them I'm looking for a smaller, backup mower, and they have a few others they need to work on to sell, so we'll see what comes along.
I would say that's a good choice, I question it not being used commercially, my 2006 Gravely only has a little over 800 hrs and it has only mowed my neighbors lawn and mine, I traded neighbor a couple of rifles for it in 2017, when I got it it had 600 hrs, so that averages about 60 hours a year.
If you look at a mower try to get one commercial grade that has had 50-60 hrs a year, that will truly be non commercial.
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#12

R

RWlawnman

gainestruk said:
I would say that's a good choice, I question it not being used commercially, my 2006 Gravely only has a little over 800 hrs and it has only mowed my neighbors lawn and mine, I traded neighbor a couple of rifles for it in 2017, when I got it it had 600 hrs, so that averages about 60 hours a year.
If you look at a mower try to get one commercial grade that has had 50-60 hrs a year, that will truly be non commercial.
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Yes, that would be ideal. This would be a backup mower, one that I'd probably use on my own lawn every 2 weeks or so, and very occasionally on a job when my main mower, a 2020 Proturn 152 that I just bought in July, might have to go in the shop. So I'm just looking for something that is currently reliable, and the number of hours isn't critical, if the price is right. This 44Z I was looking at probably would have fit the bill, even with the hours, except the price was a little on the high side. I would have been comfortable at $1,500 because I like the dealer. If I was buying it from anyone else, $800-$1,000 would have been a reasonable pride. I did ride it, and could tell it's in good operational condition. So If I could find another like that, at the right price, I'll be happy.


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