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2013 Toro MX5060. 270 hours. Drive belt was replaced at the shop 2 months ago. The mower drifts to the left when mowing full speed. I can mow with it easy enough. Its just that I have to pull back the right bar slightly to mow straight. Also, I notice that when sitting still if I move the left control bar and then let go of it it goes back to neutral position. The right control bar does not; it stays about where I turned loose of it. It seems the left side has what I'd call the spongy feel -- like a hydraulic pressure feel-- which is what I'd think it should have. The right control bar doesn't have that feel. It just moves back and forth with my hand movements and the mower responds; but there is no little resistance there. I'm not a lawnmower repair man --l don't know if I'm describing this properly. Again, I can mow with it but one side just feels different than the other. Trans oil has never been changed, which I asked two different Toro dealers about that, they both said forget about doing that till 500 hours.

Here is the service manual for your unit. Section 5 tells how to adjust the drives. https://www.toro.com/getpub/78978

And no matter what you do they never drive dead strait
The early ZTR's has double spring loaded controls so you could adjust R & F positions individually but it got dropped
While they might pass the drive strait lest on bitumen or concrete once you are on grass , particular rough or sloping grass all that goes out the window due to slip & side slip

Well there is a slope in my yard. All yards within 2 miles are this way.
But what about the part of the right control arm not returning to neutral when you release it?

That is in the adjustment proceedure in the manual that Rivets was good enough to provide a link to in reply # 2

You might check the dampeners if it has them most mowers do.

Also uneven tire pressures can affect tracking too.

bertsmobile1 said:

That is in the adjustment proceedure in the manual that Rivets was good enough to provide a link to in reply # 2

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Yes, I have that manual now. At least I've got it bookmarked, I can't yet figure out how to save it to my computer.

StarTech said:

Also uneven tire pressures can affect tracking too.

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Yes, it does. That was the first thing I did. There was less than half the pressure in the left back tire as the right back had. I took care of that and it solved most of the drift. There's still a little bit.

Rivets said:

Here is the service manual for your unit. Section 5 tells how to adjust the drives. https://www.toro.com/getpub/789

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Rivets, thank you for that. This manual seems to have a lot more info than the manual that came with my mower. These adjustments are not even mentioned, I guess they want the dealer to do that.

hlw49 said:

You might check the dampeners if it has them most mowers do.

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hlw49, I looked for those but I don't see any on this model (MX 5060).

hlw49 said:

You might check the dampeners if it has them most mowers do.

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hlw49, I had looked and didn't see any (based on a video I saw). However, on this model I'm almost certain they are located other than what I saw on the video. So, yes I think it has them; they're about 10" long, black, about 3/4" diameter. Thanks.

StarTech said:

Also uneven tire pressures can affect tracking too.

Click to expand...

bertsmobile1 said:

And no matter what you do they never drive dead strait
The early ZTR's has double spring loaded controls so you could adjust R & F positions individually but it got dropped
While they might pass the drive strait lest on bitumen or concrete once you are on grass , particular rough or sloping grass all that goes out the window due to slip & side slip

Click to expand...

bert, I'm beginning to come to that conclusion too, and maybe I'm being a bit too nitpicking. I live in a hilly area of rolling hills on my street. Nothing is flat. Some of it is "relatively" flat, but not all. On 1.6 acs there is a drop of (guess) 5 or 6 feet. I expect having to pull back some when mowing a ditch lengthwise, thats to be expected. So maybe yard slope is the same but lesser than a ditch. Thanks for your input.

Try driving a JD SST16 on a slope. You have to crab it just to cut in a straight line.

StarTech said:

Try driving a JD SST16 on a slope. You have to crab it just to cut in a straight line.

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Haha. I'll leave that to someone else. I once had a JD lawn tractor with one of those stamped decks. About the only good thing I could say about it was the Kohler engine. The deck was a bonafide mess.

To set the tracking air up the tires to the proper level. Get on a flat level area like a drive way and set it where it runs straight. All ZTR mowers will drift down hill on a hill side. You have to compensate for that.

hlw49 said:

To set the tracking air up the tires to the proper level. Get on a flat level area like a drive way and set it where it runs straight. All ZTR mowers will drift down hill on a hill side. You have to compensate for that.

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hlw49, thanks. Yes, I've aired both rear tires to 12 lbs. I found out something as simple as that affects tracking big time. Unfortunately, there's not more than about 20 feet or so of what is 'almost level' in my yard including the driveway which is all uphill and slightly slanted to one side. To get on a level spot I'd have to load it on the trailer and drive 20 miles. Since almost nothing in my 2 acre yard is completely level I'll likely just leave it alone unless it gets worse since its not turning to the left a lot, as I've seen in some videos online. Those were real bad. Thanks for your input.

hlw49 said:

To set the tracking air up the tires to the proper level. Get on a flat level area like a drive way and set it where it runs straight. All ZTR mowers will drift down hill on a hill side. You have to compensate for that.

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Good luck with that! No amount of compensation will keep a 4235 from drifting (running full tilt) downhill when cutting on a hillside.

I like most of what the 4235 does; for instance, it's a mountain goat straight up a steep hill. Just don't ask it to do any work on any side slope.

FWIW, when I first bought my 4235, I complained about it running away sideways down hills to the professional who cut the churchyard next door. He said, "Ya gotta learn how; let me show you." He darned near destroyed my chain link fence and wasn't even as good on the Toro as I had learned to make do.

jack vines

You always slow down the faster side.. And a very minimal adjustment changes it a lot.. Before I changed anything I marked (Sharpie) the threaded rods & the nuts, so I had a bench mark to return to should I have needed to,,

My former Toro TC 4260 required a very minor adjust .

packardv8 and Lawn Addict, in the past I found the left back tire with only 6 lbs air while the right back tire had 12. I checked that after I had made two 1/4 turns on the adjustment rod, which helped. I'm going to air the left back up again the next time I mow and it will probably be OK. If its pulling to the opposite side some because of the adjustment I did I'll just reverse the adjustment I made. It was likely the tire that was the problem. Stupid of me, but you can't look at those back tires and tell one's lower than the other. I had a problem once before with this same tire losing pressure over time. So, if it starts losing air again after I air it up I'll take it to the tire shop. It might be something as simple as a valve stem. I hope its not the tire itself. Those things are pricey.
Thank you for your inputs. It helps a lot to be able to talk to people who know.

jcworks said:

I had a problem once before with this same tire losing pressure over time. So, if it starts losing air again after I air it up I'll take it to the tire shop. It might be something as simple as a valve stem. I hope its not the tire itself. Those things are pricey.
Thank you for your inputs. It helps a lot to be able to talk to people who know.

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The OEM tires are pretty weak specimens. Inserting a tube is often the easiest, least expensive solution to a chronic leak.

jack vines

packardv8 said:

The OEM tires are pretty weak specimens. Inserting a tube is often the easiest, least expensive solution to a chronic leak.

jack vines

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Good idea about the tube. Thanks. Will do

jcworks said:

If its pulling to the opposite side some because of the adjustment I did I'll just reverse the adjustment I made. It was likely the tire that was the problem.

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That's why I posted I mark the threads & nuts on the adjusters, so you know where you started at just in case.

jcworks said:

Good idea about the tube. Thanks. Will do

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A good tire even on your car can leak as much as 2 psi a month. Lawn mower tires are even worse. So check them often and it may keep you from hitting that root or rock you use to mow over.