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Hello, we bought a house with 3 acres last July and I also purchased the owners Hustler Raptor SD 54" mower. There was a learning curve since this was the first zero turn I had driven, but after having to replace the blade belt things settled down. I went from taking 4 1/2 hours to mow down to less than 2 1/2 :thumbsup: This spring I changed the oil, filters (oil, air, and fuel) and have a set of sharpened blades I plan to put on.

On my second or third mowing this year the drive belt came off. After figuring out why I lost drive power (thanks YouTube!) I put the belt back on but that only lasted about 10 minutes before it came off again.... rinse and repeat a couple more times and I headed to the dealer for a new belt. They advised me to look for broken or missing bolts holding on the hydros and BINGO, I found a missing bolt one of the hydros, and that fixed my belt issue.

The mower currently has about 300 hours on the clock, and not knowing when the hydro fluid and filters were changed that is my next project (along with sharpened blades) as soon as the filters arrive.

My only other issue is all the grass that collects under the deck. I scrapped off what seemed like 20 lbs that was moldy and smelled like crap (it attracted a ton of flies) so I thought the next mowing would have minimal accumulation, but it had a lot also. I'm thinking I didn't clean it very well the first time, but if it continues I'll have to try a no stick spray or something. It was pretty dry when I mowed, but this last time I also rinsed it off as best I could under the deck with a hose and ran the blades for 4 or 5 minutes to dry.

John

:welcome:

Welcome to the forum!

I'm going to move this thread over to our Hustler section.

Be aware that the missing bolts are an indication of a bigger problem.

Be SURE you install these 2 upgraded braces between the Hydro's. This is a known problem so inspect your mower now to see if it has the upgraded brace and I strongly recommend adding the additional upper brace too. Check that the bolts don't loosen up as we have had reports of that. Mine have stayed tight since the installation of the braces.



Lower Cross Brace #123292 About $137. BUT this should be a warranty part if your machine did not come with it from the factory.

Upper Brace is called a "Clutch Cover" #120838 About $12.50
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Good info here. :thumbsup:

clubairth said:

Be aware that the missing bolts are an indication of a bigger problem.

Be SURE you install these 2 upgraded braces between the Hydro's. This is a known problem so inspect your mower now to see if it has the upgraded brace and I strongly recommend adding the additional upper brace too. Check that the bolts don't loosen up as we have had reports of that. Mine have stayed tight since the installation of the braces.

View attachment 44377

Lower Cross Brace #123292 About $137. BUT this should be a warranty part if your machine did not come with it from the factory.

Upper Brace is called a "Clutch Cover" #120838 About $12.50
.
.
.

Click to expand...

clubairth said:

Be aware that the missing bolts are an indication of a bigger problem.

Be SURE you install these 2 upgraded braces between the Hydro's. This is a known problem so inspect your mower now to see if it has the upgraded brace and I strongly recommend adding the additional upper brace too. Check that the bolts don't loosen up as we have had reports of that. Mine have stayed tight since the installation of the braces.

View attachment 44377

Lower Cross Brace #123292 About $137. BUT this should be a warranty part if your machine did not come with it from the factory.

Upper Brace is called a "Clutch Cover" #120838 About $12.50
.
.
.

Click to expand...

Wow. Great advice. Is that for the 60" SD as well? I changed my drive belt to a Gates 6851. It's an Aramid fractional V belt. I didn't have any loose bolts, except for the one that went through the idler arm.

Welcome to the group fellow Kentuckian, where abouts are you hailing from? I'm near LaGrange.

The Chairman said:

Wow. Great advice. Is that for the 60" SD as well?

Click to expand...

Yes, applies to all SD's. Here is a pic comparing the old and new braces:

That's another good point.
Looks like the factory installed brace is yellow but if purchased as a separate part they come painted black.
Mine is black even though my dealer installed it under warranty.
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clubairth said:

That's another good point.
Looks like the factory installed brace is yellow but if purchased as a separate part they come painted black.
Mine is black even though my dealer installed it under warranty.
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Click to expand...

Correct, the new brace is yellow if installed on the assembly line. It is black if ordered without a mower attached. I painted my black one yellow.