New owner Zt hd 48"

[Buttapollock1010]

It could possibly, but it's suppose to have a certain amount of play. Believe it's 12-14" from spring attachment to attachment. Not positive.

 

[packmule]

I bought a Gravely ZT HD 48" on May 25th(2017). I have less than 50 hours on this mower and I've already broken two hydro idler tension springs. I had unit towed to dealer the first time. They replaced the spring. A week later this spring broke again. me and two other guys got unit onto my trailer and I made trip to dealer again. The dealership informed me that Gravely had told them this spring is defective. I have another spring on unit but I'm afraid to take mower out because another spring failure would result in another towing expense.

I spoke to Ariens customer service after providing them with my mower model and serial number. They are aware of problem and say they are waiting on spring manufacturer to send them new, improved springs. I was told this "might" happen in 2-4 weeks. I don't know what other Gravely zero turn models may have this problem. The model # of my ower is 991162.

I emailed Gravely with detailed account of my problem and haven't heard back from them yet.

For now I have to use my Gravely 48" walk behind mower(2015 model 988152) while my riding mower, less than six weeks old, sits in my garage carport.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Take your old broken spring to an engineering supply store or specialist spring maker.
One of them will have a suitable replacement or know where to get one from.
Buy a couple then go mow.
You might need to make a spring puller from a length of heavy wire if the tensioner arm does not have a hole for a breaker bar.

 

[packmule]

I emailed Gravely and received a reply back that new hydro idler springs will be shipped out to deales in three weeks. Add another week, they said, before springs are actually available to customers who need them. The end result is my riding mower will now sit in my carport for a month while I'm out two lost work days and $335 due to towing and repair expense from the first spring failure. I asked Gravely about some sort of compensation for my expense due to their defective spring...and received no reply back on that.

I also called and left a voice message for a Gravely regional manager(southeast) and haven't heard back from him.

I can say with absolute certainty that this riding mower will be the last Gravely product I ever buy. It''ll take me at least two years to pay the riding mower off and that cannot come soon enough.

 

[tbzep]

Broke my first one Sunday afternoon. Loaded it up and took it to the dealer today. I was in and out in 10 minutes, fixed it on the trailer. Great dealer. Would have done it myself but they said it was pretty hard to get on. Two guys put it on, but I believe I'll just pick up a spring and do it myself next time. I'm fairly sure there will be a next time. I've only got 20 hours on mine.

 

[Johnny-Don]

Hi all! Stumbled upon this forum 'googling' for this exact issue. Spring broke with just over 6 hours on my 6 month old ZTHD 48". I learned that the "old" part number for the spring is 08300505, and the NEW updated spring is 08300711. The new spring appears to be the exact same spring, but about 1" longer. I have installed the new spring, and my belt flops around like crazy... I'm not expecting it to last, I never looked at the belt before, and I haven't mowed yet though, maybe they always flopped. Gravely CS also told me that I should bring my mower in for a "Engine Adjustment" Whatever that means... My dealer had no clue what she was talking about. When I responded to them, this was the exact response:

"It is recommended if the spring has broken to have the replacement spring and adjustment done at the same time. If you continue to use your machine we recommend that when the mower is on to always run it at full throttle to reduce vibration on the machine"

Anywho, I'll see how my mowing goes now and keep this thread updated.

As a side note, if you're ever in a bind because the spring broke, one of the 2 gold springs from the deck work like a charm in a pinch if you have a small tow strap (and a helper or a fence post/tree) to stretch it.

As a second side note: I griped about not being able to see my fuel level in the "window", apparently they are aware of the issue and their "engineering department is aware and looking for other options for the fuel gauge window material" :|

 

[tbzep]

I didn't contact Gravely, just called the dealer and they said bring it on in. I didn't even sign anything when they fixed it. They just grabbed the spring and stuck it on there. I think he looked at the number on the mower, but he didn't write it down. I guess he has a good memory. Nobody mentioned any kind of adjustment, and I don't have a clue what Gravely would want to have adjusted on the engine at such low hours.

 

[Handy7rick]

I bought a Gravely ZT HD 48" on May 25th(2017). I have less than 50 hours on this mower and I've already broken two hydro idler tension springs. I had unit towed to dealer the first time. They replaced the spring. A week later this spring broke again. me and two other guys got unit onto my trailer and I made trip to dealer again. The dealership informed me that Gravely had told them this spring is defective. I have another spring on unit but I'm afraid to take mower out because another spring failure would result in another towing expense.

I spoke to Ariens customer service after providing them with my mower model and serial number. They are aware of problem and say they are waiting on spring manufacturer to send them new, improved springs. I was told this "might" happen in 2-4 weeks. I don't know what other Gravely zero turn models may have this problem. The model # of my ower is 991162.

I emailed Gravely with detailed account of my problem and haven't heard back from them yet.

For now I have to use my Gravely 48" walk behind mower(2015 model 988152) while my riding mower, less than six weeks old, sits in my garage carport.

Just a suggestion, maybe order a spring online (if available) from Ariens or Gravely. Good luck, my Gravely is 11 years old and no problems with springs at all. Only replaced pump drive belt after 10 years.