I notice that when going forward if I take both hands off the levers simultaneously they both return to a home/neutral position, but not at the same speed; the left pops back into neutral rather quickly whereas the right just sort of slowly "drifts" back, and it doesn't seem to slip as decisively into home/neutral. Is there any way to fine tune the levers' adjustment or is this more or less normal for this machine's age (14yrs) and so it should be safe to continue operating it "as-is"? I also wanted to point out that one pump motor was replaced 3 years ago and the other was changed out 2 years ago, in case that might have something to do with it. Thanks!
#2
173abn
flip the seat up,there are grease zerks for the steering,one on each side...russ
Thanks for the "heads-up" on those zerks, Russ. I thought I hit them all, but obviously I missed at least 2. The previous owner still hasn't had time to dig out the manuals for my mower yet, so I'm still sort of flying blind somewhat. I'll get to them this evening. We'll see if that helps even things out. Thanks again.
#4
173abn
on my 928d there are a total of 16 zerks,I'm not sure how many your 721 has but I can walk you through mine and you can compare.those two zerks should be above your tires...russ
I have found only 2 on the 72" mowing deck (outside spindles), 3 on the PTO shaft, 2 for front casters and 2 for the rear casters. Your 2 for the steering levers makes 11. Most likely, the older mowers such as mine have several more. Grasshopper prides itself on making mention of the reduced number of grease points in the promotional DVD that they sent me along with the printed literature which I had requested back when I first contacted them about their mowers. I believe there are only 10 greaseable service points on their newest frontmount tractor models.
#6
173abn
so are you saying your middle spindle doesn't have a zerk?also when you say your drive shaft has 3 I assume you are talking about the 2 pillowblock bearnings and the U-joint.again don't know about your mower in detail ,my 928 has one u-joint on the tractor side then a 2piece drive shaft with a zerk where the shaft on the tractor side goes into the shaft on the deck side and another U-joint on the deck side,also there are 4 on the 2 front casters and 2 on the rear....russ
We finally got enough rain over the past 2 weeks to stimulate lawn (mostly weed) growth in my neck of the woods. I was able to take my GH out and mow everything at once instead of piecemeal. I really got a good feel for how it handles, cuts and most importantly... cuts down my mowing time versus mt traditional JD rider. Wow! Love it.
I have noticed when going all out mowing my fields with the levers all the way forward that the mower slowly drifts to the right. The ground was flat and level, so my guess is that something squirelly is up with the levers / wheel motors. I'm figuring some simple adjustment is in order. What say you experienced 'Hopper owners??
I have the same issue with my mower drifting to the right with both levers pushed forward.. did you ever find a response or figure out how to make the necessary adjustments?
Sadly, no. I am still waiting for the PO to deliver the manuals & misc. paperwork for the machine. No complaints though, really. I'll get the details all sorted out eventually. In the meantime, over the last couple of lawn mowing afternoons I have happily discovered that what once took me almost 3 hours to mow can now be done in about 1hr45min with my 'Hopper. I imagine I'll get even faster as I master the steering and lose my fear of mowing at full speed. Heck, this thing mows grass faster than my JD's top "transport" speed! Boy, I love this mower!!!
It appears we got our mowers about the same time and they aren't apparently of the same vintage... I have been unable to find any after market manuals on the GH and the owner's manual which I did get with my unit, is not extensive by any stretch of the imagination.. if you locate a manual that you think is good, please let me know!!!
Too bad Clymers or Haynes doesn't publish do-it-yourself repair manuals for Grasshopper mowers like they do for most cars & motorcycles! Dang it all!!:laughing:
There is an adjustment (stop bolt) under the lever. You can see it from the front of the tractor. Raise the bolt a bit on the fast side to slow it a bit or you can split the difference from side to side.
Thanks much, I will give that a try... like others have said, its too bad that there aren't any easily accessible manuals for the DIY'ers .. thanks again
