Raptor 54 SD problem

[KenV]

Hi all,

My Raptor SD slipped a belt at 5 hours (dealer came out and corrected). I assume this was an assembly issue. At 55 hours the back axle broke. He fixed it, too, but charged me for pickup/delivery. I'll check on whether that was an upgrade. Same thing happened to my neighbor who also has a Raptor SD (with about 50 hours on it). These were both purchased in spring 2015. The back tire was visibly slanting after the break and the mower wouldn't move. Sunds like Hustler got cheap on a part.

 

[577jersey]

My brace is made of pretty heavy steel and uses good size bolts with stop nuts...i checked them after 25 hours and they where still tight,I cut a ton of hilly lawns with big 30-45 degree slopes..maybe mine was already upgraded,if not Im sure I would have twisted them off by now,,i had this mower going almost straight up and down a slope many times??

 

[turboawd]

so i decided to take another look underneath, and noticed another bolt being real loose and worn. this is what eventually breaks or comes apart completely, resulting in the trans angling out and belt falling off.
i'm going to have to remove and replace all the trans bolts. these are grade 5, i'm going with grade 8 and loctite. it kinda sucks that i have to do this.

 

[bertsmobile1]

When you replace the bolt, put it in the other way around so the nut is on the other end thus the bit that goes through the hole will be thicker and less liable to wear thin.
Get a bolt 1/2 longer than the one you have and put a locknut on the end of it.
lock nits are 100 time better than loctite and cheaper to boot

 

[577jersey]

I agree with Bert,,if you flip the bolt around the shank will be up against the connections spot that goes through the frame not the threads.
I may just get some grade 8 bolts with lock nuts and do this before its too late.Until then I will just snug them up every week if they feel loose.

Thanks for the pics and post!!

Tom

 

[bustaste]

I bought a new Raptor SD 54" in June and have put 65 hours on this summer. End of September the stamped plate brace that goes between the hydros broke where it bolts on to the right hydro.
On the dealer lot I noticed that the one he has remaining has a round rod as a brace instead of the stamped brace. Thought to myself, Good upgrade in design.
Expecting to see the round rod brace when I got the mower back, I found they put in another stamped brace. Why didn't they use the rod brace? Did they change the hydros mid year?

Also, while it was being repaired, I had the salesman figure up what it would cost me to trade up to a FastTrack. He offered me $900 less for my Raptor than I paid for it. Isn't that a little harsh?

 

[577jersey]

Pretty sure mine has the stamped brace,you have to tighten up those bolts frequently or you will break or twist something,,especially if you do alot of steep slopes like me,i double lock nutted the smaller bolts in the back and added lock washers too the brace bolts,,so far so good @125 hours.
i do have a small leak from my left hydro,its the break shaft o-ring,dealer said they are going to put a whole new hydro on that side when i bring it in..lol

I believe they all have 2800 hydros so no that round bar brace should work with all the machines.

Yeah,well as soon as that mower left the floor it lost 5 to 600 dollars off the price you paid,,plus 65 hours,Id say the mower is worth about 3 grand give or take.

 

[turboawd]

anyone have a picture of this round brace?

 

[kraky]

Re values.... in Spring of 2015 I bought a raptor SD 54 with a set of uninstalled flexforks for $3250 off of Craigslist. It had 75 hours are on it and I saved sales tax.
Thought I made a great deal but after mowing a couple times I realized it had a vibration that shouldn't be there. It was actually a 2014 model and some of these had trouble with the drive system for the hydro as far as alignments go. My very good dealer got things aligned perfectly and replaced a slightly out of round pulley and it was a new machine... he also changed out the hydro oils n looked everything over. I traded the flex forks and a little cash on that bill.
This spring I sold it with 105 hours on it to my next door neighbor for $2850 and bought a new Fast Track 54. He's very happy and I'm thrilled with the upgrade!

 

[577jersey]

Yeah,Id love to see a pic of the round bar upgrade.

I’m hoping to keep my RSD for at least 300 hours maybe 3 seasons,,possibly get 2 grand for it and put that down on a Bobcat CRZ..i keep my machines really clean so i hope it sells for a decent price...cant believe the spindles are still rock solid after 100 hours,usually by now they have a little slop,,I bet these spindles are good for 1500 hours easy.