Export thread

New to the forum but found it trying to find any solution to my problem.
I have a Raptor SD that is about 6 months old with 50 hours on it.
Last week my drive belt came off. On close inspection realized the bolt that holds the transmission to the frame had come off on the left side and the right side lock nut was loose as well. It happened when I was going down a slope and I assume when that bolt came off it allowed the fan to hit the belt to pop it off.
I replaced the left bolt, tightened the right bolt and all was well until I was almost done with my 4 acres yesterday and the belt popped off again on a slope but the bolts were secure.
I am wondering that belt hitting the plastic fan blade (it has some nicks on it) is now messed up the fan blade making it too close to the belt.
I plan on hauling it back to the dealer at the end of the week for them to fix it but I am wondering have other owners had this issue and is the only solution to constantly monitor the bolts and nuts?

Thanks

92dogs,

Actually, the belt hitting the fan has happened even when the bolts were in place and tight on a few Raptor models. Usually chews up the inside and side of the belt and thus the belt either breaks or are lifted off the v-pulley.

Another thing that can and does happen with a few, very few as is the fan blade episodes is the deck belt making contact with the right side steering rod and the cure for that is to cable tie the steering rod about 3/4" over toward the right side frame. While you're under the mower, check to see if there is a bright spot on the right steering rod on the belt side.

I'd purchase grade eight bolts and take them to the dealer along with locking nuts and have them put the upgrade bolts on for you while they're being paid for the warranty labor. Worth your time and small amount of money to upgrade the bolts for longer, harder bolts along with locking nuts.

Good luck,

Max

I have 60 inch SD model that started doing exactly that - tossing transmission belt off pulleys after 20-30 minutes of mowing.
I called dealer and they were adamant that transmission suspension hardware is missing or loose.
Also, I am not sure how tight that belt is supposed to be after installation. Long straight run of it, towards the rear, is pretty loose, flopping by hand, with tensioner fully engaged.
That said, after I read this post, fan on the left side does have nixes on blade outer edge. I contributed it to debris hitting it but am re thinking the idea now.
I have question.
Tech at dealer kept referring to checking on 4 tabs that hold transmission in place. What is that he means by tabs? Bolts and nuts?
I just did oil change in transaxles Monday, what was royal pita considering where the filler plugs are. Keeping that in mind, what is the easiest to get to transaxle mounting bolts? As it's all covered from the top, can't see squat. Do you happen to have schematic of where they are located? I actually have scissor lift that I can get mower on and up, so getting to anything from the bottom is easy.
Suggestions appreciated, thank you

mhavanti said:

92dogs,

Actually, the belt hitting the fan has happened even when the bolts were in place and tight on a few Raptor models. Usually chews up the inside and side of the belt and thus the belt either breaks or are lifted off the v-pulley.

Another thing that can and does happen with a few, very few as is the fan blade episodes is the deck belt making contact with the right side steering rod and the cure for that is to cable tie the steering rod about 3/4" over toward the right side frame. While you're under the mower, check to see if there is a bright spot on the right steering rod on the belt side.

I'd purchase grade eight bolts and take them to the dealer along with locking nuts and have them put the upgrade bolts on for you while they're being paid for the warranty labor. Worth your time and small amount of money to upgrade the bolts for longer, harder bolts along with locking nuts.

Good luck,

Max

Click to expand...

That for the good information! I have actually seen a few more posts similar mine since joining this saying the same thing about the grade eight bolts.
If I read some of the posts correctly about those grade eight bolts it seems some were suggesting put them on opposite of what the manufacturer does. The lock nut will be on the underside; does that sound right to you. My knowledge of mechanics and such is very limited.
I'll check that steering rod when I get home today.
Thanks again!!

Buy locking washers and place them between nut and frame.
It's my second Hustler and I must say, that their bolts are not worth a dime. First one, I had 54 inch deck Hustler. That literally started falling apart on deck suspension bolts after 30 hrs of use. Snapped bolts, "locking" nuts going loose. So I sold it and now have 60 inch SD and, this weekend, found snapped engine guard bolt and guard rattling as the result.
If I were you, crucial components, I'd have ditched their bolts and replaced them with automotive grade ones, with locking washers. On my deck height adjustment bolts, I even added 2nd locking nut on top of the OEM nut. In this manner, double nutted, there is no way it will go loose. Prolly will snap eventually.

ukrkoz said:

I have 60 inch SD model that started doing exactly that - tossing transmission belt off pulleys after 20-30 minutes of mowing.
I called dealer and they were adamant that transmission suspension hardware is missing or loose.
Also, I am not sure how tight that belt is supposed to be after installation. Long straight run of it, towards the rear, is pretty loose, flopping by hand, with tensioner fully engaged.
That said, after I read this post, fan on the left side does have nixes on blade outer edge. I contributed it to debris hitting it but am re thinking the idea now.
I have question.
Tech at dealer kept referring to checking on 4 tabs that hold transmission in place. What is that he means by tabs? Bolts and nuts?
I just did oil change in transaxles Monday, what was royal pita considering where the filler plugs are. Keeping that in mind, what is the easiest to get to transaxle mounting bolts? As it's all covered from the top, can't see squat. Do you happen to have schematic of where they are located? I actually have scissor lift that I can get mower on and up, so getting to anything from the bottom is easy.
Suggestions appreciated, thank you

Click to expand...

If you Google Hustler Raptor schematics there is a web page that breaks down every part of the mower showing every part number and where it goes.
I am betting the nixes on your blade is from the belt popping off. Also, like you, I thought the belt seemed loose while running BUT a neighbor of mine who is pretty darn handy said his SCAG ($15K) does the same thing. He put on a new belt and got everything as tight as he could and after a few mows it looked a little floppy (I guess that is just how they are).
Please post if you get any answers. If my mower was 3-4 years old I would not be as aggravated but after only 6 months I am having issues with this belt, bolt falling off as well as another bolt fell off early in the cutting season that connected one of the arms and to top it off the deck list peddle broke where the peddle meets the rod (weld spot). I was mowing along and suddenly the deck dropped to the ground causing and immediate stoppage of the blade causing the belt to slip off. Took me a minute to realize what had happened. Took it to the dealer where they ordered a new one but claimed they had never seen it do that.
I either got a mower that was built on a Friday or Hustler has some work to do to make their product better

Well duh, my deck came off and into the ground too. Spring time. That's why I have suspension bolts double nutted now.
If you read my post carefully, it's 2nd Hustler I have and that's how they are made, apparently. We got what we paid for. I am all for fixing it and ridding of it and finding something more reliable. Figure, ways of Husqvarna about the only choice. What gets me is my 2005 42 inch Craftsman riding mower keeps chugging along like it is not 13 years old.
I'll follow after I check on transaxles suspension. Also, I start thinking about adding L shaped brackets to prevent belt from flopping down onto cooling fans. Possibly even re routing tensioner spring, as should you pay attention to its direction, it forces tensioner roller into the main drive pulley. I already tried forcing and locking it in more tension position, but that resulted in belt friction noise. Had to back it up some.
Hmm.. Maybe even adding a second tensioner roller on that long loose belt run....
And by the way. Replacing that belt is PAIN, as you have to remove main belt. Then try putting its tensioner back on!! I had to winch it on.

Fellas,

All v-belts are going to move around on the leeward side. Same for grooved belts or any other kind of belt. You can put an action camera (GoPro or other knockoff) under the frame to record the movement to figure out what you need to do. It also serves as witness to your problem when dealing with both the dealer and manufacturer.

Bear in mind the difference in suspended weight of the Hustler deck compared to the cheap mowers such as entry level Huskies, Toros, Craftsmans, etc. The Hustler Raptor SD decks are kick ***. Replace those suspension bolts with sweet iron chain you've welded a bolt to and problem solved.

I would not use a locking washer as they will bite into the paint. Creating one problem by utilizing the wrong system is never a good thing. Double nutting is a good deal and will work fine and is a good thing. Or, take one nut, strike it vigorously with a sharp chisel twice in a cross pattern and that rascal isn't coming off again until you make it. Depending upon how vigorously you strike the bolts. You can also use castle nuts and cross drill the bolt. Causes small incremental adjustments though. Not recommended as a cure.

Once you fix the slight problems you've found, run the crap out of those mowers.

Max

Biting into paint? Is that a Mercedes or Jaguar or Lexus to be worried about this? Paint is peeling off Hustler decks like wet leaf off butt, when it dries. Rock chips all over everywhere. Why would I be worried with a small paint nick that no one will see anyway? As it's under the deck/frame? Heck, if that's concern, place flat washer over locking washer, to save paint. Will still hold nut or bolt head in place.

Well Sir, it is your mower and your paint. I really could care less how you treat your mower. However, the latter idea you proposed will much less likely harm the other fella's paint and a better idea. The majority of folks will own their mowers for a lifetime if you and I help them figure out a way to maintain and preserve them.

For a great many folks, not only are these mowers their Mercedes, they are their Rolls-Royce, Bentleys, etc. So, they want you and I to suggest ways they can take better care of them.

Enjoy your day, Sir.

Max

Only 2 things cause a belt to come off. Bad alignment (tracking) and not enough tension, other tahn total failure but usually that is caused by the preceeding conditions.

OK, I think I found why mine keeps coming off.

Got rear end up and found that rear left hydro mount bolt is missing completely and rear right is loose and lower third of threads on, holding it head down, as it is in the mount, rubbed off. I'll stop by Home Depot get some automotive grade bolts and nuts. Also, week before, I had front right hydro bolt broken, replaced, and left front loose, tightened and locking washers added to both of them.
After two Hustlers, I have to grant them one thing - they use piece of crap bolts for sure. Soft and undoing themselves constantly.

That in mind, rea of the left hydro is surely tilted down, causing fans to hit the belt. And come off.

SidecarFlip said:

Only 2 things cause a belt to come off. Bad alignment (tracking) and not enough tension, other tahn total failure but usually that is caused by the preceeding conditions.

Click to expand...

Question.

Tensioner arm, does it have to be slightly loose on its pivot bolt, or tensioner has to be forced into max tension, or to the left wheel, and LOCKED in that position?

FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH,WHEN I HAD A TORO TIME CUTTER THE THE DEALER TOLD ME TO ENGAGE AND DIS ENGAGE BLADES AT FULL THROTLE,BECAUSE AT LOW SPEEDS THE BELT HAD MORE WOOBLE AND COULD FLY OFF WHEN ENGINE SPEED IS INCREASED.

Not sure what 'Automotive grade bolts' are.... Automotive uses the cheapest fasteners they can, just like everyone else does.

Fasteners come in 3 basic grades:
Grade 2 which is the most common and widely used
Grade 5 which is a higher tensile strength fastener and capable of shock load and elongation without failure and..
Grade 8 which is extremely high tensile but is failure prone if elongated

The above grades are what you find at box and hardware stores

Then there are specialty grades like A325 which is an agricultrial designation and various aerospace grades for exotic alloy fasteners, none of which you need to worry about.

If your machine has Grade 2 fasteners, easily recognizable by looking at the bolt head, if it has no head markings, it's Grade 2, I'd replace the suspect fasteners with Grade 5 (the bolt head will have 3 splayed marks on it and either split lock washers or nylon patched shakeproof nuts or as an alternative, 232 blue threadlocker.

Manufacturers always use the lowest SAE designated fastener they can for a particular application because the lower the grade, the cheaper it is. Having said that, any fastener that becomes loose will eventually fail, no matter what grade it is. Either the fastener will fail or the fastener will come out, or it will wallow out the hole it's in.

ukrbyk said:

OK, I think I found why mine keeps coming off.

Got rear end up and found that rear left hydro mount bolt is missing completely and rear right is loose and lower third of threads on, holding it head down, as it is in the mount, rubbed off. I'll stop by Home Depot get some automotive grade bolts and nuts. Also, week before, I had front right hydro bolt broken, replaced, and left front loose, tightened and locking washers added to both of them.
After two Hustlers, I have to grant them one thing - they use piece of crap bolts for sure. Soft and undoing themselves constantly.

That in mind, rea of the left hydro is surely tilted down, causing fans to hit the belt. And come off.

Click to expand...

Good call. After I made my initial post I did replace the tension spring (I sort of stretched the original one a bit trying to put the belt back on) and it definitely helped. Then After a 4 acre cut, it slipped again right when I was done. I remembered your post so I jacked it up and sure enough the right bolt from the mount had broken off and the left was loose.

Their bolts are grade 5, what is clearly not holding up to the task.

What I did, I ran a few runs of wire, in a loop, around tension spring and muffler, which happens to be right behind the tensioner and at the right angle. Then, I spun that wire few times, thus adding tension to the spring. Everything counts.

I wonder if the Fastrak has the same potential issues, or is it a different configuration?

It's my 2nd Hustler. I had 54'' and rid of it after 32 hrs. It was rather falling apart fast. I got 60 incher, SD, that now has 78 hrs and you saw my posts. At least, ever so often, go through every important bolt you can find and retighten them.

ukrbyk said:

OK, I think I found why mine keeps coming off.

Got rear end up and found that rear left hydro mount bolt is missing completely and rear right is loose and lower third of threads on, holding it head down, as it is in the mount, rubbed off. I'll stop by Home Depot get some automotive grade bolts and nuts. Also, week before, I had front right hydro bolt broken, replaced, and left front loose, tightened and locking washers added to both of them.
After two Hustlers, I have to grant them one thing - they use piece of crap bolts for sure. Soft and undoing themselves constantly.

That in mind, rea of the left hydro is surely tilted down, causing fans to hit the belt. And come off.

Click to expand...

Just a follow up. Thanks again for pointing this out.
I bought a bunch of grade 5 and 8 replacement bolts and lock nuts. Replaced the missing bolt (like yours) and tightened everything I could find that could possibly be tightened. I mowed for about 4-5 hours (only stopping for gas) and the belt never slipped. That had to be the issue. I think when I am done with cutting for the year I am going to take it to the dealer for a full inspection to see if there is anything else I missed.

92dogs,

Something you do want to check fairly often for loosening up are the 4 fender screws on each side. People have complained about the fenders breaking at the mounting areas. I've not had any problems, however, I check mine every other mowing or when I happen to walk by it. Fender washers will also help. I made a How To video for those that need a bit of help. Not that you would.

Run by my channel, Maxs Garaj Mahal, take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xheendHEBq8

Give me a thumbs up, hit the notification bell, please subscribe and share so i can continue making these videos to help others.

Thank in advance,

Max

mhavanti said:

92dogs,

Something you do want to check fairly often for loosening up are the 4 fender screws on each side. People have complained about the fenders breaking at the mounting areas. I've not had any problems, however, I check mine every other mowing or when I happen to walk by it. Fender washers will also help. I made a How To video for those that need a bit of help. Not that you would.

Run by my channel, Maxs Garaj Mahal, take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xheendHEBq8

Give me a thumbs up, hit the notification bell, please subscribe and share so i can continue making these videos to help others.

Thank in advance,

Max

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I have actually watched quite a few of your videos since getting my Hustler (you have a new subscriber). I have to say I am quite impressed with how well you keep your equipment. On one of your videos you mentioned the mower was a few years old and I thought "WOW, that thing looks brand new".

Thank you kind Sir. I have been in business since I was born into it. Mainly automotive and machinery. By the way, that was quite a long time ago as I was born at an early age.

I'm not a subscriber to not washing and cleaning your machinery. Common sense dictates you don't pressure wash the bearings, but then, common sense also dictates that cleaning your machinery will provide longevity. It is sitting in the Garaj Mahal awaiting a nice cleaning now other than for the cleaning haters I still have one more video to do before it gets that wash I need to lay on it.

Thanks for subscribing and let me know what it is you'd like to see in the future.

Max

Both of my fender mounts broke in the rear. Plastic, I mean.

ukrkoz,

The thing that causes them to break is the bolts backing out and allowing the fenders to move around untethered. I would weld them back together, then add some more HDPE plastic over the area that broke. Make the upper plastic long enough to also cover the spot the bolts go thru. Then rivet the upper and lower together and use the fender washer fix under the bolt heads. You can also use longer bolts and place a plastic lock nut on the backside. That is quite difficult to do however.

Max

Another thing to look at on the Hustler SD mowers......yes the transaxle bolts all come loose and even break off to let the transaxles tilt, causing the drive belt to come off. When the bolts come loose or break and this happens to your mower, check the cross brace also ( the black brace that supports both transaxles together at the bottom) as it breaks the mounting tabs off of it. When this happens, check the frame mounts that the transaxles bolt to, they break also but unbolt & can be replaced too. Hustler has an improved version of the cross brace now. We have installed several of them. Just a tip......use Loctite when replacing any nuts & bolts....on any mower!

Mower King is absolutely correct. Good grade fastners and make sure you secure them well.

Thanks Mower King,

Max

I had this exact problem with my 2 year old, 80 hour Raptor SD 54 inch about 3 months ago.

I took it to the dealer where I bought it for them to look at since it was just under 2 year warranty period.

The parts/service desk guy was going to charge me like $60 for replacing the belt or something and the rest would be covered under warranty but then when we went back to load up the mower on the trailer, the service guy that actually did the work said, "No charge for any of it. This is a known problem with the bolts coming out."

I don't know if it is a "known problem" to just them or to Hustler themselves but I figure if they were doing it for free then they were going to be charging Hustler for the work and that leads me to believe Hustler knows about it.

Anyhow, figured I would give my story in case others run into this same problem.

I've had my Raptor SD 54" for 3 years with no issues.
I've been off work for 4 months with a foot injury so our neighbor has been mowing our yard.
Yesterday the belt jumped off and he put it back on and tried to take off again then it broke the belt.
What would be first thing to look for? Bolts loose? Fan damaged?
Just going by what I've been reading as I am going to be unable to get down and check any of these things so I was going to pass the info I can find out to our neighbor who was using the mower.
Thanks for any help

Tnhustlerowner said:

I've had my Raptor SD 54" for 3 years with no issues.
I've been off work for 4 months with a foot injury so our neighbor has been mowing our yard.
Yesterday the belt jumped off and he put it back on and tried to take off again then it broke the belt.
What would be first thing to look for? Bolts loose? Fan damaged?
Just going by what I've been reading as I am going to be unable to get down and check any of these things so I was going to pass the info I can find out to our neighbor who was using the mower.
Thanks for any help

Click to expand...

If you look at the back of the mower there are 4 bolts that attaches the left and right transaxle to the frame. Two of them you can see from just standing behind the mower but the other two you will have to look under the mower (they are attached to the transmission crossbrace). What was happening to me was those bolts were coming loose and even breaking which was causing the tension belt to touch the fan blades (especially if your mower goes down a dip or a slope). I eventually replaced all 4 bolts with grade 8 bolts (much stronger) and using Loctite on the screws. This summer I started having the same issue so I finally took it to the dealer I bought it from. They installed a new transaxle cross brace that has been issued by Hustler. Apparently the one that came on it is not very strong causing vibration which was causing the screws to come off. Since getting the new one on (about a week ago) I have mowed twice (4+ acres) and everything is running fine.
So, I would check those 4 bolts first. You might even discover missing bolts. If they are loose or missing, you probably need to see about getting the new transmission cross brace. Otherwise, it will continue to happen.

Check for broken wheel motor brackets front and rear as well as loose bolts holding the wheel motors to the brackets.

We cover all kinds of these problems in the Hustler Mower Owner Group in facebook with photos and we have factory reps on board as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HustlerMowerOwners/

See you there.

Max's Garaj Mahal

mhavanti said:

Check for broken wheel motor brackets front and rear as well as loose bolts holding the wheel motors to the brackets.

We cover all kinds of these problems in the Hustler Mower Owner Group in facebook with photos and we have factory reps on board as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HustlerMowerOwners/

See you there.

Max's Garaj Mahal

Click to expand...

Facebook has done more to harm these forums than anything. I avoid those kinds of usergroups, especially since you really can't search them. Thanks though.

Sub'd

Hi Folks,
I have Raptor SD 60" that the drive belt popped off of this morning when i was backing out of my garage. When i was backing up, the mower sort of hung up and little bit and seemed to bind. i couldn't back straight up using both arms evenly so i had to use each one to maneuver out.

At this point the belt came off. So, i took it off and it was damaged and i bought a new one.

I put the new belt on 4 or 5 times today and each time when i crank the mower, the belt comes off immediately.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Check the pulleys for a bit of debris stuck in the bottom of the V.
Also make sure the tension arm is free to move and pushing the belt in

Grigg,

Sounds as though you have one or more of these problems: 1. Cracked or broken wheel motor support brackets. There are 5 brackets holding the wheel motors.

2. The lower wheel motor bracket that keeps the wheel motors erect and straight up and down. The straight up and down also refers to the pulleys laying horizontal and in the very same plane as the engine pulley and idler.

3. Loose bolts holding any of the aforementioned brackets. This will also allow the pulleys to misalign causing the belt to begin making contact hard on one side of the pulley and begin climbing the pulley to escape the confines of the V Groove.

Or, as Burt states, there can also be debris in a pulley. I'd check the fan blades to make sure you don't have one or more blades that have become warped and getting into the path of the belt as well. That can also cause belt climb.

Hustler Mower Owners Group in Facebook may be able to help you get warranty work done if it isn't too far out of warranty. 73% of it's population is made up of BigDog Mower, Hustler Turf and their mother company Excel Industries employees. We have managed to get a lot of folks squared away.

This is your invitation to join us and see if we can help you as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HustlerMowerOwners/

Kindest regards,

Max
Max's Garaj Mahal

Well, i found two sheared bolts underneath. Replaced those and thought i was in the clear. Cut grass for about 10 minutes and the belt popped off again. Now i'm not sure what's going on. Perhaps i stretched the spring too much that attaches to the tension pulley. I re-attached belt and tightened the bolt that holds tension pulley arm. I noticed that tension pulley and arm was dropping down a bit.

My thought now is to order a new spring for tension pulley. Any other thoughts?

Thanks.

Grigg said:

Well, i found two sheared bolts underneath. Replaced those and thought i was in the clear. Cut grass for about 10 minutes and the belt popped off again. Now i'm not sure what's going on. Perhaps i stretched the spring too much that attaches to the tension pulley. I re-attached belt and tightened the bolt that holds tension pulley arm. I noticed that tension pulley and arm was dropping down a bit.

My thought now is to order a new spring for tension pulley. Any other thoughts?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

I'm having this exact same issue after I broke a lower bolt holding the trans to the bracket. If I get into any load at all, the belt pops off. Looking from behind, I can see excessive camber on both wheels (leaning in at the top) and I believe that's my issue. The tips of the left fan blade show some odd melting wear so I ordered a new one. It's obvious that the bracket on the outer axles are bent. They are at slightly acute angles rather than right. A small triangle support between the two lower bolts would have kept that square. On this last pop-off the belt rested on the muffler and now it has a burn spot. I had gone from the 51" kevlar belt to a 50". It's harder to get the spring on, but I like this fit better. BTW, I use a double spring on mine. The original fits inside of the helper.

Now a caveat. A bit over 4 months ago I broke my leg while leading a dive trip in Fiji. Apparently, being over 60 complicates this a lot and it's been a sloooooow recovery. To add another injury to injury an old back issue has cropped up, so I'm not nearly as agile nor do I have any stamina. Popping belts back on sucks when you're trying to heal.

Anyway, if there's a bad camber then something is broken, bent or misaligned. I see the bend in the brackets, so I put in a nut and a washer between the stub axle housing and the bracket. That took out a lot of it. I popped the belt back on and it broke right at the burned spot. I'm too hurting to try and do it again with a new belt... maybe in the morning. BTW, mine is a 60".

Yes make sure you have both of these braces and that the lower one is the upgraded version.
That will stop all the flexing which is causing your problems.

I also had a broken fender from this but did not know these braces were the problem.


.
.
.

clubairth said:

Yes make sure you have both of these braces and that the lower one is the upgraded version.
That will stop all the flexing which is causing your problems.

I also had a broken fender from this but did not know these braces were the problem.

Click to expand...

I have to go look, but I don't think I have that brace. Any specifications on it? Looks like an piece of 2x2x0.250" angle would do nicely there.

They want $58 for that bracket. Geez, Louise! Does anyone have a measurement, bolt to bolt? If not, I'm going to pop both trannies at the same time and measure between the top... I can even make it adjustable. It's a tension member, so 3/8" threaded rod between the two will do the same. I'll check for any cracks while I'm in there.

You must know somebody because I see it around $100-90. Part #123292.
Is your machine under warranty?
I don't think it was a recall but a bunch of us got it done by asking the dealer to warranty the repair. Mine did it without even asking when I brought it in for the plastic fender replacement.

The smaller upper brace is called a "Clutch Cover" #120838 but it's cheap at about $13.
Yes I am sure you could make one too but for $13 I just put it on and went back to mowing.

I have 180 hours on my SD 54 without any further problems.
.
.
.

Two things... I'm only seeing one brace in there that I don't have. Maybe I'm describing it to my dealer wrong.

Second thing... Man I feel like a dufus. I am in great pain for the past two weeks with sciatica. Before that, I had broken my leg and have been healing from that. I don't know if one caused the other, but I hate not being able to do things. It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that it's painful to get up and down or crawl around when I'm down there. Today I am doing somewhat better, and I still have 8 acres to mow (last mow???), so I jacked that baby up and started measuring. Inner side of the pulleys, front side, back side and WTF??? Holy crap, there were two bolts missing (vertical) on the front with that bracket. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. I scratched through every measurement since they are bogus without all the bolts in. So today, I replaced every POS bolt of their's with grade 8. I did the measurements for the bracket picked up the steel when I picked up the bolts. With ALL the bolts installed, camber is 0 and all the pulleys align. I took it out to mow and she's doing great, with great power. I'll make the bracket tomorrow and put it on, but I think I resolved my issue. I'll be sure to post the measurement for the bracket and post a pic. I'll probably go ahead an rebuild the blade spindles (at least one is noisy) and sharpen the blades and then get back at it. I may have felt like a Dufus, but seeing those missing bolts was a huge, huge, huge relief.

Your problem is not the bolts. Those are a symptom of the hydro's moving around because of inadequate bracing.
With the 2 braces installed the factory bolts are just fine. I am running all the original bolts because I caught the problem early.
I never even had to tighten them nor put lock-tite on them.

Brace 1 is the big black one on the bottom. I think this one is mandatory.
Brace 2 is the thin yellow one up higher and facing towards the back of the machine.
I guess Hustler does not consider it a brace since they call it a clutch cover but you can see that is does add additional bracing.
.
.
.

clubairth said:

Your problem is not the bolts. Those are a symptom of the hydro's moving around because of inadequate bracing.
With the 2 braces installed the factory bolts are just fine. I am running all the original bolts because I caught the problem early.
I never even had to tighten them nor put lock-tite on them.

Brace 1 is the big black one on the bottom. I think this one is mandatory.
Brace 2 is the thin yellow one up higher and facing towards the back of the machine.
I guess Hustler does not consider it a brace since they call it a clutch cover but you can see that is does add additional bracing.
.
.
.

Click to expand...

Pictures would make this easier. Pictures with arrows pointing out each brace.

Bolts snapping seem to be my problem. I was having great success with the kevlar belt and tightening the pivot bolt until one bolt broke. Four and a half hours on the mower yesterday and no belt pop offs was great. No hesitation, no lag, just great amounts of power when I push on the steering bars. Again, I plan to fabricate a brace between the bottom back bolts of the hydrostats. The mowing yesterday really aggravated my sciatica, so it will have to wait.

Sorry my picture was not labeled.
See if this makes more sense?


.
.
.

clubairth said:

Sorry my picture was not labeled.
See if this makes more sense?

.
.
.

Click to expand...

THAT

WAS

AWESOME!!!​

I am missing the "Clutch Cover". I mowed for five hours today and got 85% of my lawn done. The belt stayed on. I do hear one of the front wheel bearings singing and at least one of the blade spindles is howling.I'm going to finish mowing tomorrow and then start on the other issues, including fabricating the "Clutch Cover". I probably have one or two more mows for this year. Maybe more.

clubairth said:

Sorry my picture was not labeled.
See if this makes more sense?

.
.
.

Click to expand...

Where are my manners? Thank you! Again, that really, really helped. I had no idea that the bracket everyone was talking about was on the front of the transaxles.

I just got the SD60 on clearance from Lowes, jumped on this forum and saw this thread. I don't have these braces, was anyone here able to get them installed under warranty from a local shop even though you bought it from Lowes?

vanhanz said:

I just got the SD60 on clearance from Lowes, jumped on this forum and saw this thread. I don't have these braces, was anyone here able to get them installed under warranty from a local shop even though you bought it from Lowes?

Click to expand...

We have factory reps in the Hustler Mower Owners Group in Facebook that can give you direct replies as well as help you get warranty service in the event your dealership is not taking care of your properly.

Here is the link to the Hustler Mower Owners Group in Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HustlerMowerOwners/

mhavanti said:

We have factory reps in the Hustler Mower Owners Group in Facebook that can give you direct replies as well as help you get warranty service in the event your dealership is not taking care of your properly.

Here is the link to the Hustler Mower Owners Group in Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HustlerMowerOwners/

Click to expand...

Thanks, I don't have facebook but I can check it out under my wife's account. It never got to the point where the dealer denied anything yet, but before I bought the mower from Lowes I called a local dealer to get a quote. The owner called me back and told me he had some end of season specials on the Raptor and Raptor SD, so when I called back to ask what they were he quoted me retail pricing. I let him know that it was the same pricing everyone else has always had, he basically said don't buy from the big box stores because he rarely services any mowers that weren't bought from him. I would like to support the local guys if possible but Lowes was more than 1000 cheaper on clearance and with 10% coupon.

vanhanz said:

I just got the SD60 on clearance from Lowes, jumped on this forum and saw this thread. I don't have these braces, was anyone here able to get them installed under warranty from a local shop even though you bought it from Lowes?

Click to expand...

Lowes make a 100% profit selling the mower to you even at clearance prices and to top it off they don't pay for floor stock
The dealer makes a 30% selling to you at a higher price and has to pay for the stock if he has not sold it before the free finance period expires , usually 30 to 90 days. So the dealer will not want to support the person who is trying to put him out of business.
Most warranty jobs are actually done at a loss so do not expect the local dealer to jump to attentions & salute you when you walk in.
Down here usually a warranty job for a big box bought mower gets done when there is absolutely nothing in the workshop thus used to reduce the losses of having nothing for the technicians to do.
Thus you are unlikely to be happy and neither will the dealer.
You have effectivly spat in his face and now you are asking him to wipe your bum.

There are shops who have their workshop set up so efficiently that they can make a profit on warranty work, but these are few & very far between.
Some dealers will do the work in order to get your details on their books but a lot of these are run by accountants and they just want a big customer profile to on sell the agency at a big profit.

I am an independent workshop and end up doing a lot of what should be warranty work but the customer pays me for doing it.
IF the distributor ends up paying me then the customer ends up getting whatever the distributor paid me back in cash where as I get paid in purchase credits.
Most of them can not believe how little the amount I get paid is and just how long it took for them to pay me.

Now I know this is a bitter pill for many who just wanted to get a good purchase price but there is a reason that thieves like Lowes can offer such good prices and they are destroying your country, just like their equivalent down here Bunnings is destroying Australia.

bertsmobile1 said:

Lowes make a 100% profit selling the mower to you even at clearance prices and to top it off they don't pay for floor stock
The dealer makes a 30% selling to you at a higher price and has to pay for the stock if he has not sold it before the free finance period expires , usually 30 to 90 days. So the dealer will not want to support the person who is trying to put him out of business.
Most warranty jobs are actually done at a loss so do not expect the local dealer to jump to attentions & salute you when you walk in.
Down here usually a warranty job for a big box bought mower gets done when there is absolutely nothing in the workshop thus used to reduce the losses of having nothing for the technicians to do.
Thus you are unlikely to be happy and neither will the dealer.
You have effectivly spat in his face and now you are asking him to wipe your bum.

There are shops who have their workshop set up so efficiently that they can make a profit on warranty work, but these are few & very far between.
Some dealers will do the work in order to get your details on their books but a lot of these are run by accountants and they just want a big customer profile to on sell the agency at a big profit.

I am an independent workshop and end up doing a lot of what should be warranty work but the customer pays me for doing it.
IF the distributor ends up paying me then the customer ends up getting whatever the distributor paid me back in cash where as I get paid in purchase credits.
Most of them can not believe how little the amount I get paid is and just how long it took for them to pay me.

Now I know this is a bitter pill for many who just wanted to get a good purchase price but there is a reason that thieves like Lowes can offer such good prices and they are destroying your country, just like their equivalent down here Bunnings is destroying Australia.

Click to expand...

I appreciate your input and I’m sorry that the distributors aren’t paying you enough, that’s not a good situation at all and I hope it gets better. It did answer the question about likelihood of getting service.

Now that you’ve shown me that I effectively spit in someone’s face by saving $1000, I’m going to go down to the dealership, walk past all the $12k mowers they have in stock and give them the money I was going to feed my family with. I honestly didn’t realize I was such a horrible person by not paying the much higher price.

I really was not trying to be insulting but there is a consequence every time some one opens their wallet.
Lowers are effectivly stealing from the dealers who have to cover the very expensive workshop overheads.
The ultimate end result is no workshops so when you have a problem it goes back to the distributor / factory and months latter you get a repair/ replacement or refund.
The minimal cost retailing cost jobs and destroys economies.
The dealer, his staff & technicians all have to eat as well as your family, as dose the landlord, the parts suppliers, delivery drivers etc etc etc.
And in may cases more than one of them will also contribute to your income in one way or another.
I like saving money just as much as the next man but I have seen the sorts of destruction cut price no service retailing does.
Parrsites like Lowes will only stock the fastest moving highest profit machines so when the dealers go, so does the variety and your ability to choose the correct machine for your needs.
If you need a $ 12,000 mower then you must either be on an income that could easily afford the extra $ 1000 or you are living way above your means.

My fathers first powered mower cost him near 6 months wages and was paid off over 3 years.
For that price the retailer delivered the mower, set it up in out yard & gave both dad & myself instruction on how to use & care for the mower.
He also took away the packaging which went back to Victa to be reused .
We still have the mower although we don't still have dad & my sister still uses it
I could save at least $ 50 a week if I drove into the city and bought my groceries from the big glass front supermarket But I go to the local shop that employs the local kids after school, donates to the local school & charities and allows staff to go off on full pay to fight bushfires, thus every body wins, including me as the boys have put out several grassfires that could have caused me grief and of course they bring their mowers to me ( or my local competitor ) for servicing.
The incredible greed that has become so pervasive over the past few decades is really quite sickening. Everybody wants the absolute cheapest for themselves regardless of the consequences then expects others to come to their aid when needed let alone to actually be there when needed.
Fortunately we mostly have a community that cares and looks out for each other , so gates do not need to be locked and help is always available and that is worth a whole lot more than saving 10% on a once in 10 year purchase.

And to really push the point.
The problem with the supports has been on here for nearly a year , if not longer so Hustler are well aware of it and Lowes are well aware of it.
Did the sales person at Lowes mention it to you ?
Why ?
Because they don't give a wrinkled rats rectum about you or the mower all they want is your money and if you end up needing to buy a $ 70 belt every time you mow then all the more profit for them.
They sold you a know defective mower and laughed about it all the way to the bank safe in the knowledge that if you get into problems with your new mower some one else will be getting the grief over it.

bertsmobile1 said:

I really was not trying to be insulting but there is a consequence every time some one opens their wallet.
Lowers are effectivly stealing from the dealers who have to cover the very expensive workshop overheads.
The ultimate end result is no workshops so when you have a problem it goes back to the distributor / factory and months latter you get a repair/ replacement or refund.
The minimal cost retailing cost jobs and destroys economies.
The dealer, his staff & technicians all have to eat as well as your family, as dose the landlord, the parts suppliers, delivery drivers etc etc etc.
And in may cases more than one of them will also contribute to your income in one way or another.
I like saving money just as much as the next man but I have seen the sorts of destruction cut price no service retailing does.
Parrsites like Lowes will only stock the fastest moving highest profit machines so when the dealers go, so does the variety and your ability to choose the correct machine for your needs.
If you need a $ 12,000 mower then you must either be on an income that could easily afford the extra $ 1000 or you are living way above your means.

My fathers first powered mower cost him near 6 months wages and was paid off over 3 years.
For that price the retailer delivered the mower, set it up in out yard & gave both dad & myself instruction on how to use & care for the mower.
He also took away the packaging which went back to Victa to be reused .
We still have the mower although we don't still have dad & my sister still uses it
I could save at least $ 50 a week if I drove into the city and bought my groceries from the big glass front supermarket But I go to the local shop that employs the local kids after school, donates to the local school & charities and allows staff to go off on full pay to fight bushfires, thus every body wins, including me as the boys have put out several grassfires that could have caused me grief and of course they bring their mowers to me ( or my local competitor ) for servicing.
The incredible greed that has become so pervasive over the past few decades is really quite sickening. Everybody wants the absolute cheapest for themselves regardless of the consequences then expects others to come to their aid when needed let alone to actually be there when needed.
Fortunately we mostly have a community that cares and looks out for each other , so gates do not need to be locked and help is always available and that is worth a whole lot more than saving 10% on a once in 10 year purchase.

And to really push the point.
The problem with the supports has been on here for nearly a year , if not longer so Hustler are well aware of it and Lowes are well aware of it.
Did the sales person at Lowes mention it to you ?
Why ?
Because they don't give a wrinkled rats rectum about you or the mower all they want is your money and if you end up needing to buy a $ 70 belt every time you mow then all the more profit for them.
They sold you a know defective mower and laughed about it all the way to the bank safe in the knowledge that if you get into problems with your new mower some one else will be getting the grief over it.

Click to expand...

No arguing here, you are right. I can’t wait to see the look on the owners face when I hand him $1000.

vanhanz said:

I honestly didn’t realize I was such a horrible person by not paying the much higher price.

Click to expand...

2 phreakin' phunni!!! Don't take it too personally. There's a lot of resentment from small brick and mortar towards big box stores, but that's really not your problem. Efficiency is the key, and shops that are too lazy to not invest in efficiency will always try to blame the consumer. Perhaps, they should find a better product. There used to be a strictly controlled, albeit self controlled, pricing hierarchy that the internet has dismantled. When I first got into automotive it looked like this: Manufacturer => Distributor => Jobber => Retailer. The jobber was the first to go, soon followed by the distributor and even now some manufacturers have set themselves up as retailers. Then you add people like myself who do a cottage industry for my neighbors in fixing their machines for free and it gets even worse. Add in grey/black market goods via e-bay and craigslist and it's hard for some shops to stay in business. But everything is harder nowadays, so they have to put on their big boy pants and suck it up. Smart shops evolve and learn how to survive in spite of the pressures. Excellent customer service, value added services/products and so forth help the consumer to spend a bit more to patronize them. I haven't had any warranty work done at my local shop mainly because they would take too long. I do the work myself and gladly pay for the parts. We all do what we have to do, to get by.

bertsmobile1 said:

Lowers are effectivly stealing from the dealers who have to cover the very expensive workshop overheads.

Click to expand...

Stealing is a complete misrepresentation. They do have a different business model than you do. You're always free to vote with your feet and sell another brand that will support you better.

bertsmobile1 said:

The problem with the supports has been on here for nearly a year , if not longer so Hustler are well aware of it and Lowes are well aware of it.
Did the sales person at Lowes mention it to you ?
Why ?

Click to expand...

The guy who sold me my mower at Lowes was a dear friend and he had no idea about the belt issue. Since they don't have a shop, why or even how would they know? Other than me, not a single customer has complained to him about it either. He has offered to call the company on my behalf, but I have taken the task of resolving this issue on my own.

bertsmobile1 said:

They sold you a know defective mower and laughed about it all the way to the bank safe in the knowledge that if you get into problems with your new mower some one else will be getting the grief over it.

Click to expand...

I actually fault Hustler for this. I doubt I will buy another one. I plan to spend double what I spent on my Raptor SD, maybe even triple. Mowing my ten point eight two acres is far more of a headache than it should be. Mow and learn.

Stealing is a complete misrepresentation. They do have a different business model than you do. You're always free to vote with your feet and sell another brand that will support you better.

Click to expand...

Firstly i do not retail at al I have a repair only business and stealing IS an Appropriate word to describe this immoral business plan.
Technically it is called SKIMMING and is technically ILLEGAL both down here and up there .
Ultimately what happens is all of the Hustler dealers within the foot print of the Lowes store either close down or switch brands .
With no one around to BLUDGE on Lowes then stop selling Hustler because their customers can not get them serviced or repaired.
Lowes then look at what is being sold in the region and once again sell only the most popular model depriving the dealers from the bulk of their retail sales profits so once again the dealers either close down or switch brands.

In the meantime Hustler suddenly loose 10% of their sales volume which sends them into a loss situation, the share price plunges the instant that Lowes announce they are going to sell Word lawn & drop Hustler.
Then a preditor see an oppertunity to buy out Hustler at a big discount to their real worth because the screen jockeys have sold down the Hustler shares and even more criminals have short sold Hustler stock.
Hustler then either gets gobbled up by another company like Ariens for instance who carries on with one or two models rebranded & made at their factory thus the 500 Hustler employees are now out of work plus all of their suppliers & support staff.

And this just keeps on happening and happening till all but a few factories are left in the market and 90% of all lawnmowers are being fully imported from what ever 3rd world country can make them cheaper.

It is not a more efficient business model it is a PARRASITIC business model. and there is a massive difference between the two

Ultimately it will destroy the economy of the USA.
President Trumph is a businessman and recognised this but because he need financial support form Lowes , Walmart , HF and other parrasites he has deflected the blame on China mainly & Mexico to a lesser extent.
Your manufacturing base is going down the toilet an when that happens the USA will be in deep deep poo as the population is so big there is no alternative employment so the rust belt economies will become the norm for the entire country apart from California & NY.

bertsmobile1 said:

Technically it is called SKIMMING and is technically ILLEGAL both down here and up there .

Click to expand...

"Technically", it's called capitalism and it's designed so that only the strong will survive. You either evolve or go extinct and it's entirely up to you. I'm not guaranteed any happiness; only the right to pursue it. Consequently, I've re-invented myself at least a half dozen times and for the most part, I'm pretty happy. In any event, if what they're doing is illegal, then by all means bring them up on charges. You'll have to convince the prosecutor that it's illegal and I doubt they'll agree with you. Of course, you could take them to civil court, but you should consult an attorney on the merits of your case first. Of course, attorneys always come out ahead even if you lose, so don't take their opinion at face value. Good luck!

Hey Guys, turns out I had the beefed up brace all along! WHOOPS! In the pictures on this forum it was black and mine is yellow so no need for service. Didn't mean to cause so much passionate discussion. Maybe we can all save the world one mower at a time... I'll just see myself out...

The Chairman said:

"Technically", it's called capitalism and it's designed so that only the strong will survive. You either evolve or go extinct and it's entirely up to you. I'm not guaranteed any happiness; only the right to pursue it. Consequently, I've re-invented myself at least a half dozen times and for the most part, I'm pretty happy. In any event, if what they're doing is illegal, then by all means bring them up on charges. You'll have to convince the prosecutor that it's illegal and I doubt they'll agree with you. Of course, you could take them to civil court, but you should consult an attorney on the merits of your case first. Of course, attorneys always come out ahead even if you lose, so don't take their opinion at face value. Good luck!

Click to expand...

And like any other system, capitalism needs to be strongly regulated or you end up with monopolies or duopolies that become "too big to be allowed to fail" to quote a previous President of the USA.
The USA used to do it really well, Your Anti - Trust laws were the world first and worked really well till the politicans became beholden to the businesses for financial support.

Unregulated capitalism does to an economy what unregulated air does to a diver, kills them slowly .

To work properly capitalism requires two things
1) a level playing field
2) a well informed market

Neither of these have existed since the 60's.

And like you I have reinvented myself several times
But unlike you I can see the destructive nature of greedy selfish parrasites like Lowes, Walmart & HF that will happily sell the country down the toilet for their own personnal financial gain.
I have seen it happen here time & time again and because we are such a small market it is a lot more apparent that in a massive market like the USA where 10,000 large companies that were household names can vanish without being noticed.
As for allowing capitalism to operate, the fact that the USA still has an automotive industry is the living proof that survival of the strongest & best rarely happens because Japanese manufacturers would have sent every US car company to the wall had not the government stepped in to prevent this happening. And it still does so that is not a level playing field in any way shape or form.
Just a small example on how deep this goes.
King leather used to supply about 25% of the leather seats used in USA cars, usually top end cars because kangaroo leather is so much better for car upholstery than cowhide.
Your government initially slapped a ban on them followed by massive import duty on them and took the company to court claiming it was being government subsidised because the leather that they bought in is made from kangaroo hide and the Australian government paid a bounty to kangaroo hunters in good seasons to cull kangaroos to keep the numbers at reasonable levels so there was a possibility that some of the leather used could have been subsidised by the government. At the same time the USA government "loaned" GM the full cost of building a new aluminium foundry, the fist to be built in the USA for over 30 years and the "loan" of course will never be paid back but because it was called a loan is not a subisity.

I am lucky by being born in Australia a country with a small population that can survive on mining royalties & food exports .
However the USA can not and it is only a matter of time before political greed , corporate greed & personal greed destroys it .
The USA is the only first world country where both the life expectancy and quality of life are in decline and have been so for the last decade so it is happening right now but because it is not happening to you , you just can not see it.

vanhanz said:

Hey Guys, turns out I had the beefed up brace all along! WHOOPS! In the pictures on this forum it was black and mine is yellow so no need for service. Didn't mean to cause so much passionate discussion. Maybe we can all save the world one mower at a time... I'll just see myself out...

Click to expand...

Any thing that leads to a discussion between people with opposing views is a very good thing so be pleased with yourself for initating it.
One of the signs of a civalized society is the ability for people with different views to express them in fair & frank terms .
This is good it keeps society looking at themselves and not resorting to blaming of the other and becoming an echo chamber for predjuice & bigitory where small differences get amplified to God given rights and justify violence against the other.
I doubt that The Chairman & I will ever fully agree but if he has managed to make me look at things differently & I the same to him then the world will hopefully become a better place for all.
Somewhere in the middle is a wonderful place that we should all be aiming to arrive at.

bertsmobile1 said:

And like any other system, capitalism needs to be strongly regulated or you end up with monopolies or duopolies that become "too big to be allowed to fail" to quote a previous President of the USA.

Click to expand...

The fewer the regulations the better. Better for the consumer and better for the business. i don't need or want to support someone's inefficiencies. Scuba diving in the US is mostly a self-regulated industry. Sure, there's a lot of blamestorming when a business fails, but it's back to someone's desire to not change that's at the root of it. I cornered a very small market in that I own the world's largest web site devoted to diving. But hey, some upstart created Facebook and now I'm scrambling to stay afloat. Personally, I would love to see Facebook dismantled, but it's not fair to them. ScubaBoard led to the demise of more than a few Scuba magazines, and now I may be replaced by FB. It's part and parcel of having a robust capitalistic society and yes, greed (as you call it) is a driving force to succeed and make it rich.

It is going to depend upon how you see regulations.
I see them as the rules of the game and like any game you need rules that allow the players to play and a referee who is independent and unbiased.
Self regulation works where the players come together, argree on the rules then get an external unbiased impartial body to enforce them .
Unfortunately this never happens because Animal Farm ( the book )which is such a perfect description of the complexities of human nature shows us what happens.
Now while it was a treatise on communism it applies to every second of every persons life regardless of the political system you live under.

The USA dereguated the finance sector so because of it's size in the world economy the rest of the capatilist economies world had to follow suit.
And what happened, cowboy banks that cost ordinary working people in the the USA their houses, businesses and in many cases their lives. You could not call that a success could you ?
We did not deregulate to the same level as the USA did and we have just finished an enquirery into the banks which will result in hundreds of criminal charges, the banks are now forced to pay back STOLEN money to their customers, well those who are still living.
Self regulation of the superannuation industry resulted in 685,000 people being charged for financial advice that they never recieved and 27,000 of these were dead.
Self regulation of the insurance industry resulted i insurance policies that were impossible to ever make any claim on being sold to uneducated people who could not understand what they were being signed up for and there were cases where the companies had tossed these people out of their houses to recover unpaid premiums.
1Twelve years ago the state government got out of building certification and allowed the building companied to self regulate and allowing private companies to certify buildings as being "safe & to specification".
The result of this is thousands of buildings that are unsafe to live in and right now 3 that are in danger of collapse and I am talking 20 to 40 story buildings so not only will the totally innocent apartment owners in the buildings be out of pocket , many of them will be bankrupted but the adjoining blocks are likely to be damaged should one of the buildings collapse .

So no self regulation is not the best idea .
We have laws that stop every 8' tall muscle bound moron walking down the road , grabbing every small person by the throat and taking their wallets
No sane person would say this is good because it is capitalism in operation, the survival of the fittest and the weak can perish .
Yet when it comes to business we seem to think this is fine the 8' tall monster of a man ( Lowes ) is allowed to beat up & steal from the 50 lb 4' tall weakling ( local dealers ).
I am 100% with you when it comes to allowing efficient innovating business to prosper and allowing inefficinet obsolete businesses to fail.
The dealer network is not the best plan as dealers are guarranteed a monopoly on the distribution of a particular brand so to work it has to be regulated so every house is within the footprint of more than one dealer.
This will drive effiencies and have proper competition which will benefit the customers and all of the competitors are playing by the same rules.
When you toss massively cashed up retailers like Lowes into the field then you effectively have 2 teams on the field . each with different rules and no umpire.
I am more than happy for Lowes ( or their equivalent ) selling mowers, provided they play by the same rules and either provide full service , or pay some one else to do it.
But with the system as it is now. Lowes can sell mowers, and provide no customer service and bear no cost of the customer service.
Even worse is that warranty work is alwaysa done at a lower rate than repair work and generally a dealer makes a substantial loss on providing a service to some one elses customer that they have neither a moral nor financial obligation to provide.

bertsmobile1 said:

It is going to depend upon how you see regulations.

Click to expand...

The fewer, the better. Regulations have a high cost and that should be considered.

bertsmobile1 said:

Lowes can sell mowers, and provide no customer service and bear no cost of the customer service.
Even worse is that warranty work is alwaysa done at a lower rate than repair work and generally a dealer makes a substantial loss on providing a service to some one elses customer that they have neither a moral nor financial obligation to provide.

Click to expand...

You've gone on and on and have yet to show how this is illegal, much less immoral or unethical. Caveat emptor. If you don't like how the big stores do business, don't buy there. Your not liking it, does not make it illegal. Having worked in automotive for most of my life, I'm used to doing warranty work at a reduced price. Having worked for Goodyear for a number of years, I also dealt with "National Accounts", which were also done at a discounted rate. None of this is illegal or unethical. Great repairmen are often horrible business men. They go into business with a hope and not a plan to succeed. Of course, they are quick to blame the big box stores, when they should be blaming themselves. Just like diving, you have to both know and honor your limits. Others can't do it for you: it's up to you.

There were several people who were surprised that I took my transaxle apart and they were even more surprised that it's been working ever since. I'm a fairly gifted mechanic and found the repair easy. Quite easy. Yes, I know my limits and feel comfortable with pushing them a bit. However, you won't find me starting up a lawn mower business, because I would suck at it. Oh, everything would be fixed, but I'm not disciplined enough to keep up with taxes, stocking and other essentials for running a business. The playing field is already level enough. I want less government in my life and not more. That's how I view regulations. In fact, that's one of the many reasons I moved to Suwannee County. Fewer regulations and the cheapest taxes in Florida. Less is better with fewer intrusions by Big Brother. It's twenty minutes to the nearest grocery store and over a half hour to a Walmart or other big box store. I live in the middle of my 10.82 acre plot and no one bothers me... much. Got visited by a bear last night. That was cool

ukrkoz said:

Buy locking washers and place them between nut and frame.
It's my second Hustler and I must say, that their bolts are not worth a dime. First one, I had 54 inch deck Hustler. That literally started falling apart on deck suspension bolts after 30 hrs of use. Snapped bolts, "locking" nuts going loose. So I sold it and now have 60 inch SD and, this weekend, found snapped engine guard bolt and guard rattling as the result.
If I were you, crucial components, I'd have ditched their bolts and replaced them with automotive grade ones, with locking washers. On my deck height adjustment bolts, I even added 2nd locking nut on top of the OEM nut. In this manner, double nutted, there is no way it will go loose. Prolly will snap eventually.

Click to expand...

I have seen similar issues with the fan near the belt path. I have solved a unit by 1) replacing the fan and 2) trimming some off the blades. The theory is that under some fans that push air away from the belt, the blades are also pushed toward the belt as they flex. Some designs push the air over the belt and thus push the blades away from the belt. These then do not benefit from trimming the blades. Heat, lack of cleaning and further temperature makes the blades more flexible. Some blades have been redesigned to make a better design. In all designs, debris can eject the belt towards the fan and do damage that then degrades the whole process of failure till properly repaired with a new fan.

Fabrication by numbers, that drove GM into bailout, is what is causing all this. We do not have quality fabrication anymore, we have just adequate one. Same principle, when applied to healthcare in late 80s, resulted in what we have now there.

Sub'd

ukrkoz said:

Fabrication by numbers, that drove GM into bailout, is what is causing all this. We do not have quality fabrication anymore, we have just adequate one. Same principle, when applied to healthcare in late 80s, resulted in what we have now there.

Click to expand...

No one to blame but yourselves and the stupid idea that an economy can continue to grow forever and that everything MUST get cheaper every year so next to no one is willing to pay a fair & reasonable price any more for anything anymore .
Have a little talk to people in your social circle and you will find plenty of people on $ 30 /hr or more who will happily spend 2 hours on the web scouring the world to save $ 2 on an item then complain that they have no time to do anything any more.

Then add to that very few now days work with their hands so very few can tell the difference between quality & shinny junk.
So he who makes& sells the prettiest junk prospers & he who makes quality products end up in a bankrupt court.

So, I checked the bolts, everything is find for mine, but this fan just sits on the belt and knocks it off immediately once i start it. Can anyone tell me what’s going on? Nothing is bent or missing.

Fan blades are cheap. You'll have to drop the transaxles, but those are just a few bolts. I finally went to a one inch shorter fractional power belt out of Kevlar. It's lasted the longest and has yet to jump the pulley. That was a Gates 6850 instead of the 6851. It's a tad bit harder to thread on, but has the same tension.

Jeff Hamm said:

So, I checked the bolts, everything is find for mine, but this fan just sits on the belt and knocks it off immediately once i start it. Can anyone tell me what’s going on? Nothing is bent or missing.

Click to expand...

If the fan is loose then it is broken
It should fixed to the pulley
hey are not all that strong.
PIA to replace cause you need to drop the tranny unless you are double jointed

The fan needs replacing. It has deformed from extreme heat and air pressure, then the normal cooling effect sets it before it could droop back down; just keeps getting worst until it starts hitting things. I replace several of these fans on the Raptors as they either get in the belt path or start hitting the frame both of which causes the belt to break or come off, most times it is breaking belts.

ukrkoz said:

Well duh, my deck came off and into the ground too. Spring time. That's why I have suspension bolts double nutted now.
If you read my post carefully, it's 2nd Hustler I have and that's how they are made, apparently. We got what we paid for. I am all for fixing it and ridding of it and finding something more reliable. Figure, ways of Husqvarna about the only choice. What gets me is my 2005 42 inch Craftsman riding mower keeps chugging along like it is not 13 years old.
I'll follow after I check on transaxles suspension. Also, I start thinking about adding L shaped brackets to prevent belt from flopping down onto cooling fans. Possibly even re routing tensioner spring, as should you pay attention to its direction, it forces tensioner roller into the main drive pulley. I already tried forcing and locking it in more tension position, but that resulted in belt friction noise. Had to back it up some.
Hmm.. Maybe even adding a second tensioner roller on that long loose belt run....
And by the way. Replacing that belt is PAIN, as you have to remove main belt. Then try putting its tensioner back on!! I had to winch it on.

Click to expand...

We still have the old LT1000 Craftsman and I am happy not to have traded it of when the Raptor 54sd was purchased. Other than a drive and deck belt no issues. Even spindles are original.
Check your battery tray also. They have issues with cracking and apparently provide support to the frame as well. Until someone is seriously hurt when the mower fails Hustler will continue to build these crappy manufactured frame mowers. Looked at a new raptor yesterday and no updates or corrections to the issues most of see have been addressed. Back to the dealer for round 5 this week. Broken battery tray and crossmener under the seat is cracked. All bolt tight. Wth

ukrkoz said:

Biting into paint? Is that a Mercedes or Jaguar or Lexus to be worried about this? Paint is peeling off Hustler decks like wet leaf off butt, when it dries. Rock chips all over everywhere. Why would I be worried with a small paint nick that no one will see anyway? As it's under the deck/frame? Heck, if that's concern, place flat washer over locking washer, to save paint. Will still hold nut or bolt head in place.

Click to expand...

The bolt and nut set up from the factory has a self locking design that digs in past the paint anyway. The ridges under the bolt head flange and on the nut cut in to the metal.

I have repaired several axle mount issues on the raptors and the SD models. 60 inch SD had to go as far as making new twice as thick angle brackets. Materials are to thin for the stress they are subjected to. Definitely use grade 8 bolts.

Jwroberts said:

I have repaired several axle mount issues on the raptors and the SD models. 60 inch SD had to go as far as making new twice as thick angle brackets. Materials are to thin for the stress they are subjected to. Definitely use grade 8 bolts.

Click to expand...

The supposed new brackets I received looked just like the old brackets.Headed to the dealer next week for more repairs related to the frame cracked and broken along with the gas tank side fender. Bought a 125 Kubota today so my headache is soon to be over. After warranty work it will sit at the dealers under consignment. Dealer was not interested in trading the unit towards new Kubota.

92dogs said:

New to the forum but found it trying to find any solution to my problem.
I have a Raptor SD that is about 6 months old with 50 hours on it.
Last week my drive belt came off. On close inspection realized the bolt that holds the transmission to the frame had come off on the left side and the right side lock nut was loose as well. It happened when I was going down a slope and I assume when that bolt came off it allowed the fan to hit the belt to pop it off.
I replaced the left bolt, tightened the right bolt and all was well until I was almost done with my 4 acres yesterday and the belt popped off again on a slope but the bolts were secure.
I am wondering that belt hitting the plastic fan blade (it has some nicks on it) is now messed up the fan blade making it too close to the belt.
I plan on hauling it back to the dealer at the end of the week for them to fix it but I am wondering have other owners had this issue and is the only solution to constantly monitor the bolts and nuts?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Transmission cross brase is to weak on Hustler Raptor 54 inch SD model that i bought 2yrs ago. 100 hrs on it and it keeps losing drive belt dealer told me they fixed problem cracked where transmissions bolt on. Tomorrow will be 4th trip to dealer with this same problem.

Richard king said:

Transmission cross brase is to weak on Hustler Raptor 54 inch SD model that i bought 2yrs ago. 100 hrs on it and it keeps losing drive belt dealer told me they fixed problem cracked where transmissions bolt on. Tomorrow will be 4th trip to dealer with this same problem.

Click to expand...

Yes, the O.E.M. crossbrace is thin and weak. They have an improved crossbrace that is thicker and a lot better. Get one of them, use grade 8 bolts with plasti-lock nuts and use blue Loctite also. Also check the front and rear trans brackets that bolt to the frame, they break the ears off that the trans mounts too, often also.