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I'll try to keep this short - A neighbor has a new Snapper 33" 33175 BVE rear engine riding mower.
This machine runs fine until the blade is engaged and then it will nearly shake your teeth out ! We loaded it up and took it back to the dealer - the head mechanic rode it for a couple min. (out of sight), came back and said it was fine (normal) - just run it full throttle. Full throttle just increases the frequency of the vibration and J.R. is 84 and can't take that kind of shaking. It looks like the drive belt for the mower deck has too much free play and that is causing the shaking vibration.

Any suggestions ? :frown:

I have an older version of this, but I'll bet the design is essentially the same (more HP on your friend's engine). I had to change the belt on mine recently and I found one slightly smaller than stock at Tractor Supply. You could try that, or, I believe, there is some adjustment you can make on the belt. I wonder if there is a problem with the blade and not the belt. Mine vibrates some, but certainly not excessively.

daxamundo said:

I have an older version of this, but I'll bet the design is essentially the same (more HP on your friend's engine). I had to change the belt on mine recently and I found one slightly smaller than stock at Tractor Supply. You could try that, or, I believe, there is some adjustment you can make on the belt. I wonder if there is a problem with the blade and not the belt. Mine vibrates some, but certainly not excessively.

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The design has changed - the older version has an adjustment for tension - the newer one does not have an adjustment (J.R. has had several and still has a 30" that does not vibrate) We compared the two and the new one has a different set-up for tensioning the belt. The manual said something about moving the front half of the whole mower forward to adjust the belt - the dealer should have checked this under warranty, but did NOTHING !

Has anyone had a similar experience with the new Snapper design and if so, what was done to fix the problem ?

THANKS !

Anyone else know of excessive vibration from the new Snapper rear engine riders ?

I would check the blade for balance and straightness. Also check if it has a piece out of it. The deck looks ok? No dents and is not damaged. Deck sits level? Front to back and side to side? Make sure all the bolts holding the spindle are tight. If the mower was set up by a dealer, make a good trip around the mower,look for anything that looks out of place.

Hope you get it figured out.

T.J. (terry)

bmwe0692 said:

I would check the blade for balance and straightness. Also check if it has a piece out of it. The deck looks ok? No dents and is not damaged. Deck sits level? Front to back and side to side? Make sure all the bolts holding the spindle are tight. If the mower was set up by a dealer, make a good trip around the mower,look for anything that looks out of place.

Hope you get it figured out.

T.J. (terry)

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Thanks Terry,
Did all that - took the blade off and checked for balance - the problem sems to be in belt being too loose on the return side and excessive play there - this comes from the owners manual (downloaded from Snapper - not given to J.R.)
If the distance is more than 1-3/4" adjust belt tension:
Move the blade lever to the OFF position. Loosen the hardware (A, Figure 37) that secures the clamp that anchors the front frame assembly (B) to the rear main case. Pull the front frame forward until the belt spacing, with the blade lever ON measures 1-1/4? Retighten the hardware that secures the clamp.
I guess the only way to adjust the tension is to loosen the frame clamp (around the tube frame) and pull the whole front of the machine forward while holding the rear. The dealer should have checked and done this. !!!

BKBrown said:

I guess the only way to adjust the tension is to loosen the frame clamp (around the tube frame) and pull the whole front of the machine forward while holding the rear. The dealer should have checked and done this. !!![/COLOR]

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Being in the operations manual, I would say that Snapper probably expected this to be something the owner could do, although I never had to do it with mine. While the dealer should have done it, the fact that they said it was normal indicates that they may not have enough knowledge and experience to begin diagnosing that sort of problem. I would probably just adjust it and then use some other dealer in the future.

Fred

Check the engine mounting bolts to make sure they are tight.

GreenWannabe said:

Being in the operations manual, I would say that Snapper probably expected this to be something the owner could do, although I never had to do it with mine. While the dealer should have done it, the fact that they said it was normal indicates that they may not have enough knowledge and experience to begin diagnosing that sort of problem. I would probably just adjust it and then use some other dealer in the future.

Fred

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Thanks Fred,
The problem was that the dealer did not give J.R. the manual and J.R. is 84 and not mechanically inclined. I'll try to adjust it when I get a chance. Right now he is using his 30" after I put a new spindle and drive wheel in it.

Thanks Again,

Bruce

indypower said:

Check the engine mounting bolts to make sure they are tight.

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I'll do that too, but it runs smooth as silk until the blade is engaged.

Thanks !

This thread leads me to post an experience I had with vibrations.... mower is a G1800 Kubota, with a 54" deck. Mowing through some heavy stuff that had some fallen branches. Usually, no problems, but this time, all at once, the once smooth running deck began to really vibrate. Shut down the deck and the engine runs smooth. Re-engage the deck, and the belts rattle and shake. I assumed that a spindle bearing had let go. Dropped the deck, disconnected it and took it apart to look for the problem. Found NOTHING !! Spindles all good, gearbox perfect, idler good, belts good... what else?? I sat and looked at the critter, and spun each drive sheave, looking for damage. Found it... a small piece of wood (limb) had jammed into the groove for one of the belts. Every time that small piece went around under the belt, it caused the belt to tension up and then snap back. Picked the wood out of the groove, put it all back together, runs as good as new. Something worth remembering.

Thanks toplink,

Yes, all kinds of strange things happen. I believe this is just poor design and could have been eliminated if they had just put an idler pully on the side that has such a LONG section of belt that is free to set up a vibration by moving so far side to side on every revolution. I'll still try to move the front forward and see if I can reduce the free play in that blade drive belt.

J.R.'s Brother in law purchased this mower for him or he would have told them to keep it and return his money. Right now - he is just using it to pull his wood wagon around and using the older 30" Snapper to mow.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions !

If someone has the same problem with the 33" Snapper rear engine rider -- loosening the clamp that holds the front and rear half of the mower and pulling the 2 halves apart is how the belt is tightened - (stupid design in MHO) I managed to stretch and re-tighten about 3/8" -- it is better, but may need a little more adjustment. The idler pully has no adjustment on this model ???WHY??? Hope this helps someone !

Just replaced a spindle housing on a 28" snapper rider that suffered a failure of the flange weld. Wow. Never pulled my foot off the blade pedal as fast as when the last bit of metal failed and the blade started contacting the deck. The mower had a "slight" vibration for the last several years. Never thought to check the weld, but hey, it ain't an airplane... Any way, hope this helps.