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I have a 2011 z425 that burns the living grass on my lawn every time I stop the mower for more than 5 seconds in any one spot. If I keep the mower moving, no burnt grass. The 2013 model has a different heat shield that is much wider. My question is does this newer heat shield avoid the burnt grass, and will it fit my 2011?

The burnt living grass in my yard shows up on both sides of the muffler (but not where the heat shield sits). Long and narrow on the side that the exhaust shoots out from, and then a small spot of the other side.

Here is a similar post on the Z445 back in 2011.
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/john-deere-forum/4700-ez-trak-z445.html

Here are some pictures.
1. My 2011 z425 heat shield
2. My 2011 z425
3. Burnt Grass - Stopped mower for only 15 seconds
4. Picture from the internet of a 2013 mower with the wider heat shield
5. Another Picture from internet of a 2013 z425 with a wider heat shield
6. Picture from JD parts manual for 2011 heat shield
7. Picture from JP parts manual for 2013 heat shield

fabrymd said:

I have a 2011 z425 that burns the grass every time I stop for more than 5 seconds. The 2013 model has a different heat shield that is much wider. My question is does this newer heat shield avoid the burnt grass, and will it fit my 2011?

The burnt grass shows up on both side of the muffler (but not where the heat shield sits). Long and narrow on the side that the exhaust shoots out from, and then a small spot of the other side.

Click to expand...

Do you clean the area where the heat is generated and where grass can possibly accumulate regularly?

PJ

PJ - Thank you for your reply. The muffler and heat shield are quite low and I am surprised that there really isn't any build up of grass or dirt on the muffler/heat shield.

The burnt grass problem that I have is that the grass that is still standing (growing on the lawn) is being burnt alive when I stop the mower because it appears that there is too much heat from the muffler/engine.

I spoke to another person who has had the same problem, he said that he shuts off his mower everytime he stops and he hasn't had the problem since.

yes it is all ok to stop but it is not good for the starter/battery system to be stopped to many times in a row

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I spoke to the dealer yesterday. He call the Deere Tech person and they told him that there has been several complaints. Deere is designing a new heat shield with 2 layers (I guess), but the dealer didn't know if it would be available in 2 weeks or 2 years. I've now opted to install the newer heat shield that is on the 2013 model (we've confirmed that it will fit). ...trouble is $60. But I'm willing to pay for that cause I'm tired of turning off my mower every time I empty the bags to avoid burning the living grass on the ground. I bet my starter will not like me for very long if I don't get this under control right away.

On a side note, ...I'm switching from the bagger to the mulching kit in about 3 weeks. It's starting to dry up and I like the mulch in the hot summer months to keep the moisture in the ground.