Grasshopper Zero-Turn Mower Review
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- Our Grasshopper 727 is in its 14th year mowing the lawns at two homes. It has needed very few repairs over the years, and we cover the highlights in this video. A big aggravation this year is the dead-man switch in the driver's seat. The engine was cutting out on every little bump when the Mrs was driving, and now it is running right again after that minor repair. Check that gearbox at the end of the driveshaft. You have to remove the skidplate around it to access the oil plugs, but you should check the oil level every couple hundred hours.
So glad I finally found someone that takes care of their Grasshopper gear box like I do. I bought a new 723 with a 61” deck in 05. The dealer told me , the gear box will never need serviced. Well… I knew better than that, whenever a manual says when to service something, I cut that amount in half. At 500 hrs I pulled one of the plugs on the gear box and about 5 tablespoons of gear oil came out, not enough, there was no leaks on the gear box, but I realized the pressure that builds up in the box has to go somewhere, so there has to be a vent that releases oil vapor somewhere, every gear box has some kind of a vent. I have a power fold deck, so not all of the oil came out with the gear box being at a 90 degree angle. I then took a pump and sucked out about 2 more tablespoons. The smell of the oil indicated it was gear oil. Since there was no resources on what gear oil to use, I used Amsoil 75/90 Severe Gear, oil. Since the deck was at a 90 degree angle, I filled the box to the top of the highest plug, as this video shows and then lowered the deck to mowing height and let the excess oil run out with both plugs parallel, as stated in this video. At 1000 hrs I changed the oil again. It came out looking like brand new oil and was not near as low as it was the first time I changed it. Great video btw.
I've heard many people say they remove the shields from their "sealed bearings" in order to allow the grease to get into the bearing. Great video David!
I am going to do that on the two idlers and box them up as spare parts. The idlers on our Ford Aerostar would start talking after several thousand miles, and I took them off, unsealed them, and packed them several times. Teasing the seal out with a dull blade can be tricky the first time, but it saves you trouble and expense. I am going to pull the electric clutch at the end of grass mowing this year and lube the bearings. I was mowing a neighbor's yard when that failed and I limped home with loud crunchy metal noises. Not Fun! Water pump bearings give amazing service these days. When I was a kid, everybody could identify a water pump that was about to fail from the noise the bearing made in the iron housing. The new cars use aluminum or zinc for the housing, and it makes a much different note. I think most youngsters would totally miss it until it is running antifreeze on the ground.
@@DavidN23Skidoo That is so true, water pumps used to be good for about 70,000 miles and now they really last. My 1951 Pontiac had a oil hole on the top of the housing leading to the shaft. Remember that set up? LOL
Yup! That is where antifreeze would start leaking out! I had a 1951 Hudson Pacemaker that I drove during high school. It had the manual transmission with the cork clutch. You do not want to ignore putting oil in the clutch housing if you have one of those.
I have a 1999 725 Grasshopper with a 61' deck. My gearbox lasted for almost 2000 hours and failed I think two years ago so it was 20 years old. The gears were too worn to meet anymore. I looked at replacement gears and they cost more than the whole gearbox!
I am a commercial user, and I have had very little to go wrong with my units less than a thousand hours. I have one with 1400 hours and have only replaced the front wheel bearings and center spindle bearings. Now my two main machines are a 725k2 and a 329b.
the tech at the GH shop said to tighten the spring until you can put a nickel in it. that was 4 yrs ago. still working.
sealed bearings are a mixed blessing.......
If you grease the spindle to much,it will push the bottom seal out, when the shaft and bearings heat up, it will suck the fine dust up in the bearings
I wouldn't throw out that old gearbox, just refill it and run it till it quits. If you are worried about your foot, put the shield back on.
Some will use a needle grease fitting to pierce the rubber on sealed bearings to be able to put grease into them .
I m surprised that even though you kept the spindles greased every 4 hours that the bearings could fail.
Thanks for posting the tips .
Great tip!
Nice review, I've been looking g at possibly getting a grasshopper for next season. Not sure yet what I'm going yo do yet
This one has done 16 summers now. We just bought new blades and will be mowing post oak leaves.
@@DavidN23Skidoo wow that's pretty good. No major problems with it?
@@JonsDailyHustle The clutch was the biggest thing, but it gave many years.
Very informative. Thanks
Having problems where if you run it for a while and it will start surging and you have to turn the blades off. Otherwise it will shut off
That might be the deadman switch in the seat wearing out. Ours acted that way until I changed the switch. Runs fine, now.
does the deck gear box use oil or grease? thanks...mine has about 500 hours on it
Gear Oil. I think that 85W-140 would be good.
what brand bearings do they use?
what was the cost of this total maintenance
I haven't totaled it up. Parts are always more expensive than we like, but repairing it yourself is always much cheaper than having the dealer do it for you.
I was thinking of purchasing a grasshopper ,but found. Website with so many complains about the mowers. Now looking at Badboy mowers.
@@wisconsinbigcheese6309 This is the 16th summer for ours and I have no complaints. We keep a logbook and grease every four hours to protect the bearings.