Welcome to the Hustler Forum -- Check in Here First!

Hi my name is Heath Kirby. I have a Hustler Fastrak 42" with Honda GXV530 engine.

Muhammad said:

GREETINGS to all Hustler mower owners!

If you're new to the forum, please reply to this thread and introduce yourself and your mower (that is, if your mower have a name). Maybe attach a photo or two of your mower and show off your pride and joy.

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Just picked up 2017 Raptor SDX 54". Opted for torsion bar fronts and wanted the Kawasaki. Have about 2 acres to mow. My first ever Zero Turn.

Looking forward to learning a lot on here. I find that forums are the best place to find information and knowledgeable, friendly people.

Tom

Spindles keep going out on my 48" Hustler Fastrak

Hey gang! I'm brand new to this site and was wondering if anybody else has been experiencing the same problem I've had with their Hustler. I financed a 48" Fastrak in September of 2015. I've had various mowers over the years of owing my own business, however, they have all been used when I purchased them and with that comes a lot of nights playing mechanic in my garage after working all day in the hot Florida sun. I finally was in a position to finance a new one and most of my lawn care acquaintances swear by their Hustlers and so that was the direction I decided to go. Since then there has been a few issues with it but the biggest gripe I have is the spindles keep crapping out on me. To be honest if it wasn't for the spindle situation I would be quite pleased with this mower. It's currently in the shop now for its 5th spindle replacement. All three have been replaced, however I believe the middle one has gone out the most. I only cut residential lawns in a gated community that have to be maintained per order of their H.O.A, so the grass never is really out of hand. I'm not hitting stumps or rocks or anything else damaging either. It would be one thing if I was cutting giant overgrown horse farms but I'm simply cutting about one third acre lawns, a little over a hundred per week in the busy season. The spindles have the packed in grease and so there's no greasing ports. The guys at my shop are of no help at all in giving me any answers as to why this is happening. The warranty is just about up so chances are the next time a spindle goes I'll be fixing it. It seems like insanity for me to keep it but I'm still making payments on it and now I feel stuck. If anybody has had any similar experiences or advice please chime in. Thanks gang! Cheers!

Are they putting new spindles on or are they rebuilding the old ones. If they are rebuilding the old ones then they might be leaving out the spacer that goes between the top and bottom bearing on the spindle. If that is happening then they will go out in about 100 hours or so because you can't tighten them enough. Next time one goes out take it apart and check that. They are rather simple to take apart with just one ring holding them together. I just finished rebuilding mine and that is the one thing the parts man said, "Be sure to put that spacer back in".
If they are putting brand new ones on each time then I can't imagine them not lasting forever in your conditions. Mine lasted 10 years on my FasTrak and it has done some hard mowing.

I would take one apart clean it all out drill a hole for a zerk and make it a greasable spindle. Then make sure you grease it every day after you get done. Actually I do it with all of them.

Thanks for the input guys. They tell me they are putting new spindles on it. I chatted with the mechanic there today about if he sees this problem with other mowers and he said it's a pretty common thing he works on with the hustlers brought there. He also mentioned that idea of drilling a hole and adding a zerk but then he started going on about being careful of the dust guard and kinda lost me a bit. I've never took one apart before nor researched it much. I'm certainly not a professional mechanic by any means, however I do my best to make all repairs myself if warranty isn't covering it. I'm also YouTube certified ?

The guys at my shop have been good to me in regards of putting me ahead of the fixing line cause they know I'm a simple one man show just trying to pay the bills, although the idea that maybe they might be doing something wrong has crossed my mind. It's refreshing to hear there's other fastraks out there that are working hard and holding up. I'll keep digging into it. There's gotta be some reasonable explanation! It's nice just venting to folks who know what I'm talking about. Thanks for listening gang ?

BlazNT said:

I would take one apart clean it all out drill a hole for a zerk and make it a greasable spindle. Then make sure you grease it every day after you get done. Actually I do it with all of them.

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So you add zerks to all of your sealed spindles? I've read greasing them is kinda tricky because one could put too much grease up in there. I would love to hear about what exactly you do. I have no problem improvising but I don't want to make things worse either. Thank you BlazNT?

Ltmt said:

Are they putting new spindles on or are they rebuilding the old ones. If they are rebuilding the old ones then they might be leaving out the spacer that goes between the top and bottom bearing on the spindle. If that is happening then they will go out in about 100 hours or so because you can't tighten them enough. Next time one goes out take it apart and check that. They are rather simple to take apart with just one ring holding them together. I just finished rebuilding mine and that is the one thing the parts man said, "Be sure to put that spacer back in".
If they are putting brand new ones on each time then I can't imagine them not lasting forever in your conditions. Mine lasted 10 years on my FasTrak and it has done some hard mowing.

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I will confirm with the shop what exactly they are doing and mention the spacer. I'll also ask for my old one and use that as an experiment. I'm glad to hear that your fastrak has treated you good. Most folks I've talked to that own a hustler love it so I'm just baffled as to why mine keeps letting me down. Thank you Ltmt?

Ltmt said:

Are they putting new spindles on or are they rebuilding the old ones. If they are rebuilding the old ones then they might be leaving out the spacer that goes between the top and bottom bearing on the spindle. If that is happening then they will go out in about 100 hours or so because you can't tighten them enough. Next time one goes out take it apart and check that. They are rather simple to take apart with just one ring holding them together. I just finished rebuilding mine and that is the one thing the parts man said, "Be sure to put that spacer back in".
If they are putting brand new ones on each time then I can't imagine them not lasting forever in your conditions. Mine lasted 10 years on my FasTrak and it has done some hard mowing.

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Also, about every 150ish seems to be when they go bad but with that being said, why did all three original ones go out in the first place? I don't mean to be bugging, I'm just stressed out and it helps me diagnosing the problem just putting my thought process out there. Thanks again!

Justin,

Do you have a 36" or a 48" metal straight edge? If so, lay it on the middle pulley and check the alignment of the outer pulleys to see if they are running true. Even if they're not, it shouldn't run the bearings out of your spindles in that short of time. But, it does require more ponies to pull the deck blades if the pulleys are not aligned properly.

Max