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I just picked up a brand new Hustler Raptor SD 60. When i got it home I started look closer at it as I was excited to have a new mower. I noticed surface corrosion or oxidation all over the aluminum Kawasaki engine and starter plus on the aluminum hydros. Is this normal? The machine only had 1.6 hrs on it so I know its brand new. Also I took it out on my driveway to play with it because its to wet around my house to mow and I went to engage the pto at 1/2 and full throttle and the engine would die about 6 out of 10 times. Is this normal? I was under the impression that Hustler was the best. Will the dealer take this thing back since I have not mowed with it yet and if so should I even take it back or am I being too paranoid??

Doesn't sound normal to me. I would definitely call the dealer and ask them about it. I have a 48 and can start my deck nearly at idle without stalling. Is the deck belt routed correctly and do the spindles turn easy?

Oxidation on bare aluminum castings happens quickly particularly in damp storage and climates.
The engine may have a governor/throttle cable problem or something else, or may just need some more run time.
What is the state of charge of the battery?
Does the fuel filter show any signs of water in it?
Fuel tank full?

mko1024 said:

Doesn't sound normal to me. I would definitely call the dealer and ask them about it. I have a 48 and can start my deck nearly at idle without stalling. Is the deck belt routed correctly and do the spindles turn easy?

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Thanks for the reply. The deck belt looks routed correctly according to diagram on mower deck and appears to be routed correctly to my observance. I would have to take belt off to check if spindles turn easy due to the clutch brake right?

Mad Mackie said:

Oxidation on bare aluminum castings happens quickly particularly in damp storage and climates.
The engine may have a governor/throttle cable problem or something else, or may just need some more run time.
What is the state of charge of the battery?
Does the fuel filter show any signs of water in it?
Fuel tank full?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Its a shame that the aluminum has corrosion on a brand new machine. I wish I would have checked it over better at the dealer but since it was brand new I figured everything was fine. Should I just live with it? Also about the mower stalling when I engaged the PTO: Some times it does it and sometimes it doesn't. Today it stalled about 4-5 attempts in a row in all throttle positions and then it started working fine again. I did talk to a friend and he metioned deck position, so I moved the deck to a different position and it worked, then a tried engaging pto again in that same position and it stalled in every throttle position. I have only had this mower for a day and have not been able to mow with it yet due to the rain. So ive just been playing with it. Maybe it just needs to be broke in. Battery is good, no signs of water in fuel filter, tank is full.

Here are some pics of the corrosion

From looking at your pics, there is no doubt that your machine was stored in a very damp environment, particularly seeing the starter motor which has a cadmium plated steel housing.
Many dealers don't have covered or closed storage areas for new machines, they leave them in the shipment condition and stack them up outside.
It is your decision as to how to approach this with the selling dealer, but for sure I would go there and talk with them.
Is your dealer close to the ocean?
Is there a possibility that they had flooding in their area recently?
Are able to get under the machine and look at the electric clutch to check it for rust and or corrosion?

was your machine a floor model? it may have sat outside in a few rain storms. but the corrosion is purely cosmetic. it wont harm the mower at all.

as for the pto issue, do you have the choke completely off? a fueling issue could cause the engine to stumble. and once again, was this machine a floor model? if it sat a while, it may just need fresh fuel.

Mad Mackie said:

From looking at your pics, there is no doubt that your machine was stored in a very damp environment, particularly seeing the starter motor which has a cadmium plated steel housing.
Many dealers don't have covered or closed storage areas for new machines, they leave them in the shipment condition and stack them up outside.
It is your decision as to how to approach this with the selling dealer, but for sure I would go there and talk with them.
Is your dealer close to the ocean?
Is there a possibility that they had flooding in their area recently?
Are able to get under the machine and look at the electric clutch to check it for rust and or corrosion?

Click to expand...

Im in Sarasota FL. The dealer is probably 10 miles or less away from the ocean and it rains a lot here, im wondering if they stored it next to fertilizer?? My uncle just purchased a Hustler X-One from there and he said there is absolutely no corrosion on his whatsoever.

turboawd said:

was your machine a floor model? it may have sat outside in a few rain storms. but the corrosion is purely cosmetic. it wont harm the mower at all.

as for the pto issue, do you have the choke completely off? a fueling issue could cause the engine to stumble. and once again, was this machine a floor model? if it sat a while, it may just need fresh fuel.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I spoke with the salesman today on the phone and he did say that they had that mower for 3 months. Even so, is this acceptable for a brand new mower?? As for the PTO yes I had the choke completely off and when I engaged the pto with full throttle the engine sounds like its running great with no sputtering at all so I don't see it being a fuel issue but I could be wrong, maybe need to mow with it and see how it does??

There are other cadmium plated parts on the machine, are the oxidized also?
Part of the engine serial number is the manufacture date code. I'm not familiar with Kawasaki date codes, but this will tell you when the engine was manufactured which will give you an idea when the machine was assembled.
I would bring up the clutch engagement problem with the dealer initially and as the conversation progresses, bring up the oxidation problem on what is a new machine. I know what they will say as I have been on that side of the counter.
Your machine could be several model years old as some new models have Kohler 700 series engines on them.
I have a 2012 X-ONE that is stored in a shed with a dirt floor and the engine is cleaner than yours.
Just my thoughts!!!
In 2008 I passed on a machine that was new old stock and was a 2004 model. Although the price was OK, I wasn't OK with an engine that looked like yours and rust on some of the parts on the machine.
The bottom line is that the machine should operate as intended!!!

Mad Mackie said:

From looking at your pics, there is no doubt that your machine was stored in a very damp environment, particularly seeing the starter motor which has a cadmium plated steel housing.
Many dealers don't have covered or closed storage areas for new machines, they leave them in the shipment condition and stack them up outside.
It is your decision as to how to approach this with the selling dealer, but for sure I would go there and talk with them.
Is your dealer close to the ocean?
Is there a possibility that they had flooding in their area recently?
Are able to get under the machine and look at the electric clutch to check it for rust and or corrosion?

Click to expand...

Here are some pics of the electric clutch

Mad Mackie said:

There are other cadmium plated parts on the machine, are the oxidized also?
Part of the engine serial number is the manufacture date code. I'm not familiar with Kawasaki date codes, but this will tell you when the engine was manufactured which will give you an idea when the machine was assembled.
I would bring up the clutch engagement problem with the dealer initially and as the conversation progresses, bring up the oxidation problem on what is a new machine. I know what they will say as I have been on that side of the counter.
Your machine could be several model years old as some new models have Kohler 700 series engines on them.
I have a 2012 X-ONE that is stored in a shed with a dirt floor and the engine is cleaner than yours.
Just my thoughts!!!
In 2008 I passed on a machine that was new old stock and was a 2004 model. Although the price was OK, I wasn't OK with an engine that looked like yours and rust on some of the parts on the machine.
The bottom line is that the machine should operate as intended!!!

Click to expand...

There is a manufacture date on the engine data tag and it sais 06/15, should I tell the dealer please exchange this mower for one with no corrosion or please give me my money back? Is this even a option? I like my stuff to be pristine and I did not buy a brand new mower to have it look like it was dipped in the ocean.

I can see in your pics that there is rust on the clutch and oxidation on the muffler. There is no doubt in my mind that this machine has been around for a while and stored either outside and or in a very damp environment. Most anywhere in Florida is damp!!!
As for a relative having bought an X-ONE that was clean, not many dealers stock the higher end machines and order them in from a distributor when needed.
My local Hustler dealer buys trailer loads of Raptor models as they get better pricing and cheaper freight charges when the do this. Your dealer probably does the same.
Many mower manufacturers make 24 month production runs of specific models, so a new machine could be two years old and possibly older, but still new.
Unlike cars and trucks, not much changes on mowers as the years pass.

With you engine having a 6/15 date, then your machine was built at a later date probably 7-8/15. This being said, you know how the machine was stored with the condition it is in.
As I mentioned, I would approach the dealer with the clutch engagement question initially and then bring up the oxidation/rust situation if you need more discussion leverage.
Always, buyer beware!!!

I am going to speak with the dealer again tomorrow and try to work something out. I will update this thread and let everyone know how it goes. Wish me luck!!!

I remember when I was looking for a ZTR 3 yrs ago , a couple dealers , one in particular just stored them outside. They come in big crates they were covered in water. I told my wife lets move on I prefer a dry storage for a 4-5-6k dollar mower.

I'm wondering in winter months they leave them there also. -hopefully not

Secondly , my machine is a 2013 and has zero oxidation on the engine. The hydro's are also clean.

I went into the dealer today, all the new mower stock is stored out back stacked in there metal shipping cages. This dealer carries scag, hustler, toro, grasshopper and wright. I walked out back to where all these mowers were as I had permission from the owner. Most of the mowers had a nice piece of plastic wrapped neatly around them from the factory including the hustlers ( except for a few ) . I saw the same exact mower as mine sitting in its shipping cage with no plastic or anything. It was actually more corroded, oxidized, rusted and pitted than mine. So the owner comes out and he already knows my story. He said "what do you think". I said "it's a shame that all these brand new mowers are sitting out in the rain and humidity rotting away" He said "Ya I hear ya but i have know other choice, if I rent the big warehouse next to me I have to pay a extra $4000 a month and my prices will have to go up" I said "ok, well why aren't some of the mowers wrapped in plastic" he said "hustler literally just started wrapping them in plastic and before they were not" . I wasn't able to determine the condition of the mowers wrapped in plastic because the plastic was to hard to see through. So anyways I left there feeling better about my mower because mine actually looks better than most of the other ones sitting outside including the scags and grasshoppers, they were corroded to from being on display outside. So on the way back home I stopped at another dealer that sells ferris, husqvarna and ex mark. Most of there mowers are outside for sale and sit outside all day long on display and I'm not sure if they get stored inside at night or still sit outside just locked up around back. Anyways there new mowers were in even worse shape than the dealer I bought mine at. So to sum it all up, I'm happy with my mower and I'm glad it's not in as bad of shape as some of the other brand new zero turns I looked at today. I think that any mower dealer that wants to keep mowers in stock, the stock should be stored in a warehouse out of the weather. Just my opinion. On my next mower I will definitely look it over a lot better before I take it home. Also about the pto, it's working fine now, must of just needed more run time.

That Florida air must be something else. That kind of corrosion wouldnt happen in wisconsin for many many months. (Unless we parked stuff next to the highway in the winter and the salt trucks and snow plows threw the magic slush all over them).
Years ago I was in southern Texas and couldn't believe how "sunbaked" the paint was on late model farm tractors. So we got winter road salt....you got humid salt/rain....Texas has sunburn.....guess there's trouble in a few places.

It's ashamed a company would seell a mower as new looking like that. I agree it's cosmetic but still...

Napa sells a cleaner that used to be called "Jupiter". The name has changed (maybe "Wheel and Grill" now?!?) but is the same stuff for @ $8-$10 a gallon. You spray it on and rinse it off and aluminum will look like brand new. Only works on aluminum though.

As far as engaging the blades you should check your owners manual. I have the Fast Trak SD and if I'm not mistaken it says to engage on a full throttle. I'd have to look now but I think that's what it recommends. Good luck with your new mower.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Mowed with it yesterday for the first time (yard was finally dry enough to mow) and it did a fantastic job. Pto worked flawlessly, turned it on and off many times to pick up limbs and never had any issues. All in all I'm happy with the purchase.