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All,

I've got about 1.9 hrs on my new Raptor SD 54. I brought it home from the dealer yesterday and mowed.

Two issues I'm having (both reported here by someone else as well):

• My hydro expansion tank is EMPTY. No evidence of any fluid in the tank. I'M VERY CONCERNED. I know I can top off the fluid, per the manual, but how do I know the hydros have been running with sufficient oil? How can I tell if I've damaged the hydros by running them low on oil? Do they come pre-filled from the factory? I never thought to check this when I brought it home and started it up...I assumed because I was buying from a dealer, all was good.
  
• The thing has been somewhat jerky to operate. I'm still learning how to control it, but I'm convinced one of the controls is operating the wheel faster than the other. I think I'm going to go through the setup procedure to set them the same speed (per the service manual).

These are a couple of things I did not expect to have to deal with, buying from a local dealer.

Any thoughts in particular on the hydro oil? Should I raise he&& with the dealer?

Thanks!

mooch91 said:

Any thoughts in particular on the hydro oil? Should I raise he&& with the dealer?

Thanks!

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I thought the same thing and I've added around 14oz in 17hrs of running. Not to worry, yes the hydros are adequately filled at the factory and I believe the paper elements in the filters soak up some of the oil like someone else mentioned. Good idea to keep an eye on it early though, easy to forget when it's new.

Wondering if I should drain them out just to be sure there is something in them. Then fill fresh. Can't hurt, I guess. I'd like to get the dealer to supply me the oil.

Like I've said before, it seems that the hydro filters soak up the oil when they are first put under pressure in running conditions. Add some 20w50 motor oil, monitor it. You should be fine, I don't think you've done any damage. The low oil would exlain the jerky feel. I'd have your dealer do the adjustment unless you really have the urge to play with it. No need to get too excited!

mooch91 said:

Wondering if I should drain them out just to be sure there is something in them. Then fill fresh. Can't hurt, I guess. I'd like to get the dealer to supply me the oil.

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Ran at least 5hrs before I caught it, your choice. The 'expansion tank' is just that afterall....

Just top off with 20W50 motor oil Mooch. Shouldn't take but a few ozs.

Thanks, I probably over-reacted. Easy to do when you see an empty tank on a new mower. Talked with the shop this morning, they indicated they leave just a "coating" in the bottom of the tank so as to not have it overflow when things heat up. He also said that if I were empty/not filled it would not have moved. I will probably top it off and keep an eye on it.

I dropped all tires to 10 psi last night (they were at 12). I'm going to run it on flat ground before making any adjustments to the drive; I do mow a bit of a hill so what I was feeling could have been a function of that.

Thanks again guys!

mooch91 said:

All,
The thing has been somewhat jerky to operate. I'm still learning how to control it, but I'm convinced one of the controls is operating the wheel faster than the other. I think I'm going to go through the setup procedure to set them the same speed (per the service manual).

Click to expand...

Assuming there is no trouble with the machine I was a bit jerky at the controls for an hour or two. I liken it to riding a horse, I found myself using the levers partially to hang on, which made the dang thing go all over the place. I settled down a bit and and am now using my lower body to hold on (pressing feet against the plate corners for balance) and freeing my arms to just steer, and move in controlled smooth movements. I've gotten a lot better. Could be from a little break-in on the hydros also.


NO ZTR will track absolutely straight all the time. any bumps or ruts will cause one tire to loose a fraction of an inch of traction and it will veer that way. the best you can hope for it to take it on pavement, and adjust the bars to go straight, but then when you take it to grass and run full out it will still veer one way or the other depending on traction and terrain, but you can know the motors are equal.

As an update, I'm at 16 oz 20W50 in the hydro tank and counting (no visible leak). I come back the day after each time I mow to find the tank empty and add a few more oz. Starting to alarm me a bit...

I think I'll give Hustler a call tomorrow to try to understand.

mooch91 said:

As an update, I'm at 16 oz 20W50 in the hydro tank and counting (no visible leak). I come back the day after each time I mow to find the tank empty and add a few more oz. Starting to alarm me a bit...

I think I'll give Hustler a call tomorrow to try to understand.

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let us know, I had to add back about that much oil and it has leveled off at the fill mark. Now that the oil has circulated back to the tank and already looking dirtier than expected at 19hrs. I mow a 1.5 acre 40deg slope, it's bumpy...don't know what to expect durability wise mainly from the drivetrain, can only hope it lives up to its name. The one thing it does have going for it is it's a very light weight machine. Maybe I'll do the initial oil change early.

After seeing this last week I checked my tank. empty.
I added until half full, mowed, that's when the deck belt spring broke.
when I got it back in the garage and was fiddling with it later I checked the tank, empty.
I added until half full again.
so I have probably added a pint or more now also, and I'm curious as to how this will play out.

I had to add a 1/4 of a new quart to get the reservoir to stay at the full cold line. I think the filter just soaked up that much oil because they were installed without filling them some.

Tta197 said:

I had to add a 1/4 of a new quart to get the reservoir to stay at the full cold line. I think the filter just soaked up that much oil because they were installed without filling them some.

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This is perfectly reasonable, and if so it is another oversight that hustler needs to work on.

I'm perfectly fine and happy if the level evens out, no leaks is good. That I should have to do it myself is not so good.

I just picked up my RSD 54 and at the dealer I checked the overflow (and pointed out to the dealer) and the level was at full cold marking and it was at .4 hours. After about another hour of tooling around and 1 good mow, I checked it cold and it was empty. I picked up some 20w50 and it was probably another 3-4oz to fill it up (air bubbles came up through the bottom). I went and tooled around again and it didn't drop after that. I'll check it again after the next mow.

Someone buying one may want to check it more frequently during the first few hours.

Spoke to Hustler today and shared my concern with technical support. No wait, and they were easy to get to.

The gentleman I spoke to said it can happen - that as air moves out of the system, the level can drop. He said each hydro holds about 2 qts of 20W50, so even though I've added 16 oz, it's not a huge amount in relation to the volume of the system.

He said I could continue to add after each run until it settles out, or I can open up the bleed plug on the hydros while filling to ensure it's entirely full. He described these plugs, but I didn't have my mower in front of me to visualize it.

I feel OK that it's not going to create a long-term issue.

My hydro oil expansion seems to have stabilized over the two additions. The total added was about the full volume of the expansion tank. Now at cold it is somewhere midway between the cold line and half full, maybe about 1/3 full. Hot it is nearly up to the top.

Went to auto store for some 20W50 to add to the expansion tank as mine is not visible.When I looked at the available options I noticed there was a 4 stroke motorcycle version available.I asked the clerk if he thought one type of 20W50 was better than the next.He strongly encouraged me to use the motorcycle(castroil) type explaining he used it on his motorcycle.Is there any preferred product?

chemingthroughtheleather said:

Went to auto store for some 20W50 to add to the expansion tank as mine is not visible.When I looked at the available options I noticed there was a 4 stroke motorcycle version available.I asked the clerk if he thought one type of 20W50 was better than the next.He strongly encouraged me to use the motorcycle(castroil) type explaining he used it on his motorcycle.Is there any preferred product?

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There is a sae classification for oils. Starts with sa and goes to sn or something. The manual specified the s rating to use. I used a "newer" s rating then specified when I topped off mine. I didn't have time to go to another store to try to find the oil in the exact flavor.

JohnCardin said:

There is a sae classification for oils. Starts with sa and goes to sn or something. The manual specified the s rating to use. I used a "newer" s rating then specified when I topped off mine. I didn't have time to go to another store to try to find the oil in the exact flavor.

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It calls for sl/sm spec.

Info on oil specs
API Engine Oil Classification

I think I used sn spec.

Hustler owners purchasing new equipment from dealers should not have to deal with issues mentioned. When you purchase a new vehicle do you have to go to such lengths? Hustler corporate headquarters as well as their quality control dept. at manufacturing facility needs to hear from you. Hydraulic systems need to be up and ready to go from the factory. Just throwing in my two cents.

Anybody else get one with a seat FULL of water, talking well over a gallon. I drilled a bunch of holes in the pan and it seems to be dry now.

I thought it was a gel seat at first :laughing:

Valvoline 20w50 SM

Having just picked up a new Bad Boy Elite, I noticed the overflow reservoirs are also empty. I can see the oil in the lines yet none is in the overflow. I'm wanting to add some just as others have done and bring it up to the cold fill line, we're talking about a few ounces on each side I would guess.

This brings me to my question: how important is it to run the 20W-50? Can I get away with running 15W-50 without any adverse effects, if there were any what would they be? Reason I ask is because I use Mobil 1 15W-50 Full Synthetic, most will know as the old Red Cap racing blend, in all of my Motorsport products (atvs, dirt bikes, street bikes). I always have this blend on hand and would make streamlining my oils much easier if I can go ahead and use the 15W-50 blend versus the other 20W-50.

Thoughts?

RaptorSD said:

Valvoline 20w50 SM

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Mobile 1 15/50 or Royal Purple 20/50...i would even run shell rotella 15/40 in em with no worries