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Infrequent new poster on here, but I hope this is of some interest to Gravely owners/fans:

Just getting around to proudly showing off my first new mower in almost 20 years - a 2013 Gravely XD3 self-propelled with a 175cc Subaru engine. I think I made a solid, long term purchase with the XD3. Purchased in late April, this mower does not feature a blade clutch, nor is it electric start. After almost two months of use, I can tell of the good and bad points of this mower, and there are darn few bad so far!

The Subaru EA175V engine is very nice! It starts well with two pulls when cold, runs smoothly and has lots of power for long, wet grass. I run pure premium unleaded gasoline with Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, and it is well-muffled for the neighborhood. A handy fuel shutoff is a nice feature that I use every time on the Subaru.

The engine is not perfect, however. After less than 2 hours runtime on the clock, it is difficult to restart when hot. The motor feels like it has seized up on the compression stroke, and not being very muscular, I pull for a long time before it starts again. I attribute that to the emissions carb. I should have sprung the extra for the blade clutch.:frown: And despite having a broad "comfort-style" grip on the engine run lever, my hands cramp quickly keeping the engine going. I really should have sprung for the blade clutch.:frown:

The XD3 has several nice features, including an adjustable handle, one-hand height adjustment, an easy-grip drive lever and everything needed to convert from rear bagger to mulcher to side discharge. I've been using just the side discharge setup, so I can only vouch that it works well, with some plugging in tall, wet grass. It has a 14 gauge steel deck, so that should give me a long lifetime of use.

Negative points: Rear wheel drive is tough for me to wrangle around the many yard obstructions I deal with. It's my fault, (not the mower's) for not getting a front driver. Coming from a push mower, this thing is a rocket! I have to feather the drive lever to get down to a comfortable walking speed. The quick hose attachment eases deck cleanup, although they recommend waiting 1/2 hour after mowing to run the hose, requiring a difficult hot/warm engine restart.

I paid list price for my Gravely, but since I ran my last Murray for nearly 20 years, I am not complaining. My dealer here in central New York (near Syracuse) is yet to be tested, but he did provide free delivery, which I appreciate.

Update 10/26/13:

My XD3 has run well all summer, but it still takes too many pulls to restart a hot motor, so I avoid doing that whenever possible. I use premium unleaded gasoline with zero ethanol, staying clear of the New York State-mandated 10% ethanol junk. Sta-Bil in my fuel can every fill-up keeps the gas good. The 175 cc Subaru engine works harder in taller grass with the mulch plug in place, but has not stalled on me yet. I do regret not getting the more expensive electric start model with the 190 cc Subaru, but this machine is more than adequate for my easy suburban lawn.

With the stock blade on, and the mulch plug in place, this is a great mulcher. Large and small leaves get ground up into fine particles, and only occasionally does it leave a visible pile to quickly rake away. Clippings do accumulate on the deck, however.

So far, I am still quite happy with my XD3!

I'm glad you're still happy with your purchase! It looks like a nice mower! I added your review (this thread) to a Mower Reviews thread (shown below). :smile:

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/mower-buying-pricing/19761-lots-mower-reviews-here.html

lawn mower fanatic said:

I'm glad you're still happy with your purchase! It looks like a nice mower! I added your review (this thread) to a Mower Reviews thread (shown below). :smile:

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/mower-buying-pricing/19761-lots-mower-reviews-here.html

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Thank you!

if it has an auto choke u have to let it cool down before u start it again

How are you liking your XD3 ? I'm considering buying one,but not 100% sure yet.

wdrdoctor said:

How are you liking your XD3 ? I'm considering buying one,but not 100% sure yet.

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So far, it's been great. Wish I had bought the electric start model, but otherwise it has met my expectations, aside from the hot starting issue. The engine has just under 10 hrs operating time on it, so it's probably not even broken in yet. Lots of power for tall grass in side discharge mode. Ground speed is just a bit fast at full drive, but can be easily modulated to my slow walking speed.

Mulching leaves last fall was easy and thorough, with clippings disappearing into the lawn almost completely. Uneven sections do let clippings shoot out from under the deck at times.

After one somewhat limited season of use, I'd buy another, except with electric start.

Biggest disappointment so far is how quickly the side discharge chute clogs up in moderately tall grass. It then needs manual clearing of the grass, as lifting the deck does not clear the clog. Also, the motor shuts down each time, requiring a PITN series of pulls to restart.

Update: July 2015

My XD3 mower is still running well. I have gotten better at finding TDC and starting the Subaru engine, typically on my first pull. Side chute still clogs too easily, and I had my first minor mechanical issue: The spring holding the side discharge chute and cover disconnected, requiring a reattachment that I still have not gotten quite right. It holds securely, so I will wait until my next service to have it looked at and fixed properly.

I just bought the Ariens version of this mower. It is replacing a 20 year old snapper that served me well, but the motor died on it, so I decided to move on to something new. You can get the Subaru engine on the Ariens now. I got one with the Subaru engine and the blade brake clutch. I haven't had a chance to mow with it yet, but I look forward to trying it out.

Another season of use and generally speaking, quite satisfied with this mower. Side discharge clogging remains problematic if the grass is wet or too long, but if I mow every week in dry grass, it's not an issue. The Subaru engine was problem free, as was the drive system. I have mastered the start procedure so it is only hard to start after it sits unused for 2-3 weeks. Then it takes several tugs to fire.

That said, the spring on the side discharge flap either popped off, or wore through the soft plastic on the flap, leaving it to move unrestrtained back and forth while mowing. I tried to reattach the spring to the flap, no success. I mulched leaves this fall with the flap held by duct tape, and will likely have my dealer look at it when I take it for service.

Overall, very happy with my XD3.

I ended up buying the Ariens version and like it a lot so far. Has good power, mulching, and bagging and I like the one lever height adjustment. One weird thing is the motor surges when there is no load. As soon as I engage the blade, it goes away. I've been trying to decide if that is typical. Does yours do that?

No blade clutch on mine, and I notice no surging to date, so I can't offer you any help with that. It seems logical that the extra "flywheel mass" of the blade would dampen any surging. Maybe its a quirk with your particular machine, or Ariens changed carb specs for tighter emissions control, I can only guess. Perhaps the dealer can adjust it out, or advise you. Knowledgeable people on here can offer potential assistance as well.

If that is your only issue so far, then that is great! Good luck!

WriteAway

JonCr said:

I ended up buying the Ariens version and like it a lot so far. Has good power, mulching, and bagging and I like the one lever height adjustment. One weird thing is the motor surges when there is no load. As soon as I engage the blade, it goes away. I've been trying to decide if that is typical. Does yours do that?

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A surge can happen if blades not engaged sometimes. My brand new mower did that at the dealer. The mechanic said it's normal.

Another mowing season underway, and my XD3 started up after 7-8 pulls, and ran just a bit ragged. I suspect a new spark plug is in order, plus another tank of fresh premium gas (ethanol-free) and the usual spring maintenance tasks.

I still need to get the side mulching cover/discharge chute fixed. The chute will not go on properly and the cover flaps loosely since the spring became disengaged. Still trying to figure how and where the spring is supposed to connect to the flap. The spring tension is so strong I can not force it back into what looks like a locator hole on the mulching flap. Maybe the dealer can advise me.

Aside from this glitch, I am still glad I bought this mower, and would buy it again with no hesitation.

I have NEVER found anyone that had good luck with Stabil. I have had great success with Ethanol Shield found in Tractor Supply and Menards.

slapshot said:

I have NEVER found anyone that had good luck with Stabil. I have had great success with Ethanol Shield found in Tractor Supply and Menards.

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Stabil works fine for me.

I have used Stabil for years with no issue in my mowers, motorcycles, snowblower and gas weed trimmer. It is most easily available with good pricing in the stores here in upstate New York.

My XD3's discharge chute is back in place finally, while now I have to adjust the drive belt tension a small amount. Otherwise, it is running strong. The heat and near drought conditions over the past 20 days have required much less mowing, until we received a good soaking on 7/8.

Now that my XD3 has become an orphan...I can only hope that parts will remain available when needed. I know it is a rebadged Ariens Razor, but the XD has the Subaru engine, and other unknown differences that may complicate replacement parts 5+ years out.

Anyways, I'll just take good care of it and hope for very few major problems going forward.

Well, I been reading this thread. I bought a new "Gravely XD3 Self-propelled with elec start" back in 2013. Been goin on 6 years now. I live in Cental Ohio. I use regular gasoline, and always have. I think I used Stabil for the FIRST time over the winter this past winter. Otherwise, I run it until it runs out of fuel, then turn the fuel shutoff. The first summer I had it, I too had that that 'issue' with it starting when its hot. The auto-choke has that lever rod in front of the engine, all you have to is wiggle it as it sticks from time to time. I have give this thing very little maintenance, though I don't uses it heavily during mowing seasons here. The prior owner left a Craftsman 22" sittin in the weeds when they moved out in 2012, and I resurrected it and it's been my goto mower. I've run it on gasoline and propane. But that's the subject of another discussion.

I finally FINALLY got the oil changed this afternoon. Yea, I changed it I think, after the first season on the original oil fill, and somehow managed to forget to do it each season. I had used the battery-starter but I had to buy a new battery (about $13) and after it went bad, I just pulls start it. It's never failed to start on the 2nd pull. And did I mention that I just do not USE STABIL? Well this past winter. but I don't .I started it up today, and as it was running, I removed the air filter and inspect/clean or replace, and then I use carb cleaner and shoot several good shots into the engine (so as not to stall it completely)...about 10 shots and she's running fine. I finally resharpened the blade as well.

As for using it, yea, its a rear wheel mower. I bought it primarily for my wife to use, and I could use the Craftsman. But I've been using it more. It is a HEAVY, bulky mower. It threw the drive belt of last year and I used it for two weeks as a push mower (MISTAKE) and it is a beast to push. Would I buy it again? No. I have three acres that I use push mowers for trimming (John Deer 23 HP garden tractor is the main mower), and like I said, I kinda prefer the lighter Craftsman. But that's me. I finally got under it and put the drive belt back on, no problems since.

As long as you have Internet access, you'll find parts for this thing. It's built like a tank and can take a beating. Problem is, it's as heavy as a tank as well. LOL.

QuantumRift, Central OHIO

WriteAway said:

Now that my XD3 has become an orphan...I can only hope that parts will remain available when needed. I know it is a rebadged Ariens Razor, but the XD has the Subaru engine, and other unknown differences that may complicate replacement parts 5+ years out.

Anyways, I'll just take good care of it and hope for very few major problems going forward.

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By the way, here's the PARTS MANUAL for the XD3: http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/04527700B.pdf

should not be any issue to find parts.

Update: June 2019
My XD3 is running well except for the drive system starting to feel “clunky” at engagement. Will try to adjust drive handle cable before anything else.
The engine is running strong, and easily starts with 1-2 pulls hot or cold.
Side discharge chute clogs with annoying regularity.
WriteAway

Maybe you should inspect the drive belt and see if the belt/pully area is packed with grass and junk.

Nope, not much debris under there. Cable adjustment took care of it for a while. Think it needs a new drive belt and adjustment. But now the left rear wheel is askew, possibly broken. It still powers along, but it will go to the dealer to get it all resolved, along with an oil change.

My XD3's left rear axle bolt snapped a few days ago, almost flush with the end of the axle. Although the Subaru/Robin EA175 runs with no issue, the engine compression seems weak. That will be checked out Monday, when the mower goes in for an estimate to have the both rear axle bolts replaced, driveline checked/adjusted/fixed as needed and an oil change.

If the compression is weak, I am guessing it will be more expensive to repair than to buy a new mower. No dealers in my immediate area seem willing to work on the EA175 Subaru, so I hope for no issues to be found engine-wise.