Z665 Drive System Concerns

Zman665

Forum Newbie
Joined
Aug 22, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
1
I have a 2013 Z665 with about 450 hrs. The local dealer has been doing all my regular seasonal maintenance and repairs since I bought there new. This spring when I took it in, the dealer said it needed $3600 in repairs. The engine had developed a major oil leak at the rear seal, so I was prepared to spend *some* money for that. The dealer replaced the governor, rear main seal, the pan gasket, and that took care of the engine. They also replaced the two outer spindles and all three idlers on the deck, which I wasn't expecting, but OK. They replaced the LH transmission because they found it to be weak in reverse, (Side note: I had the original LH trans completely replaced at 50 hrs and again at 158 hrs for case seal leaks, both times under warranty.)

When I got the mower back, I thought it didn't sound the same. It made a high-pitched sound (bearing noise?) with the engine running. I mowed with it a few times, and the noise lessened, so I didn't think too much of it. Here lately, when I first start the mower, even though it fires right up it sounds like it's not running as smooth as it could be. When I try to mow, the engine acts like there's already a load on it, and you can't do much mowing or mow at any reasonable speed without really lugging it down (and the grass is not thick or tall). Typically after a minute or so, it will "come out of it" and mow fine with plenty of power for the next couple hours until I'm done. Most recently, though, it didn't "come out of it" and there was a burnt rubber smell like a belt slipping.

Today I went out to try to figure out what's going on--got the grass all cleaned off. Trans and engine oil levels looked good. Fired it up and it did the same thing--started out running rough and lugging a bit but wasn't "coming out of it" like it had been. I noticed that if I jostled the RH hydro steering control lever, it seemed to have some influence over how the mower ran, and I could get it to "come out of it" that way.

I am wondering if the RH trans or something on that half of the drive system is dragging the engine down. If so, I'm not exactly sure what would be causing it, so would like to get some thoughts from the forum. Don't know if I have a pulley or idler seizing up, or if the hydro itself is somehow putting a heavy load on the engine sometimes but not others.

I did notice a bit of a split or cut starting on the drive belt--so that will need to be replaced right away. It's the original belt, so I'm probably due for a new one.
Maybe the belt slipping is just coincidental and not related to the lug-down behavior, but I'm thinking they're related.

Thanks in advance for any feedback or suggestions.
 

mechanic mark

Lawn Pro
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
Threads
175
Messages
7,381
Last edited:
Top