"Hey Boss. A customer's spindle crapped out at 2 hours." "Tell him to bring it in." "He's got a You Tube channel with 500,000 subscribers." "What!? What are you waiting on? Go get it!" I feel your pain. I had a Cub Cadet 50" mower for several years. Never a minute's problem. Bought a high end residential mower and spent more hours under it than on it due to it jumping the transmission drive belt. Took it back to the dealer twice under warranty. Finally saw a You Tube video about one of the transmission mounts being defective. Took it back to the dealer for the third time, they replaced the defective mount, and it has been mowing ever since. Me: "Don't you guys read the service bulletins?" $200 for a spindle?!?!?! That is insane to me. Especially since most of those items are China junk.
Exactly. I don't know how far they are from you, but the salesman should have come out himself with a trailer. He would be embarrased that what he sold you had failed this way. The Ewald in my area is a good operation, and I would have called the salesman right away and have given him the chance to make it right.
Very frustrating! Glad it was escalated to the manager, but the initial response is still ridiculous in that you would have to pay for a technician to field test a brand new machine or you would have to arrange transport to the shop. It should have been the dealership that immediately arranged for pickup at no cost to you.
Exactly. Perhaps the loose nuts on that allowed it to wobble during the first use until the spindle shift bent to the point that it locked up. Strange that you were able to complete your first use. I suppose that when you reapplied torque by engaging the blades that it finished it up.🤔
At 1.9 hours they should’ve sent at least 2 technicians over right away and repaired it on site, I think they should up their game on warranty repairs, I would not be happy 😡😡
Repairs are done better at shops, where they have the proper tools, and lifts to work on the mower. It’s not the dealers fault that scag installed a defective spindle, so it doesn’t make sense to get upset at them.
Buddy of mine runs 2 scags. One big 72” and a 60”. Both kaw powered work a couple thousand hours each. No major or premature failures at all. He loves them.
I have ran Scag mowers for years. The problem is, these mowers come from a the factory disassembled in a crate… the dealer does the final assembly and testing. Now granted spindles go bad… I’ve replaced my fair share… but not in less than two hours. Chances are, the dealer didn’t take their time with the assembly. The rpm’s of the velocity decks are so high, that if that spindle was loose at all, or if it was not greased, it would seize up in a shear matter of minutes. I understand your frustration, but I still believe you made the right decision. In my honest opinion, you really can’t beat the Scag. The finish cut quality is second to none.
I feel your pain. I bought the 72" Turf Tiger II and before I even mowed one blade of grass the unit kept throwing the belt off. I call the dealer on Monday and he ran right over and picked it up. Result was a chuck of the belt was missing. Got a new belt under warranty. 3 weeks later I decided to put some Ballard X-Blades on it and 2 of the 3 bolts holding the blades were so tight I had to use my floor jack handle on my breaker bar to get them loose which destroyed one of the 9.5 inch bolts. I bought 2 of those along with the nuts just in case. So the Saturday after that I went to mow our property again and again it was throwing the belt off. This time I dropped off at the dealer as they were still open that day. The following Tuesday I went to pick it up and they told me the taper locks they use to hold the spindle shaft were not tight enough and the shaft had dropped about 1 inch which threw the belt alignment off. So they adjusted those and another new belt was put on per the Scag Rep's instructions. I used it this weekend (8-12-2023) and everything worked fine. After spending $18K on a mower I sure hope this is not going to keep being a problem. I was also told in not so many words that it was the Blades that did it and I should probably mow at 4.75 inches. Well it adjusts down to 1.75 inches and I would think that the price and the Scag technology should work at 1.75 inches. In other words, I shouldn't have to BABY it.
How has the mower been since you wrote this comment. I agree, paying that kind of money, and asked to mow at a height that is no where near standard, I might ask him to take it back. Haha. I do love Scag mowers though, haven't owned one yet, but I want too. I'm only residential,
I was a Deere dealer back when Scag was first getting their foothold. I was skeptical, but they proved to be a worthy competitor. They make a solid commercial mower. Dealers stock spindles because people hit pipes, and other immovable objects on a regular basis. Just pretend it's an RV, and say it's built by people ;-) Sux that it happened, though.
I repair vehicles from small cars all the way up to large wheel loaders. At my work we get new vehicles that are broken when we receive them. We even receive brand new parts, OEM and aftermarket, that are broken before the package is even opened. I hate to say that “it happens”, but it really does. Hopefully they treat you right and get this resolved fast! I can’t wait to see an update.
I bought a 36” inch v ride 2 around 10 hours it began to shut off while idling and wouldn’t start, completely dead. It has 17 hours on it now and I finally took it to the shop after it stalled and wouldn’t crank this last time. Very frustrating because I’ll be making payments on a machine that isn’t in use. Spring time shops are backed up.
I've worked in the landscape field for many years, a close friend owned the company and consulted with me on many purchases of new equipment. We found it best when buying a new mower to buy the demo's from the dealer. That way all the manufacturers mess ups are worked out. Now we perfered ExMark over Scag because I think exmark is a better quality. What you are going through is a normal in my opinion. Nothing is built with quality anymore.
What exactly was quality "back in the day" mowers with half the horsepower and 3 times as much fuel consumption? Because they where made with thicker steel? The technology and advancements in today's machinery is from taking what worked and improving on it. What wasn't efficient or durable became obsolete. Old machinery only seems to last longer because they where mostly operated by people who took care of their shit. They didn't have The "o well I'll just buy a new one" mentality we have today.
I purchased a $25k Harley in May. I road it to a destination about 20 miles away, turned it off, went into the store, came out and the bike won’t start. Turns out I had my key fob in my jacket pocket, decided it was to nice to wear a jacket so I took it off and threw it on a chair in the garage at home. Yep, 20 miles away and the key fob is at home. So next step is to put a code in the bike that allows it to start without the fob. Dealership puts in the code when servicing the bike. So I put the code in and nothing. I call the dealership, they walk me through the steps again, give the code and nothing. Turns out whoever serviced the bike never changed the code, so now no one knows the code. I had to wait until someone came home from work to bring me the fob. Moral of the story, they told you the greased all the zerks…probably all except one…
That is very frustrating, I have a scab cheetah 1 and have over 3000 hours on original spindles. Scag spindles are some of the toughest in the industry, I’m guessing it was assembled wrong or was a faulty bearing. I have only ever seen one scag spindle fail besides yours. Also the spindles are rebuildable with a tapered roller bearing. For the Rops bar, those are put on the mowers at the dealership after shipping. I hope your dealer takes good care of you from this point forward.
I bought a new Toro Timecutter zero turn a couple years ago, and in less than 20 hours, had replaced both hydrostatic drives. While one was under warranty, the other was out of pocket to the tune of about $1K. Toro denied that there was a pattern of these failures, but I found after a quick Google search that I wasn't the only one, as hundreds of others were having similar problems.
My hair would be on fire!!! Really that is an answer you would give a customer with a brand new machine is to come in with it or PAY for a tech to come out and look at it and fix?? OH He!! NO!! You bring your nice little trailer and come get this SOB and fix it! Sure spindles can go bad new or anything else for that matter but its how you handle that issue at first is how happy I WILL be. I had a used $600 24hp Craftsman tractor that gave me no issues at all for the 5 years I had a need for it. We moved got a smaller yard and I sold before we moved for $100. Diff bolts loosened up and stripped so I had it clamped with vice grips. LOL Worked. Other than that no spindle issues or anything else.
@@sjfk1306 you don’t cut enough yards that hustler is gonna fall apart I’ve had Exmark’s with 6k hours on them. Your hustler will be lucky to get past 2500
@@sjfk1306 hustler turf 41 million annual sales Exmark annual sales 53 million Toro the parent company to exmark 3.4 billion pretty sure hustler has a lot of catching up to do What do you think of those big dog mowers
3 years ago when I bought my Scag Tiger Cat II, I had the same thing happen...spindle froze up. I wanna say I had around 8-10 hrs on it when it happened. It was covered under warranty but still very frustrating. Dealer was telling me it would a week before they could get to it. I made a little noise and they got it done in 4 days. I mow 3 acres and from May in to July I have to mow about every 4-5 days. No issues since then. I love my Scag. The fuel injected Kawasaki is awesome.
Something that fails that quickly is going to be a manufacturing defect in the spindle. Whether some machining chips didn't get cleaned out, or heat treat failed on a bearing race, or something like that is hard to say. Probably not machining out of tolerance as those parts are checked for accuracy pretty regularly. I imagine once the dealer gets the mower back, they'll get with the warranty dept, and the manufacturer will want the part back for failure analysis. I work in a heavy truck shop. We had a truck come in with 2000 miles and a hole in the side of the block. Engine manufacturer wanted the entire engine back, including the oil in the pan, so they could do failure analysis. That may be what happens here. Maybe they find a bad batch of bearings and issue a recall? Keep in mind Skag doesn't produce the bearings, those are bought in. Its not a fault of Skag, so don't blame them.
That’s odd. Spindles normally don’t seize up the bearings normally wear out and get really loud first. Not sure on scag spindle setup but Exmark has a upper and lower ball bearing in the spindle housing and they are sealed bearings. It would be more realistic for that to happen on your first use if it sat out at the dealership in the rain for a while but even that’s a long shot. Really curious to know what it is. I would ask them to replace the belt that jumped also because normally once they jump they get cut a bit from the pulley and are not going to last as long.
I'm not in lawncare, but I do handle all sorts of commercial grade equipment. The fact is, and it shouldn't be a surprise, stuff breaks, or the people who put them together make mistakes. It doesn't matter how much you pay, or what the reputation is. What matters most is service and parts availability.
Purchased a new Cub Cadet, commercial grade 0 turn mower this past spring. Mowed for about 1 hour and the tire separated from the rear wheel. I think the bead just wasn't seated properly. Luckily, took off the wheel and carried it to my shop. A little (lot) of air and some manipulation and presto, it was fixed. Other than that the mower has been rock solid. Still not happy that i had to fix it 1 hour into its life....
I had almost the same experience with a John Deere riding mower,also a Snapper mower too.I did landscape maintenance when I was younger.the shop that I bought the equipment from stepped up and took care of the issue no question asked.it's like you s I had bought new John Deere walk behind and that day it was stolen out of my truck broke chain and lock.
Ive owned a Scag Freedom for about 3 years. Proir to that l owneda Kubota. To say the Scag is rubbish is a gross understatement. This machine has constantly broken down. The electricals are pure rubbish. Most of the switches have required replacement as has the startermotor recently. The fuel pump and carby have both been replaced. The front wheel bearings have collapsed on 2 occassions. The machine has done a mere 150hrs. Before you tell me its my fault the machine has had factory service every 50hrs. My property is only 1.5 acres of lawn. To anyone thinking about purchasing a Scag. "DONT"
Should have bought a Grasshopper from Tejas Equipment in Corpus Christi. Most Texas State Parks use them . They can take the wear and tear of mowing a state park, they can handle your property.
I have a Kubota ZD 221. i bought it in 2012 and it has about 500 hours on it. I've done some minor repairs to it. My uncle, however has a Scag that he bought maybe in 2018 give or take a year. I recently, like spring 2021, had to replace the front wheel bearings on my mower and I was mentioning that to him and he said "yeah i had to do mine too". Which struck me as odd because I know my mower has to be at least 7 or 8 years older than his and he can't have more than 100 hours because he only mows his less than an acre yard and I mow a couple yards commercially and a small cemetery. Just relaying info not running down the Scag because it seems like it should be a pretty solid and reliable machine based on the ones I've seen. I bet Ewald will take care of you.
Had issues with my 22 Hustler X-One with the 60" deck within the first 10 hours. I had stickers coming off and then the tensioner pulley decided to dig a giant groove in the guide. Was pretty pissed at that point.
Yep that would really be upsetting to me also. I have a Scag Patriot that has been trouble free for 3 years now. I hope you are still happy with your dealership after this. I think they should bring you a loaner while repairing yours.
I bought a new grasshopper a 1996 the only trouble I had with it was about three summers ago the electronic PTO clutch went out still running it to this day
Spindle failures happen. Probably manufacturing defect. The difference between this and a cheap Lowes Deere is that after this issue the Scag will last year's longer than the JD would. Spindles are one of those things that can have a mind of their own, you'll probably never have issues with the other two.
😂😂😂 The fact that you can unironically claim a machine that doesn't work after virtually no time on it will last longer than any other is absolutely crazy.
I would think you just got one with a faulty part or a nut or bolt that wasn’t tight. I don’t think it being a scag is the problem. But I understand your frustration for sure. Hopefully the dealership will make it right and in my opinion not a penny should be paid by you for that thing to get fixed I don’t care if the technician drives walks or flys all that should be covered under warranty.
Yeah I chuckled when the pin broke... shit welds... look for a standard, they making standers with the Yamaha motors... look for those, I think three main brands
Quality is Job #1, not any more. I gave up on the Amana refrigerator I purchased, filter for ice maker leaked from day 1. Fitting for water line leaked now I’m going to upgrade the flooring. Called for warranty on filter leak, going to be three months before they would come. I would have been back in Arizona by then. Forget it. Bought extended warranty on the way back from Arizona and called them when I got home. They had NO ONE that would come out, even the company that was coming before wouldn’t. They then went through all the details of what they would pay if I found someone that would work on it. I politely told her that is the reason I purchased the warranty so I didn’t have to deal with it. Asked her to refund the extended warranty and I would put it in the shop for water and beer, it can leak all over the concrete. And I would replace it with their competition. 😡
Moral of the story, be a big boy and make your own ice, icemaker's are a real problem as you learned. I just do it myself and it only takes a few minutes a week. :)
Bought a tigercat II 52 and a vride II 36 in August had one issue with the tigercat loose connector to the tiger eye system mower shut off in the middle of a property. Vride first use right hydro pump hose was leaking, deck height was off from the factory, then no start issue ground to engine block came loose, then the bolt for the right control lever came loose while operating and jammed the lever from moving. Seems like their quality control is suffering. I agree great mower but the headaches make you question the purchase.
Bought a new z2 ferris and both front wheel spindles froze up less than ten hours on it. Dealer initially tried to weasel out, said I hadn't greased it enough. I said I haven't greased it at all, you guys didn't greased it enough during the p+d inspection . He relented and replaced all four spindle [king pin] bearings.
My Tiger Cat II w 28 Briggs Vanguard EFI failed before I had 3 minutes on the mower. They came picked it up after 3 failures, over a 3 day period. The dealer said a wire was shorting it out. Since then no problems. But the discouragement I had was intense. 2021 model. The mower is a powerhouse otherwise.
We have been in lawn care for many many years. One of our mowers is a scag cheetah that has around 600 hours with no spindle problems but we have had major issues with the kohler engine within the first 50hrs end result was new long block.
I work in the automotive business and majority of the vehicle is parts from our suppliers. Once in awhile you will get bad parts from them but it's the dealer that makes the difference when it comes to warranty work. It sucks that it happened but hopefully they will get it fixed and you will enjoy many years of great use.
Know where you coming from and understand how you feel for sure. Few years ago I purchased a mower brought it home had it in the garage for about a week. Pulled it out went to mow soon as I engage the PTO the same thing happened. The dealer sent the technician 2 Days Later they repaired it. Said it was a defective Quail assembly.
I bought a bad boy zt elite or something brand new and used it 1.7 hours and it engine burnt up. Turns out they believe the muffler was bad and it built up back pressure in the heads. Got me a Toro and ain't had a problem yet!
I was looking at purchasing a new unit last week and saw the belt in that exact position. If I had engaged the mower, might wave broken the belt. Was on a new TigerCat II with a 52” deck. I did not purchase that mower but the same unit from a different dealer. There may be a recall needed to resolve this.
I bought a Husquvarna 46” mower from Lowe’s in 2011. They dropped it off at my house while my wife was there and I asked her “did they start it?” No. I tried starting it. No. Three weeks later, I gave up and called Lowes to pick it up. Then I tried starter fluid. It fired right up and I cancelled Lowe’s pick up. 10 years later, after replacing everything on the mower, I still have to use starter fluid to start the thing. I’ve literally tried everything except putting it in the shop. Other than that inconvenience, the mower has done well and I’ve used it as a brush hog on occasion. I suspect it was a floor model and they wanted to get rid of it.
I got a ferris 800z last year and love it. Rides great with the suspension and my dealer has always been good to me. No issues so far with the ferris after chugging through tall wet grass and hammering mole mounds. My simplicity before hand i did have an issue where the steering locked up. It was still in warranty so i called the dealer. Without questions they sent a truck and trailer out the next day and picked it up at no charge and got it fixed. Turned out the nut and bolt on the steering joint started backing out and jammed. Got it fixed and brought it back to me at no charge. I know dealership service varies but after spending that kind of money on something they should send someone to fix it on site or haul it back to the shop at no cost without hesitation. Doesn't matter if your jim bob in no mans land or a big youtuber like yourself. 14k for a mower, they should take care of it.
We have too scag cheetahs at work one is the original one is the cheetah 2. Those things are tanks we used and abused them all the time and they run fine it sounds like you just got a lemon which sucks but when it's fix I'm telling you, you'll love that machine
I have a John deere zero turn from a dealer. Used for 2 seasons now and still great. 720e I love it. No issues yet. Paid 7,000 with few accessories to.
I had the same problem with my cub cadet, if you hit anything, even could be a small stick, by the blades which causes the belt to jump and the one blade will leg and it’ll do that. That can cause damage to the spindle, if they end up changing the spindle make sure to just grab another belt because that can wear the belt pretty good. Even if it’s brand new just to have an extra one
Extend some grace on the spindle. Brand new parts fail, albeit not all that often. I think they are taking care of you the best way possible by picking up the unit and hopefully getting it back to you quickly.
I feel for you man. I was looking at the commercial mowers but I couldn't find anything that I liked in stock. So I just picked up a Cub Cadet ZT2 with the 60-in deck so I can mow until something else came along. I've been pretty happy with it especially for the price paid. I may still upgrade but I'm curious to see whether they treat you right
I am a fan of Grasshopper zero turn mowers. Made in America and simple solid machines. Mine is a Grasshopper 721DT It is a front mount with a 3 cylinder Kubota diesel engine, and is a commercial level zero turn mower
Geez, it'll get fixed by the dealer, give them a chance. You bought a mower known for their reliability but it is has moving parts and sometimes those parts fail. I'm sure when you get it back it will be worry free for a long time with proper maintenance. I have a Scag Liberty Z and in its first year it has been problem free. I appear to be the only person on this thread that doesn't expect the dealer to come to me for a repair. When my cars/trucks break down I don't expect the dealer to come to my home for a repair. I find a way to get the auto to them where they can have a team look at it and get it running again. That Scag will be good to you for a long time once they get the blades spinning again.
At $14k, I would have gone with a Kubota ZD and had a diesel. For $5k, the Ariens Apex is tough to beat in terms of features, performance, serviceability, and setup. I wholly agree though, this should be a non-issue for you and the dealer should be all over it. Glad to hear they have stepped up!
Hey JD, I have a spindle start to go, well the bearings in the spindle anyway on my Hustler Hyperdrive about 2.5 years into its life. I could have claimed it under warranty but it was right in the middle of the season and wasn't worth the downtime as the only fix for them is to replace the entire unit, not just the bearings. Because they use sealed bearings, I just swapped out the set with new ones and all is good. The grease in Hustlers spindles are only for water displacement and not actually to lubricate the bearings as they are fully sealed. I am not sure in the Scag if they use sealed ones or not, but would be worth finding out as well as getting a replacement set of off the shelf bearings just in case. I know you like doing work yourself as well and its something that can be changed pretty quick and not having it sit at the dealer for weeks. The cast iron housing are built heavy so unless you run into a curb or pipe at full speed right on the spindle you won't hurt the casting.
Bummer. You asked if anyone has had a similar experience. Well, kind of. Our church bought a new well-equipped 27" iMac. Drove almost an hour to pick it up at Microcenter in Dallas. Got it back and started setting things up on it. The second time I tried to start it up, nothing. No chime, beep, screen. Just completely dead. Called up Microcenter, they had another in stock, drove back, swapped it out, and 4 years later, haven't had a bit of trouble with the replacement. It was a bummer having to make that trip twice, but worth it for a quality product. Of the dozens of new Apple products I've unboxed and set up over the years that is the only one that ever failed within the 5-6 years I expect them to be front-line, useful, production machines. Hopefully your Skag will be like that... Years of quality work with minimal repairs.
🤔Should have got the toro Titan HD. Just sayin. 😳. You know you did over stress the pulley setup trying to cut 2’ of grass at 3”. Should have double cut it at the highest setting then cut at 4” or 3”. Typically those are sealed bearings.
My snapper had the ignition go out and dealer tells me it's because we turned the key over to far and it caused it to fail thus denied warranty. I told the dealer seriously I drive mowers, ATVs, UTVs, professionally and never once had a ignition fail due to over turned key. Got a call from manager that the warranty would cover this. Damage was done I never went back to that dealer.
I think the spindle bearings are tapered if like my old Tiger Cub such that if the bolt nut was loose, the bearings were able to wallow around and causing the seize up. Looks like a SCAG quality control issue due to the loose spindle bolt nut which was the root cause that started the failure. I hope the stress of the locked up spindle didn't stress the PTO clutch reducing its lifespan. I would have been furious also given this is their top-of-the-line model. Sorry you are having to deal with that.
At that price and for that amount of time, there is nothing you should have to do except call them. You hope it's covered? It damn well better be. Others have commented about spindles being in stock. I agree that may be an issue.
I know many times dealers will say X was performed on your equipment but that doesn’t guarantee it was actually performed or done correctly. Anymore the only way you can ensure it was done is to do it for yourself. It could be the spindle was defective. These things will happen. If the part was manufactured in the last 18 months it might not have met quality in the sake of filling the order.
Granted 1.9 hrs on a spindle failure is rare but as I saw in your previous video the grass you were cutting is not meant for that mower. Again, this is not a tractor/bush hog. This is a commercial mower yes, but not meant for cutting the grass you were cutting. From here on out, assuming you keep the grass cut to a respectable level, you now have the perfect machine. As a Scag lover, looking forward to more content.
For the price shouldn't have any issues however it happens very unfortunate just a bad spindle from the batch that missed QC so there are faults here and there 2 out of 10 mowers more than likely
I had the exact same experience on my old toro zero turn a few weeks ago. It has about 900 hours on it though with a Kohler engine. I’m still trying to troubleshoot what’s wrong
My Brother bought a Scag roughly 10 years ago and The bearings was dry. It locked up the spindle on its first mow. I remember it very well since it messed up on me making one lap with it. Felt horrible, he called me the next day and the shop he bought it new from said not one once of grease was in the bearing from the factory
I have a tiger cat with 52 hours and the voltage regulator went out. 8 weeks to get part. I too was very aggravated to pay top dollar for commercial mower and then get that kind of response time.
Curious what made you choose a cheetah over the tiger? Id recommended picking up a pack of blade bolts to have on hand. Catch a piece of debris in tall grass and they can bend with the blade spacer.
I’m trying to look at the bolt in the video but I can’t see it very well if I can remember my Scag had about 1/2 an inch of threads left out of the end of the nut after it was tightened up all the way look at the other side and see it should look the same if the blade was free spinning on the bolt after you tighten it then the bolt is definitely not seating in the spindle housing all the way.
I had the pleasure of a guided tour of Bad Boy mowers. Wow, I was impressed. I purchased one for a agency that I worked for and 3 seasons not a single breakdown or issue. Normal maintenance only from our maintenance employees. That's what we expect but do not allways receive. That is only one unit and I am sure someone has had issues with Bad Boy mowers and as production increases so does the odds of issues. Side note Bad Boy built Mark Martin a custom one that I believe would run close to 50 or 60 mph.
Had 2 Cheetah's over the years without a problem my last being a 2019 with the fi Vanguard 37hp. Bet that spindle was never greased from the factory and that dealer should have came and picked it up without question.
I have mowed over. All kinds of trash in high grass. Items such as tennis shoes, deflated Basket Ball , even a pogo stick. Even mowed over snake. Strangest thing. Was as I was mowing. A bowling ball appeared in front of my mower. I have broken. Deck bolts, belts, deck springs ,bent blade. Even ran over some barb wire fence. Never lost a spindle. All the above is from mowing foreclosures.
Spindles are the weak point of the zero turns,but it should not have failed this soon. Golf course maintenance ,we used 2 different z mowers and spindles were our #1 maintenance item. Stay safe.
Really hate clicking like, I like your video, not liking the fact the mower broke. I can definitely understand your frustration. Possibly a defective spindle, like anything manmade it will fail, but 1.9 hours is ridiculous. Could it have been a bent spindle? Again you would think not because it's new but just kinda grasping based on it being seized. Again stay safe.
My $8000 exmark lost a drive pulley at 5.3 hrs. Called the dealer, he tells me to bring it in and they would fix it. I asked just how was i supposed to get it there when it wouldn't move under its own power, he said" the best way i could".
We did a demo at my church (9 acres of mowing to be done weekly) so we had all the major brands out there and tested them all. It was close between Ex-mark and JD, but in the end we ended up with the Deere and its been fantastic. Stinks you had this issue, hopefully it has a good warranty. Approaching 5 yrs of use on ours so the warranty is just about to run out, but has not needed anything other then regular yearly maintenance.
Have a Scag Tiger Cat. 4 years no issues. Cut a 2 acre yard with serious grade at my old house and now cut 3 acres with some grade but definitely rough work in places. Love this machine. Like the Exmark and Toros but will stay with Scag. The dealer needs a bit of tough love and does not need this kind of publicity.
You have my sympathy, I just got rid of an Altoz that I’ve had headaches since I bought it… I’ve replaced so much on it that it will probably run perfectly now but I got to the point that I was so Leary of it that when I opened the garage door I’d just peek around the corner to see if anything went bang or chug ga chug ga ptsssst. Wish ya luck because I just replaced the Altoz with a cheetah 2 🤷♂️
I have a john Deere from 1989. Other than tires, oil changes, and 1 tie rod end. I’ve never had to repair it. I’ve had people offer to buy it off me and I always say no. Love my Deere.
![ILLSLICK X YOUNGOHM - We're The same [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yUJNkobYR0E/mqdefault.jpg)
"Hey Boss. A customer's spindle crapped out at 2 hours."
"Tell him to bring it in."
"He's got a You Tube channel with 500,000 subscribers."
"What!? What are you waiting on? Go get it!"
I feel your pain. I had a Cub Cadet 50" mower for several years. Never a minute's problem. Bought a high end residential mower and spent more hours under it than on it due to it jumping the transmission drive belt. Took it back to the dealer twice under warranty. Finally saw a You Tube video about one of the transmission mounts being defective. Took it back to the dealer for the third time, they replaced the defective mount, and it has been mowing ever since. Me: "Don't you guys read the service bulletins?"
$200 for a spindle?!?!?! That is insane to me. Especially since most of those items are China junk.
Sounds like you need a new dealer
Exactly. I don't know how far they are from you, but the salesman should have come out himself with a trailer. He would be embarrased that what he sold you had failed this way. The Ewald in my area is a good operation, and I would have called the salesman right away and have given him the chance to make it right.
Very frustrating! Glad it was escalated to the manager, but the initial response is still ridiculous in that you would have to pay for a technician to field test a brand new machine or you would have to arrange transport to the shop. It should have been the dealership that immediately arranged for pickup at no cost to you.
Exactly. Perhaps the loose nuts on that allowed it to wobble during the first use until the spindle shift bent to the point that it locked up. Strange that you were able to complete your first use. I suppose that when you reapplied torque by engaging the blades that it finished it up.🤔
Plus, bring you a loaner SCAGS mower when they come to pick yours up for all your frustrations 😮
At 1.9 hours they should’ve sent at least 2 technicians over right away and repaired it on site, I think they should up their game on warranty repairs, I would not be happy 😡😡
For 14k, the entire shop should have been there asap.
You both are being unrealistic.
Repairs are done better at shops, where they have the proper tools, and lifts to work on the mower. It’s not the dealers fault that scag installed a defective spindle, so it doesn’t make sense to get upset at them.
If that bearing failed that quick you would have have some indication. Squealing or smell.
Most dealerships charge for any service call whether its new or not.
Buddy of mine runs 2 scags. One big 72” and a 60”. Both kaw powered work a couple thousand hours each. No major or premature failures at all. He loves them.
I have ran Scag mowers for years. The problem is, these mowers come from a the factory disassembled in a crate… the dealer does the final assembly and testing. Now granted spindles go bad… I’ve replaced my fair share… but not in less than two hours. Chances are, the dealer didn’t take their time with the assembly. The rpm’s of the velocity decks are so high, that if that spindle was loose at all, or if it was not greased, it would seize up in a shear matter of minutes. I understand your frustration, but I still believe you made the right decision. In my honest opinion, you really can’t beat the Scag. The finish cut quality is second to none.
I feel your pain. I bought the 72" Turf Tiger II and before I even mowed one blade of grass the unit kept throwing the belt off. I call the dealer on Monday and he ran right over and picked it up. Result was a chuck of the belt was missing. Got a new belt under warranty. 3 weeks later I decided to put some Ballard X-Blades on it and 2 of the 3 bolts holding the blades were so tight I had to use my floor jack handle on my breaker bar to get them loose which destroyed one of the 9.5 inch bolts. I bought 2 of those along with the nuts just in case. So the Saturday after that I went to mow our property again and again it was throwing the belt off. This time I dropped off at the dealer as they were still open that day. The following Tuesday I went to pick it up and they told me the taper locks they use to hold the spindle shaft were not tight enough and the shaft had dropped about 1 inch which threw the belt alignment off. So they adjusted those and another new belt was put on per the Scag Rep's instructions. I used it this weekend (8-12-2023) and everything worked fine. After spending $18K on a mower I sure hope this is not going to keep being a problem. I was also told in not so many words that it was the Blades that did it and I should probably mow at 4.75 inches. Well it adjusts down to 1.75 inches and I would think that the price and the Scag technology should work at 1.75 inches. In other words, I shouldn't have to BABY it.
How has the mower been since you wrote this comment. I agree, paying that kind of money, and asked to mow at a height that is no where near standard, I might ask him to take it back. Haha. I do love Scag mowers though, haven't owned one yet, but I want too. I'm only residential,
That's super frustrating brother. Hope SCAG can get this figured out. After dropping that kind of coin on a commercial mower, you expect better!
I was a Deere dealer back when Scag was first getting their foothold. I was skeptical, but they proved to be a worthy competitor. They make a solid commercial mower.
Dealers stock spindles because people hit pipes, and other immovable objects on a regular basis.
Just pretend it's an RV, and say it's built by people ;-) Sux that it happened, though.
Lol
I repair vehicles from small cars all the way up to large wheel loaders. At my work we get new vehicles that are broken when we receive them. We even receive brand new parts, OEM and aftermarket, that are broken before the package is even opened. I hate to say that “it happens”, but it really does. Hopefully they treat you right and get this resolved fast! I can’t wait to see an update.
I got scag tiger cat 2 fx 730 carburetor waited 5 months for it, I have a tiger cub 2000 hours love it!!!
I bought a 36” inch v ride 2 around 10 hours it began to shut off while idling and wouldn’t start, completely dead. It has 17 hours on it now and I finally took it to the shop after it stalled and wouldn’t crank this last time. Very frustrating because I’ll be making payments on a machine that isn’t in use. Spring time shops are backed up.
I've worked in the landscape field for many years, a close friend owned the company and consulted with me on many purchases of new equipment. We found it best when buying a new mower to buy the demo's from the dealer. That way all the manufacturers mess ups are worked out. Now we perfered ExMark over Scag because I think exmark is a better quality. What you are going through is a normal in my opinion. Nothing is built with quality anymore.
I would agree
As the roller wheels get bent and fall off the exmark decks I would surely say their quality is better than scag…🙄
What exactly was quality "back in the day" mowers with half the horsepower and 3 times as much fuel consumption? Because they where made with thicker steel? The technology and advancements in today's machinery is from taking what worked and improving on it. What wasn't efficient or durable became obsolete. Old machinery only seems to last longer because they where mostly operated by people who took care of their shit. They didn't have The "o well I'll just buy a new one" mentality we have today.
I purchased a $25k Harley in May. I road it to a destination about 20 miles away, turned it off, went into the store, came out and the bike won’t start. Turns out I had my key fob in my jacket pocket, decided it was to nice to wear a jacket so I took it off and threw it on a chair in the garage at home. Yep, 20 miles away and the key fob is at home. So next step is to put a code in the bike that allows it to start without the fob. Dealership puts in the code when servicing the bike. So I put the code in and nothing. I call the dealership, they walk me through the steps again, give the code and nothing. Turns out whoever serviced the bike never changed the code, so now no one knows the code. I had to wait until someone came home from work to bring me the fob.
Moral of the story, they told you the greased all the zerks…probably all except one…
Its always best to double check others work, right? Sorry that happened to you that sounds like a frustrating day.
Scag is a hell of a company, great warranty, great products.
That is very frustrating, I have a scab cheetah 1 and have over 3000 hours on original spindles. Scag spindles are some of the toughest in the industry, I’m guessing it was assembled wrong or was a faulty bearing. I have only ever seen one scag spindle fail besides yours. Also the spindles are rebuildable with a tapered roller bearing. For the Rops bar, those are put on the mowers at the dealership after shipping. I hope your dealer takes good care of you from this point forward.
I bought a new Toro Timecutter zero turn a couple years ago, and in less than 20 hours, had replaced both hydrostatic drives. While one was under warranty, the other was out of pocket to the tune of about $1K. Toro denied that there was a pattern of these failures, but I found after a quick Google search that I wasn't the only one, as hundreds of others were having similar problems.
My hair would be on fire!!! Really that is an answer you would give a customer with a brand new machine is to come in with it or PAY for a tech to come out and look at it and fix?? OH He!! NO!! You bring your nice little trailer and come get this SOB and fix it! Sure spindles can go bad new or anything else for that matter but its how you handle that issue at first is how happy I WILL be. I had a used $600 24hp Craftsman tractor that gave me no issues at all for the 5 years I had a need for it. We moved got a smaller yard and I sold before we moved for $100. Diff bolts loosened up and stripped so I had it clamped with vice grips. LOL Worked. Other than that no spindle issues or anything else.
Wow $14k for a lawn mower .....
It sucks but that’s why equipment has a warranty. Customer service is key and is your dealer responsibility. Good luck.
Owned a landscaping business for 10 years now. I only use hustler now. Least headaches. And does and amazing job
eXmark seems to be the favored unit in this area for reliability
Nothing beats an exmark nothing I’ve had them all and by far exmark is king.
@@sjfk1306 you don’t cut enough yards that hustler is gonna fall apart I’ve had Exmark’s with 6k hours on them. Your hustler will be lucky to get past 2500
@@sjfk1306 What? That magazine is still in circulation? Well I'll be. 😁
@@sjfk1306 hustler turf 41 million annual sales
Exmark annual sales 53 million
Toro the parent company to exmark 3.4 billion
pretty sure hustler has a lot of catching up to do
What do you think of those big dog mowers
every brand has their problems, even eXmark
Every time I watch a video from you I learn something new thank you for sharing great video as always
John Deere Z970R with a 35hp engine, 72 inch deck and cast iron I-beam front. Not tubes.
3 years ago when I bought my Scag Tiger Cat II, I had the same thing happen...spindle froze up. I wanna say I had around 8-10 hrs on it when it happened. It was covered under warranty but still very frustrating. Dealer was telling me it would a week before they could get to it. I made a little noise and they got it done in 4 days. I mow 3 acres and from May in to July I have to mow about every 4-5 days. No issues since then. I love my Scag. The fuel injected Kawasaki is awesome.
Something that fails that quickly is going to be a manufacturing defect in the spindle. Whether some machining chips didn't get cleaned out, or heat treat failed on a bearing race, or something like that is hard to say. Probably not machining out of tolerance as those parts are checked for accuracy pretty regularly. I imagine once the dealer gets the mower back, they'll get with the warranty dept, and the manufacturer will want the part back for failure analysis. I work in a heavy truck shop. We had a truck come in with 2000 miles and a hole in the side of the block. Engine manufacturer wanted the entire engine back, including the oil in the pan, so they could do failure analysis. That may be what happens here. Maybe they find a bad batch of bearings and issue a recall? Keep in mind Skag doesn't produce the bearings, those are bought in. Its not a fault of Skag, so don't blame them.
That’s odd. Spindles normally don’t seize up the bearings normally wear out and get really loud first. Not sure on scag spindle setup but Exmark has a upper and lower ball bearing in the spindle housing and they are sealed bearings. It would be more realistic for that to happen on your first use if it sat out at the dealership in the rain for a while but even that’s a long shot. Really curious to know what it is. I would ask them to replace the belt that jumped also because normally once they jump they get cut a bit from the pulley and are not going to last as long.
Good Advice..
I run scags every day for my business I've never had any real issues. I'm sorry you had a issue.
Bad part that happens sometimes I glad to company's coming to get it for you and they're going to fix it
I'm not in lawncare, but I do handle all sorts of commercial grade equipment. The fact is, and it shouldn't be a surprise, stuff breaks, or the people who put them together make mistakes. It doesn't matter how much you pay, or what the reputation is. What matters most is service and parts availability.
Purchased a new Cub Cadet, commercial grade 0 turn mower this past spring. Mowed for about 1 hour and the tire separated from the rear wheel. I think the bead just wasn't seated properly. Luckily, took off the wheel and carried it to my shop. A little (lot) of air and some manipulation and presto, it was fixed. Other than that the mower has been rock solid. Still not happy that i had to fix it 1 hour into its life....
I had almost the same experience with a John Deere riding mower,also a Snapper mower too.I did landscape maintenance when I was younger.the shop that I bought the equipment from stepped up and took care of the issue no question asked.it's like you s I had bought new John Deere walk behind and that day it was stolen out of my truck broke chain and lock.
They should have come got it free n brought you a demo model
Ive owned a Scag Freedom for about 3 years. Proir to that l owneda Kubota. To say the Scag is rubbish is a gross understatement. This machine has constantly broken down. The electricals are pure rubbish. Most of the switches have required replacement as has the startermotor recently. The fuel pump and carby have both been replaced. The front wheel bearings have collapsed on 2 occassions. The machine has done a mere 150hrs. Before you tell me its my fault the machine has had factory service every 50hrs. My property is only 1.5 acres of lawn.
To anyone thinking about purchasing a Scag. "DONT"
Good Midday My Good Friend Of Big Truck & Big RVs
Should have bought a Grasshopper from Tejas Equipment in Corpus Christi. Most Texas State Parks use them . They can take the wear and tear of mowing a state park, they can handle your property.
There is a reason why Scag only offers a 2-year warranty and exmark and Toro offer a 5-year warranty
I have a Kubota ZD 221. i bought it in 2012 and it has about 500 hours on it. I've done some minor repairs to it. My uncle, however has a Scag that he bought maybe in 2018 give or take a year. I recently, like spring 2021, had to replace the front wheel bearings on my mower and I was mentioning that to him and he said "yeah i had to do mine too". Which struck me as odd because I know my mower has to be at least 7 or 8 years older than his and he can't have more than 100 hours because he only mows his less than an acre yard and I mow a couple yards commercially and a small cemetery. Just relaying info not running down the Scag because it seems like it should be a pretty solid and reliable machine based on the ones I've seen. I bet Ewald will take care of you.
Had issues with my 22 Hustler X-One with the 60" deck within the first 10 hours. I had stickers coming off and then the tensioner pulley decided to dig a giant groove in the guide. Was pretty pissed at that point.
Yep that would really be upsetting to me also. I have a Scag Patriot that has been trouble free for 3 years now. I hope you are still happy with your dealership after this. I think they should bring you a loaner while repairing yours.
I bought a new grasshopper a 1996 the only trouble I had with it was about three summers ago the electronic PTO clutch went out still running it to this day
You are much more forgiving of RV manufacturers than lawn mower manufacturers... hope they get it fixed, I would be frustrated too.
Spindle failures happen. Probably manufacturing defect. The difference between this and a cheap Lowes Deere is that after this issue the Scag will last year's longer than the JD would. Spindles are one of those things that can have a mind of their own, you'll probably never have issues with the other two.
Seems optimistic. Less than 2hrs on it and its already broke....
😂😂😂 The fact that you can unironically claim a machine that doesn't work after virtually no time on it will last longer than any other is absolutely crazy.
I would think you just got one with a faulty part or a nut or bolt that wasn’t tight. I don’t think it being a scag is the problem. But I understand your frustration for sure. Hopefully the dealership will make it right and in my opinion not a penny should be paid by you for that thing to get fixed I don’t care if the technician drives walks or flys all that should be covered under warranty.
Thank you for sharing.
Yeah I chuckled when the pin broke... shit welds... look for a standard, they making standers with the Yamaha motors... look for those, I think three main brands
Quality is Job #1, not any more. I gave up on the Amana refrigerator I purchased, filter for ice maker leaked from day 1. Fitting for water line leaked now I’m going to upgrade the flooring. Called for warranty on filter leak, going to be three months before they would come. I would have been back in Arizona by then. Forget it.
Bought extended warranty on the way back from Arizona and called them when I got home. They had NO ONE that would come out, even the company that was coming before wouldn’t.
They then went through all the details of what they would pay if I found someone that would work on it. I politely told her that is the reason I purchased the warranty so I didn’t have to deal with it.
Asked her to refund the extended warranty and I would put it in the shop for water and beer, it can leak all over the concrete. And I would replace it with their competition. 😡
Moral of the story, be a big boy and make your own ice, icemaker's are a real problem as you learned. I just do it myself and it only takes a few minutes a week. :)
Bought a tigercat II 52 and a vride II 36 in August had one issue with the tigercat loose connector to the tiger eye system mower shut off in the middle of a property. Vride first use right hydro pump hose was leaking, deck height was off from the factory, then no start issue ground to engine block came loose, then the bolt for the right control lever came loose while operating and jammed the lever from moving. Seems like their quality control is suffering. I agree great mower but the headaches make you question the purchase.
Bought a new z2 ferris and both front wheel spindles froze up less than ten hours on it. Dealer initially tried to weasel out, said I hadn't greased it enough. I said I haven't greased it at all, you guys didn't greased it enough during the p+d inspection . He relented and replaced all four spindle [king pin] bearings.
My Tiger Cat II w 28 Briggs Vanguard EFI failed before I had 3 minutes on the mower. They came picked it up after 3 failures, over a 3 day period. The dealer said a wire was shorting it out. Since then no problems. But the discouragement I had was intense. 2021 model.
The mower is a powerhouse otherwise.
I've got that same mower. Best mower I've ever owned. I'm so happy with my scag cheetah II, 38HP . Sorry you had that problem. Nothing is perfect.
We have been in lawn care for many many years. One of our mowers is a scag cheetah that has around 600 hours with no spindle problems but we have had major issues with the kohler engine within the first 50hrs end result was new long block.
I work in the automotive business and majority of the vehicle is parts from our suppliers. Once in awhile you will get bad parts from them but it's the dealer that makes the difference when it comes to warranty work. It sucks that it happened but hopefully they will get it fixed and you will enjoy many years of great use.
Know where you coming from and understand how you feel for sure. Few years ago I purchased a mower brought it home had it in the garage for about a week. Pulled it out went to mow soon as I engage the PTO the same thing happened. The dealer sent the technician 2 Days Later they repaired it. Said it was a defective Quail assembly.
I bought a bad boy zt elite or something brand new and used it 1.7 hours and it engine burnt up. Turns out they believe the muffler was bad and it built up back pressure in the heads. Got me a Toro and ain't had a problem yet!
They should bring out a “NEW LOANER” and took yours back in to fix! Service is 99% of a good dealer.
I was looking at purchasing a new unit last week and saw the belt in that exact position. If I had engaged the mower, might wave broken the belt. Was on a new TigerCat II with a 52” deck. I did not purchase that mower but the same unit from a different dealer. There may be a recall needed to resolve this.
I bought a Husquvarna 46” mower from Lowe’s in 2011. They dropped it off at my house while my wife was there and I asked her “did they start it?” No. I tried starting it. No. Three weeks later, I gave up and called Lowes to pick it up. Then I tried starter fluid. It fired right up and I cancelled Lowe’s pick up.
10 years later, after replacing everything on the mower, I still have to use starter fluid to start the thing. I’ve literally tried everything except putting it in the shop. Other than that inconvenience, the mower has done well and I’ve used it as a brush hog on occasion.
I suspect it was a floor model and they wanted to get rid of it.
I got a ferris 800z last year and love it. Rides great with the suspension and my dealer has always been good to me. No issues so far with the ferris after chugging through tall wet grass and hammering mole mounds. My simplicity before hand i did have an issue where the steering locked up. It was still in warranty so i called the dealer. Without questions they sent a truck and trailer out the next day and picked it up at no charge and got it fixed. Turned out the nut and bolt on the steering joint started backing out and jammed. Got it fixed and brought it back to me at no charge. I know dealership service varies but after spending that kind of money on something they should send someone to fix it on site or haul it back to the shop at no cost without hesitation. Doesn't matter if your jim bob in no mans land or a big youtuber like yourself. 14k for a mower, they should take care of it.
We have too scag cheetahs at work one is the original one is the cheetah 2. Those things are tanks we used and abused them all the time and they run fine it sounds like you just got a lemon which sucks but when it's fix I'm telling you, you'll love that machine
I have a John deere zero turn from a dealer. Used for 2 seasons now and still great. 720e I love it. No issues yet. Paid 7,000 with few accessories to.
I had the same problem with my cub cadet, if you hit anything, even could be a small stick, by the blades which causes the belt to jump and the one blade will leg and it’ll do that. That can cause damage to the spindle, if they end up changing the spindle make sure to just grab another belt because that can wear the belt pretty good. Even if it’s brand new just to have an extra one
Extend some grace on the spindle. Brand new parts fail, albeit not all that often. I think they are taking care of you the best way possible by picking up the unit and hopefully getting it back to you quickly.
I feel for you man. I was looking at the commercial mowers but I couldn't find anything that I liked in stock. So I just picked up a Cub Cadet ZT2 with the 60-in deck so I can mow until something else came along. I've been pretty happy with it especially for the price paid.
I may still upgrade but I'm curious to see whether they treat you right
I am a fan of Grasshopper zero turn mowers. Made in America and simple solid machines. Mine is a Grasshopper 721DT It is a front mount with a 3 cylinder Kubota diesel engine, and is a commercial level zero turn mower
Geez, it'll get fixed by the dealer, give them a chance. You bought a mower known for their reliability but it is has moving parts and sometimes those parts fail. I'm sure when you get it back it will be worry free for a long time with proper maintenance. I have a Scag Liberty Z and in its first year it has been problem free. I appear to be the only person on this thread that doesn't expect the dealer to come to me for a repair. When my cars/trucks break down I don't expect the dealer to come to my home for a repair. I find a way to get the auto to them where they can have a team look at it and get it running again. That Scag will be good to you for a long time once they get the blades spinning again.
Totally agree....if it had not broken with less than 2hrs of use.
If you had driven the vehicle just 5 miles down the road and it quit, I doubt you wouldn’t expect the selling dealer to NOT come and retrieve it.
At $14k, I would have gone with a Kubota ZD and had a diesel. For $5k, the Ariens Apex is tough to beat in terms of features, performance, serviceability, and setup. I wholly agree though, this should be a non-issue for you and the dealer should be all over it. Glad to hear they have stepped up!
Hey JD, I have a spindle start to go, well the bearings in the spindle anyway on my Hustler Hyperdrive about 2.5 years into its life. I could have claimed it under warranty but it was right in the middle of the season and wasn't worth the downtime as the only fix for them is to replace the entire unit, not just the bearings. Because they use sealed bearings, I just swapped out the set with new ones and all is good. The grease in Hustlers spindles are only for water displacement and not actually to lubricate the bearings as they are fully sealed. I am not sure in the Scag if they use sealed ones or not, but would be worth finding out as well as getting a replacement set of off the shelf bearings just in case. I know you like doing work yourself as well and its something that can be changed pretty quick and not having it sit at the dealer for weeks. The cast iron housing are built heavy so unless you run into a curb or pipe at full speed right on the spindle you won't hurt the casting.
Bummer. You asked if anyone has had a similar experience. Well, kind of. Our church bought a new well-equipped 27" iMac. Drove almost an hour to pick it up at Microcenter in Dallas. Got it back and started setting things up on it. The second time I tried to start it up, nothing. No chime, beep, screen. Just completely dead. Called up Microcenter, they had another in stock, drove back, swapped it out, and 4 years later, haven't had a bit of trouble with the replacement. It was a bummer having to make that trip twice, but worth it for a quality product. Of the dozens of new Apple products I've unboxed and set up over the years that is the only one that ever failed within the 5-6 years I expect them to be front-line, useful, production machines. Hopefully your Skag will be like that... Years of quality work with minimal repairs.
🤔Should have got the toro Titan HD. Just sayin. 😳. You know you did over stress the pulley setup trying to cut 2’ of grass at 3”. Should have double cut it at the highest setting then cut at 4” or 3”. Typically those are sealed bearings.
I run a badboy renegade 72” have 350 hours with no major failures. It’s the 2nd one I’ve had and probably will always run a Badboy
Please let us know the outcome!
My snapper had the ignition go out and dealer tells me it's because we turned the key over to far and it caused it to fail thus denied warranty. I told the dealer seriously I drive mowers, ATVs, UTVs, professionally and never once had a ignition fail due to over turned key. Got a call from manager that the warranty would cover this. Damage was done I never went back to that dealer.
I would have had the dealer pick it up and a full refund.
I think the spindle bearings are tapered if like my old Tiger Cub such that if the bolt nut was loose, the bearings were able to wallow around and causing the seize up. Looks like a SCAG quality control issue due to the loose spindle bolt nut which was the root cause that started the failure. I hope the stress of the locked up spindle didn't stress the PTO clutch reducing its lifespan. I would have been furious also given this is their top-of-the-line model. Sorry you are having to deal with that.
At that price and for that amount of time, there is nothing you should have to do except call them. You hope it's covered? It damn well better be. Others have commented about spindles being in stock. I agree that may be an issue.
I know many times dealers will say X was performed on your equipment but that doesn’t guarantee it was actually performed or done correctly. Anymore the only way you can ensure it was done is to do it for yourself. It could be the spindle was defective. These things will happen. If the part was manufactured in the last 18 months it might not have met quality in the sake of filling the order.
I have the exact same mower and the mower belt broke at 7 hours no problems with my spindles but they replace the belt under warranty
Granted 1.9 hrs on a spindle failure is rare but as I saw in your previous video the grass you were cutting is not meant for that mower. Again, this is not a tractor/bush hog. This is a commercial mower yes, but not meant for cutting the grass you were cutting. From here on out, assuming you keep the grass cut to a respectable level, you now have the perfect machine. As a Scag lover, looking forward to more content.
That sucks. Hope they get it resolved quickly for you.
For the price shouldn't have any issues however it happens very unfortunate just a bad spindle from the batch that missed QC so there are faults here and there 2 out of 10 mowers more than likely
I had the exact same experience on my old toro zero turn a few weeks ago. It has about 900 hours on it though with a Kohler engine. I’m still trying to troubleshoot what’s wrong
My Brother bought a Scag roughly 10 years ago and The bearings was dry. It locked up the spindle on its first mow. I remember it very well since it messed up on me making one lap with it. Felt horrible, he called me the next day and the shop he bought it new from said not one once of grease was in the bearing from the factory
I have a tiger cat with 52 hours and the voltage regulator went out. 8 weeks to get part. I too was very aggravated to pay top dollar for commercial mower and then get that kind of response time.
Curious what made you choose a cheetah over the tiger? Id recommended picking up a pack of blade bolts to have on hand. Catch a piece of debris in tall grass and they can bend with the blade spacer.
I’m trying to look at the bolt in the video but I can’t see it very well if I can remember my Scag had about 1/2 an inch of threads left out of the end of the nut after it was tightened up all the way look at the other side and see it should look the same if the blade was free spinning on the bolt after you tighten it then the bolt is definitely not seating in the spindle housing all the way.
I had the pleasure of a guided tour of Bad Boy mowers. Wow, I was impressed. I purchased one for a agency that I worked for and 3 seasons not a single breakdown or issue. Normal maintenance only from our maintenance employees. That's what we expect but do not allways receive. That is only one unit and I am sure someone has had issues with Bad Boy mowers and as production increases so does the odds of issues. Side note Bad Boy built Mark Martin a custom one that I believe would run close to 50 or 60 mph.
Bad boy reviews are concerning. Thay also just went under a reorganization.
Had 2 Cheetah's over the years without a problem my last being a 2019 with the fi Vanguard 37hp. Bet that spindle was never greased from the factory and that dealer should have came and picked it up without question.
I have mowed over. All kinds of trash in high grass. Items such as tennis shoes, deflated Basket Ball , even a pogo stick. Even mowed over snake. Strangest thing. Was as I was mowing. A bowling ball appeared in front of my mower. I have broken. Deck bolts, belts, deck springs ,bent blade. Even ran over some barb wire fence. Never lost a spindle. All the above is from mowing foreclosures.
Wow that really sucks when you are excited to try out a new toy! Hopefully new spindle gets you rolling smoothly.
Spindles are the weak point of the zero turns,but it should not have failed this soon. Golf course maintenance ,we used 2 different z mowers and spindles were our #1 maintenance item. Stay safe.
Really hate clicking like, I like your video, not liking the fact the mower broke. I can definitely understand your frustration. Possibly a defective spindle, like anything manmade it will fail, but 1.9 hours is ridiculous. Could it have been a bent spindle? Again you would think not because it's new but just kinda grasping based on it being seized. Again stay safe.
My $8000 exmark lost a drive pulley at 5.3 hrs. Called the dealer, he tells me to bring it in and they would fix it. I asked just how was i supposed to get it there when it wouldn't move under its own power, he said" the best way i could".
Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
I have a 72inch scag with 9k hours on the spindles, works fine.
We did a demo at my church (9 acres of mowing to be done weekly) so we had all the major brands out there and tested them all. It was close between Ex-mark and JD, but in the end we ended up with the Deere and its been fantastic. Stinks you had this issue, hopefully it has a good warranty. Approaching 5 yrs of use on ours so the warranty is just about to run out, but has not needed anything other then regular yearly maintenance.
I got a $4,000 z425 JD 07 and never had to replace the spindle .
But I had a toro after 3 months 32in had to replace spindle
I buy new, never used
Have a Scag Tiger Cat. 4 years no issues. Cut a 2 acre yard with serious grade at my old house and now cut 3 acres with some grade but definitely rough work in places. Love this machine. Like the Exmark and Toros but will stay with Scag. The dealer needs a bit of tough love and does not need this kind of publicity.
Just bought an SWZT 52. Less than 5 hours on it and now it won't start. I understand your frustration.
You have my sympathy, I just got rid of an Altoz that I’ve had headaches since I bought it… I’ve replaced so much on it that it will probably run perfectly now but I got to the point that I was so Leary of it that when I opened the garage door I’d just peek around the corner to see if anything went bang or chug ga chug ga ptsssst. Wish ya luck because I just replaced the Altoz with a cheetah 2 🤷♂️
I have a john Deere from 1989. Other than tires, oil changes, and 1 tie rod end. I’ve never had to repair it. I’ve had people offer to buy it off me and I always say no. Love my Deere.