z5000 control issue

12 years ago

I picked up a used Z5000 with a ruined deck. The control levers have an inch of play before the motion starts. Then there's an inch of motion to reduce speed or reverse direction. The mower is difficult to control. I've never owned a zero turn mower before. Is this backlash in the controls typical or is mine out of adjustment or worn? Is there an issue in the transaxle that causes it to be overly sensitive to the control input movement? Very small changes cause large changes in direction and it's difficult to control the beast.

Left motor speed is out of step with right motor. The left lever needs to be slightly more forward to go in a straight line. I see a rather difficult to reach adjustment for this, but not sure it should need adjustment, so perhaps the left motor is failing ?

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Comments (2)

rcbe
12 years ago
JMHO, but expect your best bet is - if you're a handyman - to run down a copy of the owner's manual (or better yet, a service manual) for that machine.
Usually, detailed instructions for adjusting the motion control levers and linkage along with synchronizing the drive motors are included....
Would start by locating the full model number and serial number of the machine followed by a visit to the mfgr's website to chk for such documentation. Good luck.
zhenchu
Original Author
12 years ago
I've located the manufacture's documentation for the transmission, which is hydro-gear.com. The documentation is excellent and parts are available from a small engine parts dealer online. I've decided to drain and replace the hydro oil. After that, I'm replacing all the bushing's, rods and levers that connect the hand controls to the transmission. There is considerable slop in them at the moment, so a lot of the driver input is lost, then control effort is overshoot.

If anyone has specific experience with the EZT transmission drivability, please let me know.
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