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 got scag tiger cat 2 fx 730 carburetor waited 5 months for it, I have a tiger cub 2000 hours love it!!!

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'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.

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.

@gainingmomentum5392

2 жыл бұрын

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.🤔

@richardzaring6249

Жыл бұрын

Plus, bring you a loaner SCAGS mower when they come to pick yours up for all your frustrations 😮

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.

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 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

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.

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.

@tigergreg8

Ай бұрын

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.

@Roaring.On.Carnivore.

2 жыл бұрын

Lol

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.

Just bought an SWZT 52. Less than 5 hours on it and now it won't start. I understand your frustration.

They should have come got it free n brought you a demo model

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.

I have a 72inch scag with 9k hours on the spindles, works fine.

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.

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.

Damn, your luck works like mine. If it wasn't for bad luck, I would have no luck at all

That sucks I hope they got you right!

Scag is a hell of a company, great warranty, great products.

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 a Tiger Cat II, and I could be any happier. I came from an older Exmark Lazer Z.

Pandemic quality. My dealer would pick it up and bring a loaner. Soo many problems with everything nowadays that are a result of cost cutting for profit with the inflation present.

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.

Thank you for sharing.

Scag must have borrowed some workers from Elkhart Indiana during the construction of your mower.

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.

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…

@Dolly-Days

23 күн бұрын

Its always best to double check others work, right? Sorry that happened to you that sounds like a frustrating day.

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 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 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.

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.

Toro 4000 series MyRide system awesome mower and quality

Bad part that happens sometimes I glad to company's coming to get it for you and they're going to fix it

I’ve had better luck with my scan. Sorry to hear that.

Good Midday My Good Friend Of Big Truck & Big RVs

Every time I watch a video from you I learn something new thank you for sharing great video as always

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.

Just got my dream mower a turf tiger 2 got 0.6 hrs on it I would be disappointed however I know as a mechanic not everything is built the same, 2 parts on same assembly line can be totally different, when humans are involved things change. I would expect a new deck as well, I'm sure us who buy a $15,000 mower are not just buying it for there utility but because we actually enjoy the task of mowing and love the equipment.

Watched the video when mower was purchased I refrained from commenting then but I have 2 friends that had nothing but trouble with same issue I bought Dixie Chopper it was junk also. My friends and I have bought Farris mowers they are awesome

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

It sucks but that’s why equipment has a warranty. Customer service is key and is your dealer responsibility. Good luck.

Remember "Murphy's Law"!!!!

I run scags every day for my business I've never had any real issues. I'm sorry you had a issue.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

i had something similar with cub cadet pro z 560 kw took it to dealer they replaced but also gave me a loaner in the mean time

I have a Hustler and it has been great for 5 years! X one .

Shoulda got a Dixie Chopper!

Bought mine new, at 3hrs on it the left hydro locked up, threw the belt off which ended up wrapping around the cooling fan and melted it clean off 😡 Saw that there was NO fluid in the reservoir to the hydros. They assed that when assembling the mower they had neglected to properly fill the hydros since there were no leaks…expensive screw up on their part. Had to replace the mower with another new one 😳😳😳

that is what a warranty is for...things break ..even new stuff can fail....again ..warranty is for that reason... 🇨🇦🤓🤟

I buy used mowers usually. I don't need it to be pretty. If you buy used it's already broke in the kinks worked out and you get the very large discount.

I can only think that the spindle somehow got through the process and never got any grease

I would be steaming to if I were in ya shoes. I currently have a residential 25 year old craftsman garden tractor 50 inch deck with 1689 hours on. I have not replaced any spindles on mower deck. Tractor has a Kohler magnum 22.5 hp engine. Still runs awesome.

I bought an Exmark for alot less and it's 5 yrs old and not one problem.

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.

I have on mine 250hrs with no issue every manufacturer will have problems it's about how they take care of it

John Deere Z970R with a 35hp engine, 72 inch deck and cast iron I-beam front. Not tubes.

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.

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.

Yes, 2023 Scag Cheetah Il that turned 30 hours Sunday 9/24/23 and both wheel motors leaked, or say shot oil over my seat, engine and totally discolored my engine. I’m one who washes each time it’s used ect. So, 16,000 machine that I have had for three months give it take is in the shop. The shop told me they would only repair and Scag would not send new wheel motors. Damn, I’m pissed that something so new and few of hours that is struck commercially took a damn shit!! I only use it on two acres, no commercial use period. Yes, I also had the same shake you had too with a few hours. The owner can by and check it out and found no issue and said I didn’t have the engine spend up fast enough. What the hell does it matter if things are balanced??? My old exmark can be brought to idle with blades engaged and no shake or vibration. Wish I could contact a Scag rep in regards to my current issue and how’s.. in June of 25 when warranty is gone the repairs are mine!! I now if has to have metal shaving throughout each wheel motor…

eXmark seems to be the favored unit in this area for reliability

@Justthemow

2 жыл бұрын

Nothing beats an exmark nothing I’ve had them all and by far exmark is king.

@Justthemow

2 жыл бұрын

@@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

@mikefowler301

2 жыл бұрын

@@sjfk1306 What? That magazine is still in circulation? Well I'll be. 😁

@Justthemow

2 жыл бұрын

@@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

@herman5eight

2 жыл бұрын

every brand has their problems, even eXmark

That sucks. Hope they get it resolved quickly for you.

Owned a landscaping business for 10 years now. I only use hustler now. Least headaches. And does and amazing job

Nothing is built as good as it was at least 20 years ago. None of the spindle bearings on any mower, that I know of, nowadays are actually able to be greased, they're all sealed bearings inside the spindles.

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

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"

I think personally. With 1.9 hrs They should have sent a technician with all three spindles and an assortment of pulleys and check everything on that deck as well as the pto

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.

You are much more forgiving of RV manufacturers than lawn mower manufacturers... hope they get it fixed, I would be frustrated too.

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.

I but a 2 series deere years ago to have something nice it was dead in 3.4 hours and 5 hours after delivery and that was the piece of new equipment I'll ever buy 6 months in the shop re delivered and wasn't running when it was dropped off

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'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.

Nice mower but should have gotten the Grasshopper. I have 2 729D’s with hundreds of hours, change fluids and lubricate, never an issue. JD you just got unlucky, have it fixed and you will have hundreds of hours before you know it.

New 2023 tiger cat ll. First mower had no power uphill… gave me a brand new one and this unit is leaking hydraulic oil everywhere!! So disappointing. Might return and go with another company.

I wonder if whoever did the pre sale prep got distracted and just missed greasing that spindle.

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

"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.

@treemowerman

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you need a new dealer

@donaldduncan1374

Жыл бұрын

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.

I got a Scagg cheetah 61 and to be honest I’ve never had a problem enough. My guess would be is whenever they checked everything at the dealership somebody dropped the ball and someone or someone right leaning go through it or you wouldn’t be having no problems, Saturday and end of the day, I think it pretty much from the neighbor and I would give him the opportunity correct it but as far as Scott goes, you’re not gonna get a better mower. I’ve had mine almost 2 years and I’ve never had a problem with anything ever.

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.

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

I feel your pain. My guess someone forgot to grease that spindle.

I used a older scag tigercat never a issue u should probably get one

Infant mortality, parts fail. Service after the sale is what’s important. Hoping the best for you.

Things break. It happens. Don’t give up.

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.

@troydudley5258

2 жыл бұрын

Good Advice..

Wow that really sucks when you are excited to try out a new toy! Hopefully new spindle gets you rolling smoothly.

Sounds like the spindle had no grease to size up that quick.

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.

Commercial John Deere zero turn. I used them for years.

That does suck JD, I really had good impression of that brand. But stuff does happen!

You have never had to deal with a General Motors car. That experience with GM and their reps would have prepared you for this small problem. Atleast you were able to figure out where the problem was. I bought a 48" Scag belt drive and according to the manual it needed to have grease on the spindles. After 12 hours I greased the 3 spindles and found that it took an excessive number of pumps from my grease gun to see lube coming out the bleed holes. Called Scag in WI and they would not commit to talking about what they or the Scag dealer failed to do before mower delivery to me. So always prep a new car or mower before using. The Scag dealer had a young tech man put oil into the Kawasaki and spilled oil on the rear brake and I lost control of the mower on a turn and ran into a tall TV antenna. The dealer would not admit it was motor oil; "it's grease he kept claiming."

Should have bought the turf tiger 2

@BigTruckBigRV

Ай бұрын

Not really. The mower has been doing absolutely fantastic for the last to 2+ years since it was fixed.

Buy an Exmark. There is a reason they are the #1 zero turn on the market.

No I bought a big dog mower because of the 3 yr warrenty they had better than any of the others I was looking at

They better have a new larger model to give you when they pull up! Not good business. My Keurig that is 11 months old descale light wouldn't stop blinking after descaling. I called the manufacturer and they automatically said we are sending you a new one. You are in your warranty period and the machine should not act in that manner. I have a brand new Keurig. Now Keurig and Scagg aren't the same, but new products all have a warranty period that when they act up, don't fix it, the company replaces it free of charge. And for what you paid, they should have teleported your new replacement. Now, if they send back the same scagg and it still acts up, do not fix it! One call, bring my new one now! I can help you with that call! Thank you for sharing and be safe.

Why do I sense this was a refurbished mower disguised as new when you bought it.

Just like the rv industry stuff breaks.