Mowing your lawn with the ordinary belt or a gear-driven lawnmower is hectic. Your energy is drained by pushing the mower all over the compound and is tedious. A hydrostatic lawn mower is tested for maneuverability and quick time response as opposed to belt or gear driven mowers.
Meandering and changing direction at the highest speed is possible. Your speed depends on how you operate the cruise control button that’ll enable the machine to move faster and in tandem with your speed.
The best decision would be to buy a hydrostatic lawnmower for steep banks, which is faster and convenient to make the mowing easy, quick, and enjoyable. You may need money to purchase and for maintenance. However, at times, you may be under the budget to buy a new machine. Below here, we look at how to make a hydrostatic lawnmower faster. Keep reading.
Inspect Any Malfunction In The Hydrostatic System
The speed or efficiency of a lawnmower depends on its transmission capacity. This is the power derived from the engine into the wheels, which manages the mower’s speed. It then changes its torque in line with the conditions.
A hydrostatic drive does not have a clutch system and has no limits when it comes to speeds. Sometimes they may move in a reverse motion when pressure changes only on one peddle.
A lawnmower may move slowly or not move at all if there’s the failure of any of the hydrostatic drive. Typically, there’s a switch underneath the seat. If this switch fails, then the mower may not move. They may be little or no power to the hydrostatic drive due to a cogged power take-off.
Also, there may be some obstructions, such as wet grass, mud hills, inclines, trees, roots, and tight corners. Sometimes the speed system may not tackle these obstacles making the machine slow.
Failure of the mechanical parts such as the drive axle and the differential will cause the mower from functioning. A leak of the hydraulic fluid will stop the system and cause the mower to move slowly. It’s important to fix any issues and has a scheduled maintenance program for the lawnmower.
Changing Lawnmower Drives
The main drives consist of the hydrostatic, hydro, ground, and transaxle drive belts. These normally transmit power between the engine and the transaxles. They enable the drive wheels to turn the hydrostatic lawn mower
These belts work in combination, and the wheels can’t turn if they’re absent. It’s important to inspect any cracks or wear and replace them with new ones.
Removing The Hydro Belt
- Before you remove the belt, park your lawnmower on the ground and ensure the brake is in parking mode. Next, stop the lawnmower’s engine and remove the ignition key. Ensure all parts have stopped and allowed for cooling.
- Always refer to the manufacturer’s instructions before removing or changing any parts. Also, it’s vital to read the procedures in the manual guide.
- Start by removing the belt cover. Here, you’ll need to wear goggles to protect your eyes. Remove the hook using a spring puller.
- Next, detach the mower‘s PTO belt that’s fixed to the pulley at the backside. Then, remove the transport lock and put the deck in low height.
- With you googles on, detach the spring hook using a puller. Pull any hardware without removing the clutch bracket.
- Disengage the wire harness that is attached to the clutch. Then disconnect the hydro belt on either side of the transaxle pull. Push the belt towards the inner side of the mower.
- Next, detach the hydro drive from the engine and clutch. Lastly, detach the hydro drive from the transaxle pulley and pull the belt.
Install A New Hydro Belt
- Now that you’ve removed the hydro belt, the next step is to install a new hydro drive belt.
- Insert the hydro drive belt to the move from the transaxle drive. Connect the left to the transaxle pullet from whichever side.
- Place the belt above the clutch and let it cover the engine pulley. Next, fix the other part of the transaxle pulley.
- With your googles on, reattach the idler spring using a puller and cover the main bolt. At this point, the hydro belt must have proper tension and alignment.
- The next step is to fix the wire harness to the usual place at the clutch. While at that, align the mower’s clutch stop bracket while the slot is still in the clutch. You can still use the main screws to attach to the frame.
- Reattach the PTO belt on the pulley of the clutch. Next, align it using the spindle and the pulley towards the deck.
- While still with the googles one, use the puller and fix the PTO spring on the anchor screw. There must be tension on the PTO belt and proper alignment in the pulleys.
- In the end, fix the belt cover in place and tighten using the hardware.
After installation of a new hydro drive belt, your hydrostatic lawn mower moves fast. The other reason why your mower can move slowly is the hydraulic fluid or oil, which requires changing.
Change The Oil
A hydrostatic lawn mower may move slowly due to the failure of the hydraulic oil or fluid. There’s a general requirement when it comes to temperature requirements, and a variation may affect the speed of the mower. Changing to fresh fluid will cause the mower to move faster.
Drain The Oil
It’s important to drain the oil thoroughly before filling with fresh fluid. Start by positioning the machine on a flat surface and detach the plug. Let the mower stay in that position for a few days till every drop clears.
Use Recommended Oil
Before filling with new oil, read instructions from the manufacturer to ascertain the type of oil to use. Most often, manufacturers prefer the SAE 20W-50 type.
Conclusion
A hydrostatic lawn mower will serve you better when everything and all parts are in good condition. However, some things, such as a malfunction or even obstacles, can make it move slowly. For it to move fast, it’s important to remove dirt or other debris along the way.
Also, constant maintenance and replacement of parts such as the hydro drive belt will make it move faster. Changing the oil and using fresh fluid helps in checking its speed. Here is a video for you to watch and learn how to make a hydrostatic lawn mower faster!
https://youtu.be/BL-jC-BgEyw
About Author
