I understand that you are performing preventative maintenance, just seen too many diy video's where they're doing the work on a showroom models, and the real world of doing maintenance on a failed component is completely different. Kudo's for doing a diligent once over of your unit prior to use, wish mine looked as good but it also has 1000+ hrs , but still working great you'll have many years of service with your dedication to detail, keep it up
Why would you not just remove the nut and drop the assembly out? Clean it up, repack, install and add grease? Just curious? Anything is better than what you started with for sure! Good save.
I guess because I am lazy...j/k...no really, that works and is probably just as easy if not easier. I guess I was just trying to keep the mess down to a minimum. If I had thought there was damage, I would have definitely done as you say, but the mower was brand new, so I thought I was safe.
Great Video, I've had a Ferris , 10 years, and, yes, lubed those, I thought, until now, you do great work , mine, mine is older, I have to screw in a grease fitting, only a thought, I jack up the front end to spin the casters
You need to invest in a Milwaukee power grease gun 18volt. Made my living on the road repairing industrial forklifts for the last 30 years and have been using power grease guns for 25 years. Have used them all but Milwaukee seams to be the best one out there.
So it's not. It's more critical that it has some sort of geese dirty or otherwise. I just do so initially, so I know what grease and that it's done right.
When I first did this I didn't know that you had to remove the top cover. I just expected the grease to have an exit hole to let you know it was full and it blew out the bottom plastic piece. Not sure if I ruined anything in the process. It appears that grease does escape after using the mower a bit and I just clean it up. Next time I'll remove the top cover as you show and pump till the old stuff comes out and cap the top. Thanks for the video.
Those are just dust caps. Use a big C clamp and two small boards to equally press them back in. Boards are to protect the metal and also equalize pressure.
What do you use on the heim joints where the manual says to use petroleum chain lube? I thought about using Mystic JT-6 Multi-Purpose Grease. My nephew had a dirt late-model and we used it on the heim joints. Best stuff we ever found because everything else we tried the heim joints would squeak at the end of the race but not with that Mystic grease.
My new ISX 800 had Red N' Tacky in one side but not the other. I assume the dealer forgot to finish the job. I found there was quite a bit of pressure in the tube after knocking the cap back on. When I removed the grease zerk to put the bolt back in, a lot of grease squirted out. So, I let it depressurize, removed an extra slug with a small screwdriver for the size of the bolt shank, and screwed the bolt back in. No pressure on the seal. Same in the dealer side.
FYI.... Red 'N' Tacky Grease is a smooth, tacky, red lithium complex grease fortified with rust and oxidation inhibitors. It has good water resistance and washout properties, excellent mechanical stability, and a long storage life. It is able to withstand heavy loads for extended periods of time and can be used in many agricultural, automotive and industrial applications.
Great video, exactly what I was looking for. I have a stand on 36” z1 and the front right wheel is not wanting to rotate when turning to the left or right (it will spin though). Do you think I need to add grease to it? I also don’t have a nipple for adding any.
Quality control in not top notch with these mowers. Little shit gets missed. It's possible the person who assembled it just gave it a little much when it was assembled.
I had a front caster wheel not turning on my zx3 a couple days ago. Went out and bought a battery powered grease gun and packed it with some grease. Still wouldn’t turn. Went back the next day with tools to take it apart and all the sudden it was turning just fine. I guess repacking it and letting it sit over night did the job. I was worried I bent the caster shaft and was going to need to replace the yoke but luckily that was not the case.
im considering this mower as my next purchase for my lawn biz. So for grease fittings, are they just on the spindles, casters and wheels? You mentioned motorcycle chain wax (I think) for all the suspension components, but are there more zirk fittings that will need grease on a regular basis? I like the idea of the suspension, but wondering if it creates a lot more maintenance issues to keep it working smoothly. Overall.....how are you liking the mower?
Hello, There are a few more spots to grease but nothing major. Like two more spots on each side for the suspension. I absolutely love my mower. I found once I got the deck leveled correctly and the suspension dialed in to my driving and weight, it cuts like a razor at full speed. Seriously new blades it just Flys though anything. Also it's extremely powerful...have pulled out three of my neighbors. Two on bad boy mowers and another on a John deer. This thing has never got stuck and I mow some crazy shit. I Seriously pull that bad boy up a hill sideways throwing grass the entire way...like watch out I coming in hot with a bay boy in tow. So in short totally worth the cash and I would never go back to a ridged mower.
@@arboyd81 thanks for the quick reply. Since they have the Oil Guard systems and EFI, its really appealing to me. Not sure if you have seen them yet..but stihl is coming out with a suspension mower. Id swear they are "rebadged" Ferris units.
Ya I did see that. It seems everyone is making a zero turn including Dewalt. I know there is no way all these companies are actually tooling up to make mowers so my guess is they are all just Chinese units. I can tell you Ferris has been in the business for as long as I can remember and I would only consider a Grasshopper over my Ferris strictly for the tilt deck feature. Would love that for cleanout and maintenance. Now I use my motorcycle lift and jack stands. Works but I feel like I need a better option. Maybe a pit or lift for the garage lol.
Oh and the John deer I pulled out I bent the frame. I was well damn that's cheap...like it had the same guage steel as the bad boys but was not as strong. At least the bad boy mower just bowed and flexed back when I pulled it out.
according to my manual, the front castors should be lubricated annually, wheels and deck spindles every 25 hours. Also according to my manual, there is a bolt that needs to be removed in order to screw in a zirk fitting, but there is no removable bolt, wondering if mine has permanently lubricated bearings. Lets face it these castors revolve and probably less then 1 RPM so no heat and very little wear, unlike the spindles and wheels that rotate a lot.
I would not wait 25hr of use...you will be bone dry! That I know for a fact!!! These spindles throw grease, and I lube mine every three mows of about 4 acres of land being mowed each time.
I only did the caster as a new purchase check and change. I would not do the caster but every other or every third year. I would say it all but the amount of use.
No. Think about packing a trailer bearing...same principle. Plus you cant "bust" a seal on a wheel axle seal they are not air tight and nothing to bust. Its possible you could pop out your dust covers but then just press them back in. If you dont feel comfortable with greasing bearings then don't do it but it's truly "simple" and required maintenance.
@@arboyd81 ok thank you, I appreciate it! I had a service shop mention something about that risk but it didn’t seem right to me. Thank you for the tips and video on this!
Ya they are just trying to scare you out of some cash. Go to your dealer and ask to see the exploded diagram and you will see nothing to hurt. Like I mentioned you might force out the lower dust seal but you just use a compression clamp and push that bad boy back in evenly. The shop would never tell you about a compression clamp to push the dust cover back in. They would say they need to pull the wheel to rack up labor dollars. Anyhow, if you look when I pull the cap its full minus the small area that was full of water. Also the grease gun puts far more pressure on the dust cover if you dont pull the cap then taping a full system closed. Also the right side lower dust cover was not pressed in correctly from the manufacturer and had to use a compression clamp to correct it anyhow. Really it's easy as cana be and just take your time and if you are overly concerned about push out the dust cover just dont fill up all the way. I just did it how I do my all my packable bearing and did not want water sitting on my Bearings pitting the surface engagements.
No issues at all. The suspension does not dive or sag on hills. Its suspension system is designed for cutting all types of terrains. Plus, the deck is a floating deck with normal deck wheels that help prevent deck plunge cuts. I'm not saying it's not possible because you fly into loading the suspension in any direction it can plunge.
@311hitwall from the factory it was way out of adjustment. I had to cut a couple blocks of wood for the proper height and use them to set and check. Since then, I have not had to readjust in 100 hours. Note. I am not a commercial user. I think you would have to hit something really hard to knock it out of adjustment. It's literally chain and nut coupler adjustment.
@311hitwall no mine is a 2200, but it does not matter. There is no difference in spindle design. Call Ferris to verify, but IF you are passing grease out the top seal and not the weeper when greasing the spindles, you definitely have an issue. When a seal is damaged from use or assembly, it will pass grease. Even new good seals can pass grease, but the design is for you to push grease until the weeper weeps fresh grease. I am also telling you... mine had nowhere close to enough grease from the factory....so if you ran 32 hours on no grease, you probably heated the bearing and damaged the top seal. When I say no grease from the factory, I mean it. These spindles use a shitload of grease. I put I'm 30 pumps per spindle every mow nowadays, and that is just really a top off from the @ 100 pumps it takes to fill the spindle on my volume setting.
My brand new 2019 2100z came with hardly no grease in the casters and the preload was so tight i couldnt hardly swivel the caster by hand from the factory!..I was not happy..Had to remove the nuts and top bearing and add about a full tube of grease to get them full, then set the preload on the bearings not as damn tight!..Turned much better afterwards, but i still think it turns like crap..the geometry for turning is all messed up with those shocks on the front
I am thinking they have some quality control issues at their plant, or they are "building in failure". Either way...Not Good! I was pretty unhappy about my spindles and casters. Spindles empty or minimal grease and well you seen the casters...
Another issue I found is my deck was way out of spec. It was almost 1 3/4 inches variation across angle out of alignment. Had to cut wood blocks to the manufacturer specs to adjust deck correctly. Check yours...I bet it's out of spec...I cut a full season before I realized. I thought I was having suspension preload issues when turning because the deck was plunge cutting when backing and turning sharp.
@@arboyd81 I have a ton of complaints about mine dont get me started lol..my biggest gripe is how much and how fast grass builds up under the deck making it mow like crap, im getting sick of cleaning it and i even have have a lift in my garage to do the job..more than a 5 gallon bucket at a time of built up grass..then comes turning, the thing tears up some grass like crazy, i finally gave up worrying about it and just turn...when backing up the suspension will squat and make the deck scalp..lol i could go on and on!
i didnt level my deck first summer and it was close, but i did make sure its a 1/4 lower in the front, but that didnt help the grass build up..tried gator blades this summer, helped a tiny bit but not much
@@rat8356 man, you are not kidding about grass building up and also the trashing when turning. I think the turning is natural for zero turns when you force to turn without the inner wheel turning oh so slightly but you are right this mower is sensitive in that fact and will absolutely dig down to dirt on a tight turn. As for the buildup of grass...I have made it routine to clean the deck with my hose every cut and then also scape with a putty knife every 10 to 20 mows depending on mowing condition and grass type being cut.
I'd swear your working on a brand new unit!! Unless you use your toothbrush when you clean it, wow it's gotta be new. Good info but not sure why you're doing it
Being brand new means very little with these mowers. Nothing was done correctly... and I mean nothing. No connection rod lube. No spindle lube. Bent blades. Water filled casters. Deck out of proper adjustment. Tire air pressure all over the place. These mowers need a very good service day 1. They are not made by machine and have many points where failure in production quality or things just not done right takes place. For this video, which is only one of a few, the casters were full of water, which will cause early bearing failure. Think of a boat trailer... you must repack every season. The casters are just like trailer bearings, especially if you wash your mower often. I guess the idea of a new mower being dialed in and 100% perfect from the dealership is a foreign concept to me. I guess if you are use to craftsman riders or the homedepot special, then this level of attention may just be out of your wheelhouse, as they will mow just not professionally...not trying to offend you, just trying to outline reality.
I understand that you are performing preventative maintenance, just seen too many diy video's where they're doing the work on a showroom models, and the real world of doing maintenance on a failed component is completely different. Kudo's for doing a diligent once over of your unit prior to use, wish mine looked as good but it also has 1000+ hrs , but still working great you'll have many years of service with your dedication to detail, keep it up
For A.R.B and anyone else. @2:40 if you flip the lever up for Volume, on the grease gun, it won't take as many pumps.
Why would you not just remove the nut and drop the assembly out? Clean it up, repack, install and add grease? Just curious? Anything is better than what you started with for sure! Good save.
I guess because I am lazy...j/k...no really, that works and is probably just as easy if not easier. I guess I was just trying to keep the mess down to a minimum. If I had thought there was damage, I would have definitely done as you say, but the mower was brand new, so I thought I was safe.
Great Video, I've had a Ferris , 10 years, and, yes, lubed those, I thought, until now, you do great work , mine, mine is older, I have to screw in a grease fitting, only a thought, I jack up the front end to spin the casters
wow. you have a lot of time on your hands. thanks for sharing.
Wow,,great job there! Impressed. :)
You need to invest in a Milwaukee power grease gun 18volt. Made my living on the road repairing industrial forklifts for the last 30 years and have been using power grease guns for 25 years. Have used them all but Milwaukee seams to be the best one out there.
Agreed! A must have!
I have a Ryobi electric grease gun. Does a great job too!
Great video. Never knew getter all the old was necessary
So it's not. It's more critical that it has some sort of geese dirty or otherwise. I just do so initially, so I know what grease and that it's done right.
When I first did this I didn't know that you had to remove the top cover. I just expected the grease to have an exit hole to let you know it was full and it blew out the bottom plastic piece. Not sure if I ruined anything in the process. It appears that grease does escape after using the mower a bit and I just clean it up. Next time I'll remove the top cover as you show and pump till the old stuff comes out and cap the top. Thanks for the video.
Those are just dust caps. Use a big C clamp and two small boards to equally press them back in. Boards are to protect the metal and also equalize pressure.
Change over to sealed bearings. Less trouble
Nice video!
I have ferris too but never removed the black covers on top of the casters. Maybe I should?
How did water get into the casters?
My guess would be from sitting outside during storms and washing with a pressure washer while at the dealer...
What do you use on the heim joints where the manual says to use petroleum chain lube? I thought about using Mystic JT-6 Multi-Purpose Grease. My nephew had a dirt late-model and we used it on the heim joints. Best stuff we ever found because everything else we tried the heim joints would squeak at the end of the race but not with that Mystic grease.
I use Motorex chain lube! The best chain lube on the market.
@@arboyd81 The offroad version? Just wondering cause it looks like they have 4 different versions
@311hitwall Yes Sir. I also like the Enduro, but more for bike and moto chains.
My new ISX 800 had Red N' Tacky in one side but not the other. I assume the dealer forgot to finish the job.
I found there was quite a bit of pressure in the tube after knocking the cap back on. When I removed the grease zerk to put the bolt back in, a lot of grease squirted out. So, I let it depressurize, removed an extra slug with a small screwdriver for the size of the bolt shank, and screwed the bolt back in. No pressure on the seal. Same in the dealer side.
the red is for high temperature high pressure for spindles the castor don't get hot so any grease be ok
FYI....
Red 'N' Tacky Grease is a smooth, tacky, red lithium complex grease fortified with rust and oxidation inhibitors. It has good water resistance and washout properties, excellent mechanical stability, and a long storage life. It is able to withstand heavy loads for extended periods of time and can be used in many agricultural, automotive and industrial applications.
Not sure why you would use any other greases because Red #2 is the most commonly found and normally most cost effective.
@@arboyd81 true I use redline it's high
Here is a cool video I found about grease differences as far as #2 goes.
ua-cam.com/video/mMmSQSjraSE/v-deo.html
Great video, exactly what I was looking for. I have a stand on 36” z1 and the front right wheel is not wanting to rotate when turning to the left or right (it will spin though). Do you think I need to add grease to it? I also don’t have a nipple for adding any.
Yes, and it could be too tight! Do not over tighten your bearings!
Quality control in not top notch with these mowers. Little shit gets missed. It's possible the person who assembled it just gave it a little much when it was assembled.
I had a front caster wheel not turning on my zx3 a couple days ago. Went out and bought a battery powered grease gun and packed it with some grease. Still wouldn’t turn. Went back the next day with tools to take it apart and all the sudden it was turning just fine. I guess repacking it and letting it sit over night did the job. I was worried I bent the caster shaft and was going to need to replace the yoke but luckily that was not the case.
@ericjageman5862 Thank goodness you did not need new caster axles or bearings. Thankfully, they are pretty robust.
im considering this mower as my next purchase for my lawn biz. So for grease fittings, are they just on the spindles, casters and wheels? You mentioned motorcycle chain wax (I think) for all the suspension components, but are there more zirk fittings that will need grease on a regular basis? I like the idea of the suspension, but wondering if it creates a lot more maintenance issues to keep it working smoothly. Overall.....how are you liking the mower?
Hello,
There are a few more spots to grease but nothing major. Like two more spots on each side for the suspension. I absolutely love my mower. I found once I got the deck leveled correctly and the suspension dialed in to my driving and weight, it cuts like a razor at full speed. Seriously new blades it just Flys though anything. Also it's extremely powerful...have pulled out three of my neighbors. Two on bad boy mowers and another on a John deer. This thing has never got stuck and I mow some crazy shit. I Seriously pull that bad boy up a hill sideways throwing grass the entire way...like watch out I coming in hot with a bay boy in tow. So in short totally worth the cash and I would never go back to a ridged mower.
@@arboyd81 thanks for the quick reply. Since they have the Oil Guard systems and EFI, its really appealing to me. Not sure if you have seen them yet..but stihl is coming out with a suspension mower. Id swear they are "rebadged" Ferris units.
Ya I did see that. It seems everyone is making a zero turn including Dewalt. I know there is no way all these companies are actually tooling up to make mowers so my guess is they are all just Chinese units. I can tell you Ferris has been in the business for as long as I can remember and I would only consider a Grasshopper over my Ferris strictly for the tilt deck feature. Would love that for cleanout and maintenance. Now I use my motorcycle lift and jack stands. Works but I feel like I need a better option. Maybe a pit or lift for the garage lol.
Oh and the John deer I pulled out I bent the frame. I was well damn that's cheap...like it had the same guage steel as the bad boys but was not as strong. At least the bad boy mower just bowed and flexed back when I pulled it out.
That oil guard is amazing. Seriously saves alot of money.
according to my manual, the front castors should be lubricated annually, wheels and deck spindles every 25 hours. Also according to my manual, there is a bolt that needs to be removed in order to screw in a zirk fitting, but there is no removable bolt, wondering if mine has permanently lubricated bearings. Lets face it these castors revolve and probably less then 1 RPM so no heat and very little wear, unlike the spindles and wheels that rotate a lot.
I would not wait 25hr of use...you will be bone dry! That I know for a fact!!! These spindles throw grease, and I lube mine every three mows of about 4 acres of land being mowed each time.
I only did the caster as a new purchase check and change. I would not do the caster but every other or every third year. I would say it all but the amount of use.
Is there any potential issue(s) with busting seals by adding that much grease?
No. Think about packing a trailer bearing...same principle. Plus you cant "bust" a seal on a wheel axle seal they are not air tight and nothing to bust. Its possible you could pop out your dust covers but then just press them back in. If you dont feel comfortable with greasing bearings then don't do it but it's truly "simple" and required maintenance.
@@arboyd81 ok thank you, I appreciate it! I had a service shop mention something about that risk but it didn’t seem right to me. Thank you for the tips and video on this!
Ya they are just trying to scare you out of some cash. Go to your dealer and ask to see the exploded diagram and you will see nothing to hurt. Like I mentioned you might force out the lower dust seal but you just use a compression clamp and push that bad boy back in evenly. The shop would never tell you about a compression clamp to push the dust cover back in. They would say they need to pull the wheel to rack up labor dollars.
Anyhow, if you look when I pull the cap its full minus the small area that was full of water.
Also the grease gun puts far more pressure on the dust cover if you dont pull the cap then taping a full system closed.
Also the right side lower dust cover was not pressed in correctly from the manufacturer and had to use a compression clamp to correct it anyhow.
Really it's easy as cana be and just take your time and if you are overly concerned about push out the dust cover just dont fill up all the way. I just did it how I do my all my packable bearing and did not want water sitting on my Bearings pitting the surface engagements.
Does this mower do poorly while turning on a slope? Seems like it would compress the suspension on one side and have an uneven cut.
No issues at all. The suspension does not dive or sag on hills. Its suspension system is designed for cutting all types of terrains. Plus, the deck is a floating deck with normal deck wheels that help prevent deck plunge cuts. I'm not saying it's not possible because you fly into loading the suspension in any direction it can plunge.
@@arboyd81 How ofren do you have to adjust the deck?
@311hitwall from the factory it was way out of adjustment. I had to cut a couple blocks of wood for the proper height and use them to set and check. Since then, I have not had to readjust in 100 hours. Note. I am not a commercial user. I think you would have to hit something really hard to knock it out of adjustment. It's literally chain and nut coupler adjustment.
same mower what grease they use in factory
Not sure what the assembly grease is but the manual says Red and Tacky #2 everywhere.
What model is this? I have a 3300 and greasing the spindles the grease comes out on top of the deck.
If you are losing grease out the top, that means your spindle seals are worn and maybe your bearings.
@@arboyd81 yours is a 3300 and the grease comes out the bottom ? Mine only has 32 engine hours
@311hitwall no mine is a 2200, but it does not matter. There is no difference in spindle design. Call Ferris to verify, but IF you are passing grease out the top seal and not the weeper when greasing the spindles, you definitely have an issue. When a seal is damaged from use or assembly, it will pass grease. Even new good seals can pass grease, but the design is for you to push grease until the weeper weeps fresh grease. I am also telling you... mine had nowhere close to enough grease from the factory....so if you ran 32 hours on no grease, you probably heated the bearing and damaged the top seal. When I say no grease from the factory, I mean it. These spindles use a shitload of grease. I put I'm 30 pumps per spindle every mow nowadays, and that is just really a top off from the @ 100 pumps it takes to fill the spindle on my volume setting.
My brand new 2019 2100z came with hardly no grease in the casters and the preload was so tight i couldnt hardly swivel the caster by hand from the factory!..I was not happy..Had to remove the nuts and top bearing and add about a full tube of grease to get them full, then set the preload on the bearings not as damn tight!..Turned much better afterwards, but i still think it turns like crap..the geometry for turning is all messed up with those shocks on the front
I am thinking they have some quality control issues at their plant, or they are "building in failure". Either way...Not Good! I was pretty unhappy about my spindles and casters. Spindles empty or minimal grease and well you seen the casters...
Another issue I found is my deck was way out of spec. It was almost 1 3/4 inches variation across angle out of alignment. Had to cut wood blocks to the manufacturer specs to adjust deck correctly. Check yours...I bet it's out of spec...I cut a full season before I realized. I thought I was having suspension preload issues when turning because the deck was plunge cutting when backing and turning sharp.
@@arboyd81 I have a ton of complaints about mine dont get me started lol..my biggest gripe is how much and how fast grass builds up under the deck making it mow like crap, im getting sick of cleaning it and i even have have a lift in my garage to do the job..more than a 5 gallon bucket at a time of built up grass..then comes turning, the thing tears up some grass like crazy, i finally gave up worrying about it and just turn...when backing up the suspension will squat and make the deck scalp..lol i could go on and on!
i didnt level my deck first summer and it was close, but i did make sure its a 1/4 lower in the front, but that didnt help the grass build up..tried gator blades this summer, helped a tiny bit but not much
@@rat8356 man, you are not kidding about grass building up and also the trashing when turning. I think the turning is natural for zero turns when you force to turn without the inner wheel turning oh so slightly but you are right this mower is sensitive in that fact and will absolutely dig down to dirt on a tight turn. As for the buildup of grass...I have made it routine to clean the deck with my hose every cut and then also scape with a putty knife every 10 to 20 mows depending on mowing condition and grass type being cut.
I'd swear your working on a brand new unit!! Unless you use your toothbrush when you clean it, wow it's gotta be new. Good info but not sure why you're doing it
Being brand new means very little with these mowers. Nothing was done correctly... and I mean nothing. No connection rod lube. No spindle lube. Bent blades. Water filled casters. Deck out of proper adjustment. Tire air pressure all over the place. These mowers need a very good service day 1. They are not made by machine and have many points where failure in production quality or things just not done right takes place. For this video, which is only one of a few, the casters were full of water, which will cause early bearing failure. Think of a boat trailer... you must repack every season. The casters are just like trailer bearings, especially if you wash your mower often. I guess the idea of a new mower being dialed in and 100% perfect from the dealership is a foreign concept to me. I guess if you are use to craftsman riders or the homedepot special, then this level of attention may just be out of your wheelhouse, as they will mow just not professionally...not trying to offend you, just trying to outline reality.
Why not just put a grease fitting where the plug is?Simple fix
What?