larnsal 0 #1 Posted June 5, 2008 :whistle: Hello All, Great forum! I recently bought a 1997 520H and am used to my old 855 that dad bought new when I was born. This is my 1st hydro, and it seems very "jumpy" or "jerky" when taking off or stopping. Is this something that is normal? and I need to get used to? It really seems hard to control it smoothly. I was thinking that maybe a fluid and filter change may help? My book says it takes 10w30 oil. Is that correct? Any help or comments are appreciated! Thanks! Larry K. Hayward, Wi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kj4kicks 151 #2 Posted June 5, 2008 Hi Larry, First, 10w30 is correct. If you do not have the original manual, I would recommend that you get one and get familiar with it. The hydro is a completely different animal. Are you running at least 3/4 throttle? You need to do that for the hydro to work properly. How many hours are on it? is the drive belt and tensioner pulley in good shape? Let us know.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylyon-(Admin) 7,130 #3 Posted June 5, 2008 Hi Larry and welcome to RedSquare. When you say that the hydro is jerky is that when you move the directional control lever or when it is moving? If it is when you move the lever I suggest the following. 1. Visually inspect all linkage components, that may mean removing covers to see. Make sure that all the areas are clean and free from built up grass clippings. 2. Lubricate all linkage points ** DO NOT LUBRICATE THE CAM PLATE ON THE TRANSMISSION ** Once you have the linkages all straightened out. 3. Under the seat you will see the hydro cam plate. There is a bolt where the plate piviots. That bolt controls the tension which if too tight will make the directional control lever jump. Try to loosen that bolt until the lever moves freely BUT it needs to be tight enough to keep the lever from creeping back. Be sure there isn't any grease on the cam plate. Hope this helps and :whistle: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
larnsal 0 #4 Posted June 6, 2008 Thanks Guys! I will check out all these things and report back. It is jumpy when moving the lever from a stop or when slowing down it wants to stop abruptly even when moving the lever as slow as I possibly can. I will let you know what I find. Thanks again, Larry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WheelHorse_of_course 99 #5 Posted June 6, 2008 These do require some finesse, and even there, I do jerk myself around a bit (actually just recently I was having a bad day and popped a wheely). If anything, I am tempted to increase the tension, certainly not loosen it. The other thing ti consider is lag. If you start up and wait it will start slowly and then sort of fully come to speed. You don't need to move it more during this time or it will jerk. I would practice before changing anything (well changing the oil and filter would be a good idea in any case). Practice using one finger and the tip of your thumb. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #6 Posted June 15, 2008 Hello All, Great forum! I recently bought a 1997 520H and am used to my old 855 that dad bought new when I was born. This is my 1st hydro, and it seems very "jumpy" or "jerky" when taking off or stopping. Is this something that is normal? and I need to get used to? It really seems hard to control it smoothly. I was thinking that maybe a fluid and filter change may help? My book says it takes 10w30 oil. Is that correct? Any help or comments are appreciated! Thanks! Larry K. Hayward, Wi. I recently bought a 1995 520H and had the exact same experiece as you. Honestly, I was slightly disappointed, being used to my 310-8 gear shift model and jumping on the 520H for the first time and having that same experience you had. I also had the issue where the speed control lever returns slowly to the stop position while driving so I tightened up the cam bolt under the seat to get a happy medium where the speed control lever stays put but is not too hard to move, it's a balance. For the same problems you mentioned, I took the advice on this thread and checked and lubed all the linkage. I removed the black metal panel beneath the guage package (4 bolts) and the black metal panel where your shifter would go if you had a gear shifter (4 more bolts). Removing those panels provide full access to the bulk of your speed control linkage. I removed the seat and rear fender as well to SEE IT ALL and also to clean all the grass build up from around the hydro pump and the machine in general. I then lubed every joint on the linkage with 10W30 in a squirt can. I started right at the point where the speed control rod goes into the dash panel. I sguirted some oil down there because my entire speed control movement seemed too difficult to move smoothly and I was going to lube it all, even though I could not see what the rod goes through under the plastic dash panel. Under the dash panel, after you remove your two pieces of metal plates, you can see all the pieces and parts of your linkage, they look like little tie rod ends that are adjustable. I actually had a nut loose on two of these mini tie rod ends, the nut that is supposed to tighten up against the linkage end assembly after you have it adjusted where you need it. These two nuts were backed WAY OFF, must be from vibration or a bad day at the factory. I don't think this was causing a problem, but it felt good to tightem them up. I lubed every single pivot point on this linkage system and it now the speed control really seems to work more smoothly, although as of this writing I have not driven it yet to see if there's any improvement in the jerkyness of the speed control. While I had my two panels, rear fender, and seat off, I cleaned out all the grass and debris build up in there. I also adjusted my mechanical brake to allow for my parking brake to work. My parking break would not "catch" against anything so I loosened up the nut that goes on the bolt and spring going to the manual brake band. This means my brake pedal travels a little further now but I CAN engange the parking brake! I checked the rear diff oil level and put a very small amount of 10W30 in to reach the full mark. Thought I would comment on this thread since it's the exact experience I am having with my first hydro too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #7 Posted June 15, 2008 Don't get me wrong, I love my new used 520H but I am not that confident in the hydro drive system as compared to a good ole fashioned shifter model. I run my RPMs at least 3k to keep the hydro pump from starving as per a thread I read that said if your engine RPMs are not high enough it could eventually damage the hydro system/pump and it won't work properly anyway at low RPM's, another learning curve compared to my 310-8. Anyway, I have a question. The 520H has OK ground speed, but ITS NOT FAST by any measure and sometimes seems rather slow. Is this normal? Maybe I need to change my filter and oil, I don't know. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #8 Posted June 15, 2008 Hi Larry and welcome to RedSquare. When you say that the hydro is jerky is that when you move the directional control lever or when it is moving? If it is when you move the lever I suggest the following. 1. Visually inspect all linkage components, that may mean removing covers to see. Make sure that all the areas are clean and free from built up grass clippings. 2. Lubricate all linkage points ** DO NOT LUBRICATE THE CAM PLATE ON THE TRANSMISSION ** Once you have the linkages all straightened out. 3. Under the seat you will see the hydro cam plate. There is a bolt where the plate piviots. That bolt controls the tension which if too tight will make the directional control lever jump. Try to loosen that bolt until the lever moves freely BUT it needs to be tight enough to keep the lever from creeping back. Be sure there isn't any grease on the cam plate. Hope this helps and Is the reason to "** NOT LUBRICATE THE CAM PLATE ON THE TRANSMISSION **" because this will cause the directional control/speed control to creep back to neutral? How about lubricating the slot other than the one where the adjustment nut is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylyon-(Admin) 7,130 #9 Posted June 15, 2008 You can probably lubricate the slot, but the cam plate needs friction so the lever doesn't move. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #10 Posted June 15, 2008 My 520H has mediocre ground speed, but ITS NOT FAST by any measure and sometimes seems rather slow. Is this normal? Maybe I need to change my filter and oil, I don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
92Pony 1 #11 Posted June 18, 2008 My 520H has mediocre ground speed, but ITS NOT FAST by any measure and sometimes seems rather slow. Is this normal? Maybe I need to change my filter and oil, I don't know. Banjo, mine (520H) is rather slow as well. I don't know if it's just the nature of the beast or what - but I'm watching to see if someone sheds some light......... Wade Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nylyon-(Admin) 7,130 #12 Posted June 18, 2008 Does it seem that it is faster in reverse than forwards? If that is the case, the cam may be adjusted 180 out? Be sure all your linkage is free from grass clippings. If it is still too slow going forwards, you can tak a round or 2 out of the linkage to pull the cam more forward. If you do that you may need to readjust for neutral again though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #13 Posted June 21, 2008 Karl, I just checked and it does not go faster in reverse, that would have been interesting LOL! All my linkage paths are clean but I do notice the cam plate has more slot left to go forward, a little, so I suppose my next step would be to take a round or 2 out of the linkage to pull the cam more forward as you wrote. I don't have an owners manual, can you tell me how to do the neutral adjustment? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #14 Posted June 21, 2008 Update to my cleaning and lubing the motion control linkage last weekend, the movement of the motion control is much smoother so I would suggest that process described above in this thread to anyone experiencing jerky operation with their hydro, although I am still getting used to the whole hydro drive temperment and actually still prefer my gearshift on the 310-8 FWIW. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Banjo 0 #15 Posted June 22, 2008 Banjo, mine (520H) is rather slow as well. I don't know if it's just the nature of the beast or what - but I'm watching to see if someone sheds some light......... Wade Maybe they adjust the linkage for SLOW at the factory to keep us from racing each other! I know exactly what you mean, my 310-8 could easily leave my 520H in the dust. The 520H is fast enough for mowing but you can't get from place to place in a hurry when driving around the property. Let's say it starts raining real hard all of a sudden... We are screwed driving for shelter at 2 MPH! LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rollerman 290 #16 Posted June 22, 2008 Banjo it's been my expeirence that the hydro tractors are faster than the gearbox tractors? I believe they are 1 or 2 MPH faster & that depends on the rear tire size too. And "most"of mine have been slower in reverse. I would say it's a safety feature....things can get squirrely going backwards to fast. :WRS: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
