RMCIII 838 #26 Posted August 18, 2014 Cowen - Welcome to the "XI" club. Once you get the little bugs eliminated, you will be thanking your self, that you did purchase the mower. Remember to be paitnet when looking, for additional attachements. They are not in abundance like the ones foe the 300, 400 500 series GTs. Regarding your temperature gague. That was a very short run. If all the grates are clear of grass, I would expect it to stay that cool. It usually takes about 20 minutes before mine works it's way to the middle of the green. Stays in that position all day long. In the photo it appears to be a very clean GT. I would guess someone took good care of it. You will enjoy it once it is running like you expect it to. Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forest Road 594 #27 Posted August 18, 2014 Congrats! once shes properly tuned and adjusted you'll have a hard time using any less a tractor. Go to Toro's site and download the shop manual for Xi tractors. I think it was free. It's a few hundred pages. It truly makes trouble shooting dam near idiot proof. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
papaglide 541 #28 Posted August 19, 2014 Fatboy, you will love this tractor. I got one a few months ago and absolutely love it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #29 Posted August 19, 2014 Looks like a clean '98 or '99 with the silver rims. In 2000, they went with grey rims. Like Doc724 says, get that Smart Steer worked out before something goes wrong. The temp gauge is normal. That is a real plus to also get a plow with it. You are all set for the four seasons now. Download the manual on the plow as you will need to disable the mower lifting arms when you switch. Nice!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_M 178 #30 Posted August 19, 2014 The temp gauge is for oil temperature. My guess is it works and you'll see it move once you start mowing with it. 10 minutes isn't long enough to build enough heat in the oil to move the gauge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatboycowen 30 #31 Posted August 19, 2014 Once again, this place is great. Thanks so much for the help. I just moved to northern Mass this past weekend, broke a CV and wheel bearing on my pickup Sunday, and trying to get all my stuff moved. It's been nuts. Haven't even had a minute to tinker with the tractor. I'll mess with the stupid steer system and see if i can figure it out. Thanks again! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatboycowen 30 #32 Posted August 20, 2014 So, i had some time to mow today with the tractor. The engine runs great. I got it up to temp and ran it that way a while. It stays in the middle, maybe a hair to the right of the middle. The smart steer is annoying. I may consider deleting it, instead of fixing it. The thing goes up hills very well. I have an area beside a retaining wall with a decent slope that goes from shallow to steep as you get closer to the wall. I tried all the slopes, and the tractor had no problems going up and down. The mower is decent. Not a fantastic mow, but i'm satisfied. After running for a while, the Battery light went out and stayed out. I wonder if the battery was just low on charge. It always starts easily though. The PTO shuts off in reverse. There is a key down by the seat, but i can't figure out how it works. When i reverse, it shuts off the mower. But when i go forward again, it doesn't reengage. Is it supposed to? Also, i tried turning on and off the PTO a few times. Sometimes when i pull the knob, it makes a noise from the front but doesnt engage the mower. It did this a few times. It almost feels like something is slipping when this happens. Any ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim_M 178 #33 Posted August 20, 2014 Check your belt tension first, if the belts not slipping then the clutch may not be engaging fully, my guess would be a dirty connection or burnt contacts in the switch keeping it from seeing full voltage, most likely burnt contacts, from arcing in the switch. After you engage the pto, before you start moving, turn the key under the front of the seat. That will keep the pto engaged when you go into reverse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shallowwatersailor 3,213 #34 Posted August 20, 2014 It looks as if you have a '99 with Key Select. Be careful on the slope and use "Low" for mowing there. Here is a link for the the Lookup Tab at Toro: http://www.toro.com/en-us/parts/Pages/PartsDetails.aspx?mybeid=22001&serialNumber=9900001&modelNumber=73471&searchTerm=9lzIRv+p5zdCvZ0pnCb+c7BPyYPKmvRCeVNxlD0ZrQzvec16cNQuG/bUBcX6oKuw&defaultTab=parts#toro-parts-lookup-tabs This will provide some useful information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
