F Series vs. ZD

[CigTopGun38]

You was premature on changing the hydraulic fluid imo but it won’t hurt anything.
As mentioned tighten the lower hose clamps & top off the coolant level.

When mowing in dry & windy conditions : keep a check on your temp gauge.
IF you’re getting grass clippings blown back on you (my chute is removed) your radiator is getting clippings & dust sucked into it.
I have to dump my radiator screen when temp gets too hi Before the horn sounds.
.
Make sure BLADES (not deck) measure dead level off concrete floor mowing at about 3.5”
Any lower & you’ll be complaining of scalping.
The deck knob #’s don’t always match blade measurement off concrete floor.
Adjust front deck wheels 1” off the concrete too.
Keep rear tires aired up pretty firm & you’ll absolutely love the Diesel 72 inch.

Thanks for the tips. Will adjust the mower deck height.

To clarify. I didn’t swap hydro fluid. Just the filters. And replaced whatever I lost. It’s cheap insurance for me.

The mower had some grass in the radiator when I picked it up. I’ve since cleaned it. Wasn’t a ton.

I’ll scope out the hoses to make sure they aren’t leaking. I spoke to previous owner. He said he never topped it off from new. Said it never over heated. And always had low coolant in the reservoir.

 

[RjCorazza]

Did your hose have tell tale signs of a leak. Like crusted up green stuff. I just looked. Mine looks like it has some stuff on it. But not enough to look like an issue. I’ll take a picture later today.

I don't recall. The overflow container is shaped such that even a small loss of coolant will make it appear practically empty.

 

[wagner58]

New member here but it’s an interesting thread so I thought I would add my thoughts. I have 2 zd1211 one with 2100 hours and the other with 1100 hours both 60 inch side discharge and just purchased a 2690 72 inch side discharge with 600 hours . my opinion on the 2 different models is , the 1211 seat is more comfortable, faster, I like you can flip the seat up to get to the transmission, a bit easier to clean radiator. On 2690 easier to grease, I like 1 fuel tank rather then 2 , 4 wheel drive ( yes I have been stuck several times in spring with 11211) , but the main difference is deck , blades whatever the problem is with with 1211 deck . It leaves a windrow of grass clumps , especially with the Kubota blades . Maybe it is the kind of grass that I mow but that deck packs grass like none other, you still need to scrape the deck on the 2690 but not like the 1211. I have contacted Kubota executives about it and get no where, I don’t really see many other people complain about it so maybe it’s just me. I think both machines are built like a tank and have had very few breakdowns with 1211 but until they get their cut quality issues fixed with that deck I personally will not buy another one.