Note: This article applies to the Toro TimeCutter 48in, 54in, and 60in zero-turn riding lawnmowers.
Maintaining Your Toro TimeCutter Mower Protects Your Investment
I recently bought a Toro TimeCutter 60-inch zero-turn lawn mower to use on my homestead, which consists of 5-6 acres that need to be mowed every 1-2 weeks during the summer. The machine cost me about $4,000. The reason I had to get a new lawn mower is because the used one I purchased previously (an older Cub Cadet) hadn't been maintained very well, and it has struggled to be consistent, especially with such a large amount of work needing to be done.
I chose to get the TimeCutter because of a combination of the good price for the quality of the mower as evidenced by reviews I found on Tractor Supply's website and elsewhere.
Toro builds its lawn mowers to work well and to last for years. However, how well your Toro TimeCutter works along the way, and how long you'll be able to effectively use it depends quite a bit upon how well you take care of it.
Toro publishes a recommended maintenance schedule for the TimeCutter. I'll share with you the details of what they recommend as well as what I've learned from my own experience owning and using the Toro TimeCutter machine I just bought.
Mowing Tall Grass Wears Out the Belt
Here is one tip that isn't included in the Toro TimeCutter maintenance recommendations, but that I've found personally. It's probably something that happens with lots of different types of mowers, but I found it to be the case with my TimeCutter 60-inch. If you let the grass get really long before mowing it, there's a high chance you'll wear out the belt much more quickly than the expected useful life. In my case, within a couple of months after buying the mower (having waited as much as 3 weeks between mowings during a wet summertime - meaning long, thick grass), the belt wore out. The same thing happened again within the next two months after purchasing an $80 replacement belt from Tractor Supply.
Useful tip: The belt size for a Toro TimeCutter zero turn mower is 80in. The default belt that comes with the machine is a 5/8in thick mylar belt. I found that you can get a rubber belt that is 1/2in from parts suppliers on Amazon and elsewhere for less than $15 per belt. These may not be designed to last as long (I've still not had mine break), but they are so much cheaper, they seem like a better option to me.
Toro Recommended Maintenance Schedule for TimeCutter Mowers
Maintenance Service Interval
After the first 5 hours
Before each use or daily
Maintenance Procedure
Change the engine oil.
- Check the safety-interlock system.
- Check the air cleaner for dirty, loose, or damaged parts.
- Check the engine-oil level.
- Clean the air intake screen.
- Inspect the blades.
- Inspect the grass deflector for damage.
After each use
- Clean the mower-deck housing.
Every 25 hours
- Clean the air-cleaner foam element(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Check tire pressure.
- Check the belts for wear or cracks.
Every 100 hours
- Replace the air-cleaner foam element(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Service the air-cleaner paper element(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Change the engine oil(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Change the oil filter(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Check the spark plug(s).
- Check the in-line fuel filter.
Every 200 hours
- Replace the air-cleaner paper element(more often in dusty, dirty conditions).
- Replace the spark plug(s).
- Replace the in-line fuel filter.
Before storage
- Charge the battery and disconnect the battery cables.
- Perform all maintenance procedures listed above before storage.
- Paint any chipped surfaces.
More information about maintaining a Toro TimeCutter mower can be found in the official Toro user manual.
You'll notice that these maintenance recommendations and schedule from Toro seems like a lot of work. You'll obviously have to decide how to modify the maintenance schedule to fit what you have time for.
However, there are some elements of this maintenance schedule that are probably the most important if you want to avoid expensive repairs or making your mower inoperable.
#1 among the most critical of these lawn mower maintenance items is is to keep the engine oil full, and to change it regularly as recommended. The engine is the most expensive and vulnerable operating piece of the equipment, so you'll want to pay extra attention to that aspect of your Toro TimeCutter machine.