2021 Scag Patriot - 100 Hour Service

She only has 67 hours but needed a complete check-up so I performed the 100-hour service. The first 6 minutes of this video are a little choppy but smooths out later.
00:00 Intro
02:20 Bottom Deck Inspection
02:58 Blade Removal / Sharpening
04:35 Casters
06:54 Top Deck Inspection / Leveling
08:04 Engine Oil Precheck
09:02 Air Filter Inspection/Removal
10:05 Clean Out Port Inspection
10:44 Air Filter Installation
13:13 Clean Out Port Plate
14:10 Tune Up Kit
14:40 Engine Oil Drain
15:09 Hydro Oil / Purge Process
17:30 Hydro 2 Ways To Fill
20:44 Hydro Drain
21:05 Hydro Adding Oil
22:50 Pulley Issue / Closing

[@djfuzzystump]

I don't even have a Scag, but just researching on what to buy and I learned so much, great video!

[@morejelloplease]

Thanks, I don't like scag at all actually. I've owned 4 and they all had issues. The dealers sink and pricing is way too high. If you're set on scag, please buy used.

[@djfuzzystump]

What brands do you like?@@morejelloplease

[@sjapan8149]

I have a 2020 Liberty Z 52” and I changed the drives at 60 hours with OEM filter and Amsoil 20W-50 zero turn hydrostatic trans oil and it really helps with noise. Love the channel.

[@Jacoby4465]

I could watch this all day for some odd reason you should do how to videos you are good with details

[@travisricks3436]

You take care of stuff like I do. Attention to detail. So glad I bought my Hustler Fastrak SDX 60! The other ones I was looking at was Gravely, Toro, & Grasshopper. Glad I went with another Hustler though.

[@morejelloplease]

I like to know everything about my zero turn, sadly i was burned 4 times by scag. currently my hustler is sitting in a conditioned garage. sadly i'll be using a chainsaw and chipper the next few weeks, the freeze killed a lot of trees. no telling if grass is even going to grow here, so I may have a new hustler for sale lol. toro was on my radar just because they had a sweet discount but felt they were over priced, had to many options, and had some issues with the front casters. grasshopper never reached out to me and this hustler was a great deal. only thing i can foresee going wrong is maybe normal wear items, blades, belts, tires, spindles, bearings, and maybe a spring or two. i hope this mower outlasts me. it's going to be a nice middle finger to scag lol.

[@dalewiley9208]

Man, you really know your stuff.

[@morejelloplease]

I'm a little rusty actually, been dealing with a new hustler that doesn't cut properly

[@kevindharnsberry5245]

My guy!!! I just picked up my Patriot 61 yesterday and now I stumbled across this video. AWESOME. I’m not a mechanic but I am mechanically inclined and this video taught me alot of what to keep up with on this mower. I got it to keep up with my 3 acres and I cut for about 45 minutes yesterday evening just to get a feel for it. I’ve never owned a brand new mower my entire life and I’m 44 years old. I own a Toro SS5000 and have never used a Scag. It might just be me, but the hydros seem a bit louder than I’m accustomed to with the Toro (thoughts?) Anyways, thanks for the video and I’m definitely going to subscribe to your channel!

[@morejelloplease]

Awe thanks, my channel is very random and for the last few years it's been a complaint department. I purchased 4 brand new scags and they all had issues, so I switched to hustler and that was a nightmare also. Most of the dealers didn't want anything to do with me, which is fine because I want a dealer that will goto bat for me when there's an issue. At the end of the day, stuff is going to break and instead of relying on a dealer for maintenance or repair, I just do it myself. Sounds like you are going to take care of your patriot just fine. The higher number in hydros, usually the slightly louder it gets due to the larger pump motor size. As long as you know there is the proper amount of clean fluid in each hydro with no leaks, then drive it like you stole it. Of course warm it up properly, don't go from stop to full throttle and back to stop too fast, just ease on the sticks and you'll be fine. Cheers!

[@justinw123]

I have a new patriot i noticed the front tires would barely free spin while jacked up in the air. Had to back off the tightness of the nut. Now free spins like it should. The yoke nut is also very tight it will hardly free spin when in the air. I need to find that thin wall socket you was talking about.

[@morejelloplease]

@justinw123 yeah it's hit or miss where to find them, scag one is expensive. Your hydros will thank you later when it's all freed up and it should be less jerky when making turns, engine will bog less etc.

[@Elvis241000]

Thank you for the video. When you purge the hydros, are the fill plugs back in and tightened? Or do you leave them out / loose for the air to escape? Thank you!

[@morejelloplease]

Everything must be tightened, fill plug on top, or the side if you use the side fill method. doesn't matter if you have an internal or external reservoir. the internal reservoir has the vent next to the fill port on top whereas the external reservoir will vent thru it's cap, but any time the engine is running, the fill ports MUST be plugged and tightened. when you move the control arms front to back with the hydros in bypass mode, this is slowly moving the fluid around and purging the system, then it's important to un-bypass the hydros or simply put - put them in normal drive mode and slowly move the arms forward to reverse slowly about 6 times with the rear end suspended in the air - so that the tires are not touching the ground so that they rotate forward and backwards without a load on them, this will further move fluid around and purge the system. once this is done then try and drive the machine. slowly move the arms forward and reverse and make sure there is no jerkiness or excessive noise when engaging the sticks. the unit should drive around the stated MPH depending on what model. if not, or if there's excessive noise or something's not smooth repeat the purge process. one thing to note is when you do a fluid change, just like an engine oil change, when you run the unit, the oil filter will saturate with oil, thus dropping the level just a bit. it's important to make sure the units are full of oil, so repeating the entire adding oil, purge, drive, process to me is critical. there are some shops that just do a drain and fill and send the unit out the door. if i did that with my luck the thing would fail on the next mow. maybe an expert will chime in, but that's what i would do. again these are just my opinions and your mileage may vary. if you can't seem to get a unit operating correctly you may have a cracked case, or leaky o-ring allowing excessive air into the system, or maybe there's some components work internally affecting peak performance, then it's time to take it to the real mechanics :) hope this reply was helpful even many years from now if someone else happens to be searching and reading the comment section, i know that's what i do :)

[@morejelloplease]

short reply: search hydro-gear youtube, they have different videos explaining the purge process with various model hydros.

[@Elvis241000]

I have the same mower in your video. It currently has 50 hours on it, but the hydros have always been pretty noisy. You comment is greatly appreciated and totally answers my question. Thanks again.✝️🙏🏻

[@1hovermale]

My Kawasaki oil level is exactly the same ..barely over the full line covering the "F" letter. Thats directly after draining the oil and changing the filter ...and filling up with exactly 2 quarts back in. Either Kawasaki's capacity is slightly off per the manual or the dip stick isn't exactly perfect as far as their markings.

[@morejelloplease]

Here's how my oil changes always go: I'll do a complete oil and filter change like you said and I always add 1.8 quarts. that brings it up to the full line then I'll run the engine for about 1 minute to circulate the oil, saturate the filter, check for leaks Etc. when I turn it off the oil level drops down to almost three quarters. Then I'll add the rest for a total of 2 qts. I always top off my engines to the full Mark when cold. If they are warm it seems like the oil expands and then when you check it cold you're actually low. I did have a strange situation where I had to add oil to my Liberty Z because the dealer hardly added any. And I also installed a mulch kit so the engine may have been tilted. When I started it up it filled the garage with smoke but the oil level was at the full line. I experienced intermittent smoking with that engine and oil consumption and then magically it just went away. This engine was overfilled cold Yet it didn't smoke so who knows. I honestly do not like the Kawasaki dipstick. I will check it twice with the little dots facing horizontally and then I'll recheck it with the dots facing vertically to try and get a true indication of the oil level but I always check it cold. oddly kawasaki says it tales 2.2 quarts but only give you 2 in the tune-up kit. i've never had to use 2.2 quarts. kawasaki also says to warm up the engine to operating temp before draining, then when you add the new stuff and run it, it too will heat up and expand. the kawasaki oil system is a pain.

[@gingisskahn]

🎶"...Now Mr. Jello had troubles of his own, He had an orange Scag that wouldn't leave his home, He tried and he tried to get that Scag away, Gave it to a man going far away...But the Scag came back, the very next day, The Scag came back, they thought he was a goner, But the Scag came back, just wouldn't stay away...🎶

[@morejelloplease]

bahahaha

[@morejelloplease]

The scags i work on have maintenance issues, the new scags i personally buy have dealer and quality control issues lol. My new leaky 2022 scag tiger cat that was bought back by the dealer was the last new scag i'll ever buy.

[@snowsolo]

@@morejelloplease great, my 2023 scag patriot 61 with kawasaki motor will be here Friday. Hope I'm not getting a lemon. I'm upgrading from a Toro 54 inch myride with their own Toro 708cc motor. 3 acres with pond and about 30 trees and a small hill......you got me second guessing my decision to get a scag. Great videos tho, thank you.

[@morejelloplease]

@@snowsolo you'll be fine as long as your dealer knows what they are doing.

[@ronh7510]

I’m looking at picking up a 2021 patriot for my dad with 40hrs on it. What should I look for or would I be better just picking up a new Freedom z. Both in 52”.

[@morejelloplease]

i can't recommend scag anything at this point. i used to like scags, hell i bought 4 brand new ones in about 2 years time and wanted to be a dealer for them, and all of them gave me issues. i have tons of videos and i bought a new tiger cat a few weeks ago and it leaked in 5 places and didn't even have an hour on it. i won't touch another scag.

[@ronh7510]

Well dang. Now I’m really torn. Thanks for the heads up

[@kevindharnsberry5245]

Well damn. I hope I never have issues with this one I just bought😢

[@lavitabella9069]

Should hand file blades!

[@morejelloplease]

I use a hand file, flap disc or bench grinder depending on how I feel.