Want a Perfectly Straight Lawn? Here's How to Adjust Your Toro Grandstand Mower Tracking
When your lawn’s looking a little uneven, it’s easy to blame the grass or weather. But the real culprit may be your mower’s tracking. Over time, it's normal for the tracking on a stand-on mower like the Toro Grandstand 36" to drift. This affects how straight your mower runs. Lucky for you, it's a problem that’s easily fixable with some simple adjustments.
Let’s guide you through how to adjust your mower’s tracking so you can get back that perfectly straight lawn.
Why Your Mower Tracks Unevenly
It’s perfectly normal for your mower to lose its straight tracking after regular use. A lot can throw off the balance: you could have uneven tire pressure, or maybe one side’s hydraulic pump is aging. Even swapping out a single tire can change how your mower tracks.
If you notice the mower veering to one side as you go full throttle, it’s time to make some adjustments. First thing’s first: determine if it's really tracking or something else. Always check tire pressure first before you jump into adjusting anything.
How to Test Your Mower's Tracking
Before tweaking anything, you need to get a clear picture of how bad the situation is. Here’s how to do a quick test run.
- Find a straight path: Aim for something in the distance as your target (like a trailer or tree).
- Go Full Throttle: Push both levers forward fully and try to keep them straight.
- Observe the veer: See if your mower starts drifting to the left or right.
In our example, after opening up the throttle and aiming for a trailer in the distance, the mower slowly veered left. This tells us the left side is moving slower than the right.
Adjusting the Left and Right Speed
Once you know which side is slower, you can start making adjustments. On the Toro Grandstand, each lever controls one side of the mower: the left lever controls the left side, and the right lever controls the right side.
The good news is, making the adjustment is easy. There are two screws for each lever – one for making the side faster and another for making it slower. The adjustment screws are located right under the main deck cover and should have a clear label.
Steps for Adjusting:
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Tighten or loosen the screws:
- To make a side go faster: Loosen the screw.
- To make a side go slower: Tighten the screw.
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Test the Adjustment: After turning the screw, do another test run. It’s best to adjust just one side at a time. If you try to fiddle with both levers, things can get confusing, and you won’t know which side is really off.
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Find the Balance: Keep adjusting until your mower starts running true—meaning it tracks straight when both levers are fully engaged.
Fine-Tuning for Precision
Mower tracking has limits—you can only make it go so fast. It’s possible that once you’ve sped up one side, it’s still too slow compared to the other, or it’s maxed out. In that case, you may have to slow down the faster side to balance things out.
To do this, just tighten the screw on the faster side instead of adjusting the slower one. The goal isn’t just to make both sides as fast as possible but to get them to match up perfectly so your machine tracks evenly.
If you’ve done everything right and it’s still veering, don’t panic. There might be a deeper issue like an aging hydraulic pump or tire wear.
What NOT to Do: Avoid These Mistakes
There are a few things you definitely don't want to mess with. On the Toro Grandstand, you might be tempted to adjust the steering linkages located lower on the machine, but that's a big no. Those parts control the cable tension for the steering and won’t fix speed issues at all. If those cables are damaged or stretched out, you’ll need to replace them.
Stick to the adjustment screws discussed above—they’re designed for these types of corrections.
Conclusion: Keep Your Mower Running Straight
Keeping your Toro Grandstand tracking straight isn’t hard. It’s mostly about patience and knowing which screw to turn. Always check tire pressure before making adjustments, and only tweak one side at a time.
Stick with the process, and after a few test runs and minor adjustments, you’ll get back to mowing in straight, perfect lines. Whether the problem lies in uneven tire pressure, a pump issue, or normal wear and tear, rest assured that it’s an easy fix.
Now, time to fire up that mower, do a test run, and dial in that tracking—your lawn will thank you for it!
For more tips on maintaining your Toro Grandstand, check out videos on everything from tightening the brakes to changing the oil. Feel free to browse our site or watch tutorials designed to keep your stand-on mower performing at its best.
Stay tuned for more simple tutorials to keep your equipment running smoothly.
Products Discussed In The Video
- TORO GrandStand 36 in. 15 hp 541cc Stand-On Lawn Mower (74534)
- Check out all of our Toro Grandstand Stand-on Mowers
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