# Toro Super Recycler



## MarshalOfFire (Apr 22, 2020)

**Warning: Vent Thread**

So, I hate my Toro Super Recycler that is only 5 months old. Literally hate it.

I sold my 15 year old Craftsman when we moved last fall. I did this because it was 15 years old and starting to show signs of age (rust, smoke on startup, etc).

I looked at several different mowers and chose the Toro Super Recycler because it seemed like a good mower with an aluminum deck. The Toro name brand helped as did the warranty. Paid something like $550 out the door, by far the most expensive mower I have ever bought.

From the start I have not been impressed with tbe cut quality. I like to mulch my clippings and found it left random blades still standing all over the yard. I sharpen the blade with a flap wheel every 2 or 3 mows, but that didn't help. Tried increasing the frequency of mows, but even 3x a week left blades standing. Whatever, ill just deal with it.

Last week, the rear trailing shield tore. It went to flip under the mower on a pull back and ripped nearly 1/3 of the way off. Warranty time. Most authorized dealers said bring it in and drop it off, you can have it back in a day or two. Seriously, this is an $11 part and 2 screws. Thankfully a dealer finally just gave me the part to put on myself.

Today while mowing with my freshly installed trailing shield, the drive belt jumped off the rear pulley. Now I am half way through the mow and have no propulsion. I decided to fix it, but man was that a pain.

Is it too much to ask that a $550 mower has a nice cut and is reliable?

Tl;dr, my Toro Super Recycler that is 5 months old has broken twice, which is two more times than my old 15 year old Craftsman did in its entire life. Oh and the cut quality is bad.


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## Bermuda_Triangle (Sep 20, 2019)

Misery loves company...

I paid 600 and change for a Honda HRX two years ago. The machine would fill the chute when set to mulch. The wheels were and still are a royal pain to lower and raise HOC. Now, the drive train is slipping when on a flat or slope.


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## MarshalOfFire (Apr 22, 2020)

Thats frustrating as the HRX was another mower I was considering.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

I have a 20yo one.and while it isn't perfect I am still happy with it. Maybe you got a Friday machine?


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## Vtx531 (Jul 1, 2019)

I just bought an 8 year old model. I only used it once so far but it cut nice. I plan on increasing the rpms up from 3,000 to 3,300 as they do on the commercial line.

Most people really seem to like this mower. It sounds like you had two relatively small issues that would have cost $11 total had it not been under warranty. Maybe your luck will turn around...

As for the cut quality- what deck height lever are you mowing on? Did you change HoC from when you were mowing with the Craftsman? Different times of the year will give you different cut quality depending on the grass, could that be it? That would definitely be a bummer to buy a nice new mower and getting a worse cut now.


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## MarshalOfFire (Apr 22, 2020)

I mower with the craftsman at the next to highest level, which was 3" and some change. This mower is used on D, which is listed as 3.25".

The two issues were minor, however it is still two more than I had with the old mower. Mowing season didn't really start until May here, and even with twice or three times a week mows, I have maybe used it 30 times. Am I expecting too much from a new mower to work for rhe first season trouble free?

Oil was changed after 5 hours and rear bearings greased per the manual. What else am I missing? The drive belt was a killer, it ended the mow until it could be fixed. I dont have the time or patience to wait 2-3 days for a shop to fix my brand new mower so I can finish cutting the grass.


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## jht3 (Jul 27, 2018)

Sucks. This is part of the reason why I haven't replaced my 25 year old SR. I changed the original belts last season! And bumped the rpm up to help power through overgrown turf.

While a new mower would be nice, I'm not sure they are any better. I liked my manual choke, mixture screw, etc.

I do leave a straggler behind if I don't cut often enough. I mulch 99% of the time. A second pass at 90° leaves a perfect lawn, and I do this when I have the time


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I'm pretty happy with my 2020 SR, but I have noticed a problem with the right wheel not engaging to drive forward.

Here's another guy with the same complaint and his proposed solution.


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## FlowRider (Apr 7, 2019)

Bermuda_Triangle said:


> Misery loves company...
> 
> I paid 600 and change for a Honda HRX two years ago. The machine would fill the chute when set to mulch. The wheels were and still are a royal pain to lower and raise HOC. Now, the drive train is slipping when on a flat or slope.


I own a Honda mower - never had an issue with it, or the one I owned for 20 years before I sold it.

You still have a year left on your Honda warranty - why don't you take it in for service on the drive system?

The wheels are not too easy to raise or lower, so I just prop my wheels off the ground with a 2" x 4".

Some grass does blow by the gate when you set the machine to mulch, but easy to deal with.... Hit it with your blower and there will be no more grass. I just wash my chute off with a hose nozzle. :crazy:


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## Lawn Noob (Jul 26, 2020)

I like my newer Super Recycler. The only issue I've seen is an occasional stutter out of the engine when I hit a bump or bounce over a tree root.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

ionicatoms said:


> I'm pretty happy with my 2020 SR, but I have noticed a problem with the right wheel not engaging to drive forward.


Found the problem! It was missing the right hand rocking key (item 16 below). I don't see how this part could have fallen out, so it must have come from the factory this way.

The transmission is off to the left hand side, so I assumed that power was only provided to the left hand wheel by design. Wrong!





Hopefully nobody else experiences this problem. I'll call Toro later this week.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

ionicatoms said:


> I'll call Toro later this week.


Well, just as I thought, here's what Toro thinks of sending me a $5 part to resolve my problem:



> Thank you for contacting Toro. We regret to inform you that for warranty work the machine must be taken to an authorized service dealer for an inspection. The Dealers can be located at www.Toro.com/locator.


I am not impressed.


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## BobLovesGrass (Jun 13, 2020)

I am viewing on a phone so I can't see the pics well. I imaging this is just a standard half moon key but you can get one at the local hardware store. You shouldn't have to but it might be easier that dealing with Toro.

My Toro is 20-22yo i inherited it in 2001 at any rate and drive belt is original. It has sat out too much, good bit of sun fade. Has not been babied. It is smoking, considering re-ringing it as much to teach the kids as to repair.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

In the interest of completeness, I am happy to report that the $5 part fixed the right rear wheel failing to drive on the 2020 Super Recycler.


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## Cinci5 (Aug 15, 2020)

I had issues with sputter put a new carb on sputter gone unless I hit a wall or root. 
Cut quality was good but put 2 atomic blades on (cut to length) and cut quality improved. 
Also bumped rpm up to 3400rpm was only at 2800. Big improvement there. The mower was a return from HD so no warranty but cheap. Looked new. It never cut any grass.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

Cinci5 said:


> Cut quality was good but put 2 atomic blades on (cut to length) and cut quality improved.
> Also bumped rpm up to 3400rpm was only at 2800. Big improvement there.


@Cinci5 you got me thinking about the original complaint:



MarshalOfFire said:


> I like to mulch my clippings and found it left random blades still standing all over the yard. I sharpen the blade with a flap wheel every 2 or 3 mows, but that didn't help. Tried increasing the frequency of mows, but even 3x a week left blades standing.


I wonder if the high lift bagging blade (108-3759-03) would reduce the frequency of this problem with an acceptable trade-off on mulching. I don't understand what you mean by putting on "2 atomic blades" though. Can you clarify? Also, is there a procedure to increase the RPM?


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

MarshalOfFire said:


> Last week, the rear trailing shield tore. It went to flip under the mower on a pull back and ripped nearly 1/3 of the way off. Warranty time. Most authorized dealers said bring it in and drop it off, you can have it back in a day or two. Seriously, this is an $11 part and 2 screws. Thankfully a dealer finally just gave me the part to put on myself.


Dunno if it's safe or not, but I removed the trailing shield because St. Aug looks better without stripes. No problems so far.


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## JimmyMika (Sep 20, 2019)

I am happy with my 2020 SR. No problems so far, had it for 6 months or so. I sharpen my blades (nod to LCN) every two mows. I bought one of these handy drill adapter sanding wheels, super fast and easy to sharpen the blades to ensure a nice clean cut.

Also, maybe a stupid question: concerning the mulching; did you remember to install the mulching plug?

Xgood 3 Pieces Blue Lawn Mower Sharpener Blade Drill Lawnmower Sharpener for Any Power Drill https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GJ9K2N2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_27CLFbT1ETBXQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


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## JimmyD35 (Dec 2, 2020)

ionicatoms said:


> Cinci5 said:
> 
> 
> > Cut quality was good but put 2 atomic blades on (cut to length) and cut quality improved.
> ...


I'm curious about this as well.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I haven't had a lot of cuts with it yet, but the high lift blade seems to have reduced the frequency of uncut random blades of grass left behind. Will have to follow up on mulching adequacy in the spring.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

After consulting the Briggs manual, I realized that Toro did not provide a foam pre-filter around the air filter on my Super Recycler. Not sure why.

I bought both pieces and replaced them today.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

@ionicatoms, did that pre-cleaner come pre-oiled or did you have to oil it up before installing?


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

@MasterMech I appreciate your question as this is new to me. In the Briggs manual 80084428, step 4 says not to oil the pre-cleaner, so I put it in straight from the packaging it came in:



Thoughts?


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

ionicatoms said:


> @MasterMech I appreciate your question as this is new to me. In the Briggs manual 80084428, step 4 says not to oil the pre-cleaner, so I put it in straight from the packaging it came in:
> 
> 
> 
> Thoughts?


Stick to the instructions. Some are to be oiled, some are not.

Non-oiled foam pre-cleaners are pretty much just to keep large debris (ie. clippings) from accumulating in the filter pleats.


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