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Your Wright Mower Vibrates and Shakes (Make It Stop)

You will always feel some vibration in your zero-turn, but some items can cause a severe vibration that may indicate a problem with your mower.

A Wright mower vibrates and shakes due to worn engine mounting bolts, a failing clutch, unbalanced mower blades, bearing failure in the spindle housing or pulley, a worn belt, a loose idler bracket, a worn spring, or debris lodged in the mower.

Follow all safety precautions listed in your Wright operator’s manual. This includes removing the ignition key and the spark plug wires before performing repairs.

Wright zero turn

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Follow all safety instructions provided in your equipment operator’s manual before diagnosing, repairing, or operating. Consult a professional if you don’t have the skills, or knowledge or are not in the condition to perform the repair safely.

Troubleshoot: Wright Mower Vibration

  • Check the engine bolts for wear
  • Check the clutch for a bad ball bearing
  • Check for material wrapped around the blade shaft
  • Check the spindle housings for wearing or damage
  • Check the blade balance
  • Check for worn bearings in the pulleys
  • Check for a worn or stretch belt
  • Check the idler bracket and spring
  • Look for debris lodged in the mower

9 Reasons Why Your Wright Lawn Mower Vibrates and Shakes

1. Worn or Missing Engine Mounting Bolts

When you start your mower, you immediately feel a vibration coming from the engine. While this is normal, you may begin to feel a more severe vibration when the engine mounting bolts are worn or broken.

The engine mounting bolts, often referred to as motor mounts, are placed under the engine and designed to absorb much of the vibration.

Inspect the bolts to make sure they are all there and in good condition. If you find an engine bolt is missing, damaged, or worn, you should install a new engine mounting bolt.

2. Failing Clutch

The ball bearing may fail on an electric clutch causing your mower to shake. Replace the clutch when it is found to be the problem of your vibration.

3. Incorrect or UnbalancedMower Blades

Installing the wrong blades or unbalanced blades on your Wright mower can cause a vibration.

Wrong size Wright mower blades:

I always choose to use OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) blades to ensure I am using the correct quality blades designed for my zero-turn. Using the wrong blades can cause vibration and damage to the mower.

If you choose to use an aftermarket blade, not an OEM blade, you must make sure the blade length and center hole size is correct. Keep in mind, just because you have these two dimensions correct, doesn’t mean the blade will fit right.

When choosing an aftermarket blade, lay it on top of an OEM blade to make sure it is an exact match. A blade that is a little different may cause the blade to not sit securely on the spindle, hit the mower deck shell, create vibration and not provide a good cut.

Unbalanced Wright mower blades:

Mower blades can become unbalanced and no longer spin evenly under the deck. They will begin to wobble as they spin. At very high speeds, you will feel a significant vibration.

An unbalanced blade is a blade that is heavier on one end of the blade than the other. There are a couple of different reasons a mower blade becomes unbalanced.

  • Normal Use: Dirt rotating under the mower deck can wear the blades unevenly.
  • Blade Sharpening: Too much metal is removed from one end of the blade than the other.

Make sure your Wright blades are balanced using a blade balancer before you install blades on your mower. Find out more about sharpening and balancing your blades here.

4. Material Wrapped Around a Mower Blade Spindle

You don’t always see everything you mow over. You might not see wire or string in the grass that can wrap around the blade spindle causing the mower to shake.

Inspect the spindle and remove any items that are wrapped around it. Once this is done, check your spindle and spindle housing for further damage.

5. Damaged Spindle Housing Components

You may have impacted an object that bent the spindle or the bearings could have worn in the spindle housing causing a vibration when you engage the blades.

Before you check the housing for damage, confirm the spark plug wire is removed, and put on a good pair of work gloves to protect your hands from sharp edges. Grab a hold of each end of the mower blade and rock it up and down.

Your blade should feel secure and shouldn’t have a lot of movement. If you feel movement and possibly hear a knocking sound from the excess movement, remove the mower blade and spindle housing.

Inspect for bearing or spindle damage and make necessary repairs.

6. Worn Mower Deck Belt

When a mower deck is worn and stretched leaving some slack, the belt will not sit securely around the pulleys. This extra slack, as the belt moves around the deck pulleys, can cause your Wright mower deck to vibrate.

Replace a worn belt if you find it is stretched, cracked, or has a glazed appearance. If the belt appears in good condition, make sure it is routed around the pulleys correctly and the tension is adjusted to remove extra slack.

7. Bad Pulley Bearings

Bearings in the pulleys can fail over time which can cause them to not sit securely flat and parallel to the mower deck.

When the pulleys have some movement to them and no longer sit parallel, there will be some vibration due to the belt running along these unstable pulleys.

Check each pulley to make sure it is securely attached to the deck and doesn’t have a wobble to it.

You don’t want a lot of movement in the pulley where one side of the pulley sits higher off the deck than the other. When this happens, you most likely have a bad bearing in the pulley.

Find a failing bearing by slowly rotating each pulley by hand. Feel for a restriction and listen for bearing noise. If you experience either of these, your bearing must be replaced.

8. Worn Idler Bracket & Spring

A loose or worn idler bracket and spring can make your Wright mower shake. The hole in the bracket where the spring attaches can wear larger and the spring can become stretched. When this happens, you will experience a vibration.

Replace a worn idler bracket or spring. Check the bearing and bushing in the engagement linkage and replace them if you find they are worn.

9. Debris Lodged in a Mower

Check your Wright mower for small debris stuck in the small crevices of the mower. When mowing the lawn, your mower kicks up the debris that can collect on your mower.

Something as small as a wood chip can cause extreme vibration in your mower.

Remove your spindle covers and clean off your deck regularly. Debris can collect under your pulleys and cause them not to sit flat and parallel to the deck.

Debris buildup can also affect the tensioner where it is no longer able to keep proper tension on the belt. This will cause extra slack and your mower deck to shake.

Look every part of your mower over carefully and remove any items that are lodged in your mower. It is best to clean your Wright after each mowing to keep it free of debris not only to prevent vibration problems but also corrosion from moisture in the debris.

Need help with cleaning procedures? Check out “How to Clean Your Mower for Best Performance“.