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My 11 year old Craftsman is starting to give me problems. The stuff that breaks is cheap enough to repair, but $20 here, $30 there adds up and everything that has broken has disabled the mower while waiting for the part.
Today the blade clutch cable broke down at the blade end. Can't engage the blades, can't cut grass. Local True Value has the cable in stock but you wonder what's gonna fail next. At least I got almost all of the yard mowed before it broke.
Thinking about a ZTR and wondering what y'all's experience and recommendations are. There are Toro, Cub Cadet, Hustler, Husqvarna dealers here. Also high-end like JD, Kubota and Skag, but I'm not looking to spend ten grand on one either.
I cut a little over 2 acres every week. Reducing mowing time isn't that big a priority as I'm retired and kinda enjoy mowing grass. Mindless work, but look behind you and you've accomplished something.
We have about 1 acree grass here and we used a Partner before the Automowers.
I liked the 2 pedal system better and the lawn tractor worked very well and still do ,sold it to my brother.
We had an JD at my work but i liked the Partner better.
But now we have 2 Automowers and this was probably one of our best buys. Can also say that
the lawn looks much better than before with the garden tractor.
I've owned a JD Z225 ~9-10 yrs with a couple accessories (steel bumper, foot plates, etc.). Not one issue during the entire time period. I mow a little over 1+ acre weekly.
A 14 year old Troy-Bilt 42" zero turn with mulch kit and Oregon "Gator" blades has been in the family since new. Replaced the PTO clutch twice and it's still going strong!
I have a Cub Cadet I bought off Craigslist a year ago and have been pleased with it. It has a 21.5 hp Kawasaki engine and a 46 inch cut. I paid $800 for it which I thought was a bargain. It was very low hours on it.
I prefer a steering wheel. That way I have one hand free to hold my beer.
😺
Me Craftsman has a cup holder so that's taken care of! I wish the 135 Ferguson tractor had one...
Got the part so now the real fun begins- putting it on! Fuel tank has to come out (at least it's almost empty) and have to drop the deck out from under it.
When the parts guy said "that number is very familiar" yesterday and they had one on the shelf...
Zero turns are overated for homeowner use in my opinion. The residential grade ones usually do not have serviceable drives and have small drive tires and are GARBAGE on hills.
A good garden tractor is more versatile for homeowner use. If you dig youll see that most of the big box brands are owned by one company. Even the homeowner grade John Deere arent really made by John Deere.
I have been past the John Deere manufacturing facility in Beaver Dam and Horicon WI
Are John Deere lawn mowers made in the USA?
John Deere
Today, they maintain manufacturing facilities in 7 countries (including 3 in China), which raises eyebrows among those who suspect their mowers may be made overseas. However, I'm happy to report all John Deere riding mowers are manufactured in Horicon, Wisconsin USA from parts made mostly in the USA.
And if this is what the internet invented by Al Gore says,... it must be true.
AYP is an American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment under the Husqvarna umbrella and most known for its Roper lawn mowers.
I would look at buying a used mower that fits your needs. There are plenty advertised by private individuals that are in great condition at reasonable prices.
I would look at buying a used mower that fits your needs. There are plenty advertised by private individuals that are in great condition at reasonable prices.
^^^^^ X2
I’ve learned over the years that new mowers break just like used mowers do, so I decided to just buy used going forward, and to do as much maintenance as I possible could. Shop repair rates like everything else is in the stratosphere today.
I have a zero turn JD commercial mower with a 54 " cut. I've had it for over 10 years and other than normal maintenance I've done nothing to it.........nothing.
Ok, I sell lawn/garden along with agriculture equipment at my dealership. First thing is how many acres do you cut and is it open, hills or has many trees and landscaping? Zero turns are a one pony show. Tractors and garden tractors can be a multi use platform. Do you have a bad back or is your lawn rough?
Also it's not a good time to be buying new! Stock is limited every where!
Been using a 184 International since the early 80's. Sadly, they are hard to find in worthy condition these days. To many people had there hands in them and goofed most of them up by now. If you can find a really low hour one that was cared for, they will last decades
I have been past the John Deere manufacturing facility in Beaver Dam and Horicon WI
Are John Deere lawn mowers made in the USA?
John Deere
Today, they maintain manufacturing facilities in 7 countries (including 3 in China), which raises eyebrows among those who suspect their mowers may be made overseas. However, I'm happy to report all John Deere riding mowers are manufactured in Horicon, Wisconsin USA from parts made mostly in the USA.
And if this is what the internet invented by Al Gore says,... it must be true.
AYP is an American manufacturer of outdoor power equipment under the Husqvarna umbrella and most known for its Roper lawn mowers.
MTD makes all of the store brands (i.e., a mower that might have the Home Depot name on it), along with MTD, Dynamark, YardPro, Weed Eater, Noma, and Sears Craftsman. Murray makes MTD. MTD makes the low end (non-commercial) John Deere tractors. John Deere makes all John Deere
myself,i bought an ingersoll 48" cut new when i quit smoking in 92,beat the crap out of it,made a blade for it,pushed snow pulled cars. not any real problems,kohler 14 hp. never a hydo problem, wore out throttle shaft,sucked in a screw from the butterfly, and bent a valve.small stuff. mowing 3 acres. after arm and shoulder surgery, i couldnt turn the steering wheel all day,so i bought a 61" simplicity citation,zero turn. love it, cut over an hour off my mowing time,have it for almost 11 yrs,replaced blades and warranty covered drive belt that snapped after pinecone got in the pulley. 100.00 double belt. mower cost less than x mark, that i was looking at, (very nice x mark)
first rider when i bought my house was a 68 sears super 7 with 3 speed plus 2 speed axle,i just gave it to a friend of mine last spring. it was a workhorse
Last edited by oldolds88; Sep 10, 2021 at 08:31 PM.
Got the new cable and will install it after the weekend, so I'll try to finish this mowing season with it and then think about replacing it. Cool dry weather buys me some time.
If it continues running as well as it has, I might just keep using it. I figure it has 1500 hrs +- on it and it's never had a major failure, just wear items that were inconvenient when they failed.
I generally shy away from used lawn or power equipment because I don't know how it's been serviced or maintained, and I don't want someone else's poorly maintained junk no matter how cheap. New has a warranty.
Cousin drives for Grand Springs Water Co and was given 72" cut ExMark and 60" cut Kubota Diesel ZTRs that GSW was no longer using. Probably had written off all they could on them and replaced rather than repair.
Sure, they needed work. The ExMark needed an electric PTO clutch and Joe went ahead and replaced the wiring harness too as it had been buggered some. He has about a grand in it now, it runs and cuts well so he did ok. Plans to get the hydro drives rebuilt over winter so by then he'll have $2k in it. That's a $15k machine new.
Kubota is a different story. We haven't gotten it started yet and are afraid it's an injector pump. That one may move on somewhere as is since Kubota are right up there with JD for expensive parts.
I have a Craftsman tractor that's maybe 15 years old. I just do the regular maintenance on it, I used to plow with it when it was new. I live in deep snow country, and that small 21 or 22 hp tractor could move some snow. The tractor has held up great, only the seat is beat to crap. Here is my best tip for your tractor...this Craftsman came with some kind of quick change oil spigot on it. The thing has always leaked since day 1. I would have leakage all over that area. The plug was hard to get at, too. I could have just put a solid plug in, but it was hard to get at. About 10 years ago I stumbled onto this drain deal hose. Wow...best $ I ever spent, this type of thing leaks zip and makes it fun to change the oil. The company makes them for different mowers. I'm not sure if this is the company of mine, it was USA made. Trust me...buy one and see
Been using a 184 International since the early 80's. Sadly, they are hard to find in worthy condition these days. To many people had there hands in them and goofed most of them up by now. If you can find a really low hour one that was cared for, they will last decades
ĦLo me gusta!😻
Too many hands having been on them is why I'm leery of used. Lot of jacklegs in the mower arena... bad as old Chivverlays.
Have a 20 year old Kubota. Love it. I am going to have to do a bunch of work on the deck this winter. The only problem the local Kubota dealer is over an hour away. The local JD and cub cadet dealers are iffy at best. Very sorry about the JD dealer, they were a local 3 generation dealer that got bought out by a huge regional dealer. I don't walk in there unless I have to and will never bye any equipment from them again.
I’ve been using a JD 318 with a Onan engine that was purchased new in 89, regular maintenance all its life, just under 1400 hours. Only thing that had to to be replaced was a coil. It will use 1/2 pint of oil every two hours, Runs like a Deere!
About 10 years ago I stumbled onto this drain deal hose. Wow...best $ I ever spent, this type of thing leaks zip and makes it fun to change the oil. The company makes them for different mowers. I'm not sure if this is the company of mine, it was USA made. Trust me...buy one and see
Well, I like it too, but can the wife operate this HUGE piece of equipment since if the lawn is mowed, she does it; I've got to keep the operator happy.
So this hose once in place, stays in place, and one simply unscrews the opposite end and drains the block?
Yes, that's correct...it stays there and you just remove the brass cap to drain it. And once you show your wife how fun and easy it is, she will be not only do the mowing for you, she will want to do the oil changes, too! lol You can probably find them on Amazon for less.
And once you show your wife how fun and easy it is, she will be not only do the mowing for you, she will want to do the oil changes, too! lol You can probably find them on Amazon for less.
