Well, after providing some wood (1/3 cord or so) to my neighbor last year as a good gesture, he bought a new garden tractor and gave me his old one.
It looks to be in very good condition, its a Ariens 15hp YT1540H. with a 3 bag attachment on the rear.
Basically, he said that it needed a new battery and drive belt, which he is going to help me install. (Picked up a belt and battery for around, $50 so not a bad deal so far)
Only other item he said was it might need new blades, as he got some vibration (loud) when running it, and said sometimes the blades get out of balance?
So, took the blades off and brought down to the Ariens place....they checked the blades and indicated that they seemed pretty good, one was a little off, but shouldn't make a difference...should get at least 2-3 years more out of them.
So, if the blades are ok, I'm thinking that perhaps the bearing and spindle might be shot on the deck, and need replacing?
I'll put the blades back on and check to see if there is any play from side to side.....if no play, would you say it is indeed time to replace the blades?
Just was looking for some feedback on what I might check forst, as this is a big stup up for me with my 3/4 acre lawn and Honda 21" push mower lol
(Was going to post this in another forum, but I figured a large percentage of folks here have garden tractors, and just felt a little more comfortable with the good folks here)
It looks to be in very good condition, its a Ariens 15hp YT1540H. with a 3 bag attachment on the rear.
Basically, he said that it needed a new battery and drive belt, which he is going to help me install. (Picked up a belt and battery for around, $50 so not a bad deal so far)
Only other item he said was it might need new blades, as he got some vibration (loud) when running it, and said sometimes the blades get out of balance?
So, took the blades off and brought down to the Ariens place....they checked the blades and indicated that they seemed pretty good, one was a little off, but shouldn't make a difference...should get at least 2-3 years more out of them.
So, if the blades are ok, I'm thinking that perhaps the bearing and spindle might be shot on the deck, and need replacing?
I'll put the blades back on and check to see if there is any play from side to side.....if no play, would you say it is indeed time to replace the blades?
Just was looking for some feedback on what I might check forst, as this is a big stup up for me with my 3/4 acre lawn and Honda 21" push mower lol
(Was going to post this in another forum, but I figured a large percentage of folks here have garden tractors, and just felt a little more comfortable with the good folks here)