Fixit Rider Mower

[mayhem]

See below for CL ad. Worth the gamble at $100 or so offer or should I avoid it? Sounds like the hydros are good, but that the motor maybe has a bad coil or really badly gunked carb. "Whirring sound" has me stumped, maybe sticky valves?

The 14 HP Kohler engine runs very well. It mows for a while an then makes a werring sound and slows down. It will not climb even small hills. I can't find anything wrong with it but there it is still with the problem. I am tired of trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Maybe you can. The mode is HYDRO. The black deck is very good and the blades are fine. The battery is OK. This riding mower has a broken hood. Tires are good, in fact everything SEEMS good except the broken hood. I don't think that the hood is fixable but it does go on and with a strap it stays. Please leave your phone and I will call you with answers.

Edit: The mower is listed as a John Deere STX 46.

 

[Highbeam]

What makes you think the hydro is good? I would say that it is obviously the problem. The reliefs are making the whirring sound when the hot fluid no longer can spin the drive motor. I've owned an old JD hydro mower with a bad trans and it just slows down to a stop when hot. Classic wore out hydro trans symptoms.

Nothing in the add implies that the engine has problems.

 

[mayhem]

See, thats why I asked...I caught myself making assumptions about things I don't have alot of knowledge about.

Guess I'll avoid this one.

Thanks.

 

[Jack Straw]

I really question when anyone sells their mower, it's the type of thing people only replace when it is completely shot.

 

[oldspark]

I really question when anyone sells their mower, it's the type of thing people only replace when it is completely shot.

Or it doesn't fill their needs any more.

 

[Highbeam]

I was often frustrated by the bad JD hydro. Engine ran great, deck blades were going full blast, but the trans lost the ability to convert that engine power into wheel power. If you sat there with the hydro in forward position and it wasn't moving then heat would really build up fast and the fluid would puke out the vent.

It got to where I would stop about mid way through the lawn and wash the trans off with a garden hose. The cold water would cool the fluid and I could finish the mow.

My new mower was all manual, all gear, with a clutch pedal and mechanical blade engagement.

 

[SolarAndWood]

My new mower was all manual, all gear, with a clutch pedal and mechanical blade engagement.

I assume you pop the loader off and run a 7' belly mower?

Mayhem, a lot of good old riders in good shape come up on craigslist for under $500. It usually isn't worth messing with one that doesn't work right.

 

[Highbeam]

Hah, I wish I had a 7' mower deck. Well actually I wouldn't use the tractor since that tractor is very very heavy and would leave significant ruts. The ruts are bad enough from a normal rider mower.

I bought a barely used craftsman rider with 42" deck and a single cylinder 19.5HP engine. All of the modern big box store mowers are built the same way... cheap, so brand doesn't really matter.

 

[burntime]

It could just be low on fluid or need a filter change if there is one. Low oil or clogged filter will heat it up! Could be water in the hydro and it foams up and cavetates the pump. The motor is worth the asking price...