Lawn Tractor Info
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
I don’t watch today’s consumer-grade lawn tractors, so have no advice to give, here. But you’re going to need to list your intended uses and some info about your property, to get any useful response. Are you mowing 0.25 acre or 10 acres? Pulling trailers? Snowblower? Plowing? How big is your driveway?
Where are you looking? Walt's in Ringoes?
https://www.waltsoutdoorcenter.com/
They carry Simplicity, too. That's where I went when I lived in Kingwood Township and I bought my tractor. Think they used to be up on 22 when I bought it, then moved to Ringoes.
https://www.waltsoutdoorcenter.com/
They carry Simplicity, too. That's where I went when I lived in Kingwood Township and I bought my tractor. Think they used to be up on 22 when I bought it, then moved to Ringoes.
Lawn tractors- anything under $2000 are using the bottom of the line ( type 4x ) hydro-static transmission. They have a relatively short service life of about 100 hours. Sealed unit not serviceable. Any type of ground contact equipment is not recommended additionally they do not play well with hilly terrain and have a problem with building up excessive heat - in short self destructing. The 5x and 6x units are much better. Almost every brand is using the same trans-axle supplier. About all I can tell you is that if the trans-axle has an external oil filter on it- that is a much better piece of equipment. I have not done any research on the drive systems for the zero turns- only dealt with the commercial units.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I owned an IH Cub 123 for several years, 1965'ish model. Stout little tractor, with a rear end the size of a pickup truck, but any machine that old is not going to be the most reliable option in the hands of most home-owners.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
I have a 2006 Simplicity Conquest, over 700 hours, with just two simple repairs. Great machine! Dealer - not so good.
I only have a little over an acre of what used to be pasture for the horse, no hills, all flat. The yard I use the mower.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Well, it had blades’ beloved K46 type hydro trans. Other than that, looks as good as any other consumer grade unit, no worse. Probably great for mowing, if that’s the intended purpose.
My mower has the beloved K46. I read about all the problems people were having about 2 years after I bought it. At that point, I changed the oil in it. Reading online there seemed to be some consensus that changing to a different type of oil helps with longevity (think I changed to synthetic 5w-50 but don't remember for sure what it was). Kind of a pain to do, have to remove the trans to change the oil. Going on its 5th year now and still going strong, but I keep waiting for that day...
I beat the crap out of that thing. Mow 2 acres with plenty of hills, towing heavy loads of mud/stones/whatever, run ground engaging implements. It can't have too much life left in it.
While my luck has held (so far) I'd consider going to something with a larger/better transmission. A Google search about K46 transmission problems brings up loads of material.
I beat the crap out of that thing. Mow 2 acres with plenty of hills, towing heavy loads of mud/stones/whatever, run ground engaging implements. It can't have too much life left in it.
While my luck has held (so far) I'd consider going to something with a larger/better transmission. A Google search about K46 transmission problems brings up loads of material.
0 turn huskavarna. We have the 54" Model with Kawasaki Engine. After idiot who build it and left bolt from shipping to get tangled up with belt. Zero Problems. Going on 3rd year. Now downside was it was $3300. We lost a few trees from beginners luck, but it has cut our lawn mowing time to less than 1/2. We have about 1ac of lawn and 10ac. Cut path around property and close to house. It gets used about 4-5x a year.. When grass stops we stop mowing.
Biggest downside is it really whips up dust over bare patches. Googles and Mask solve that. And only 1 Cup holder. hard to take 2 beers with you mowing grass (ha ha). (no beers really, alas can't do alcohol anymore Diabetes.
Biggest downside is it really whips up dust over bare patches. Googles and Mask solve that. And only 1 Cup holder. hard to take 2 beers with you mowing grass (ha ha). (no beers really, alas can't do alcohol anymore Diabetes.
The Cub Cadet, Craftsman, Yard Man , Lawn Chief and some others are all made by MTD. My friend got the Cub Cadet 46" XT1 Kohler Enduro and I have the Craftsman Pro Series 46" with the 24hp Kohler. They are virtually identical machines except for the color scheme. That said, if you have a good Cub Cadet dealer I would go with them for better parts and service.
This mower replaced a 15 yr old Craftsman Heavy duty 42" lawn tractor (also Kohler powered) with manual tranny. To tell you the truth, other than the zero radius turn on the new model which I like, I prefer the older mower. I am not a big fan of the toe/heel operation for fwd/reverse. I don't like that it disengages the blade in reverse and I particularly don't like that one must always keep one's foot on the pedal. That gets old with hours of mowing. Also, my old mower had a generous 9 cu ft triple bagger. All you can get on the new ones is a wimpy 6 cu ft. I use the bagger to collect mulch for the gardens. The new one fills up too quickly.
Seems every brand I look at has this hydro xmsn. Shouldn't be an issue since I'm only doing a flat acre once a week.(right?) Wouldn't be used for anything else since I have a Gator.
Yes it's a very common transmission in many lawn tractors that are below the "pain" threshold ($). If that's all you're going to use it for it would probably be fine. Making sure that the cooling fins on the transmission stay clean and not clogged with grass will help prolong it's life. What kind of lifespan are you hoping to get out of it?
I think you'll be fine I've got a Husqvarna with it, 200 hours mowing 2 flat acres with no issues regarding the transmission. The 26HP Briggs Intek though has been a PITA.
CaptSpiff
Minister of Fire
I'm in NJ too. I would by an older 30+ year old deere. maybe 318 in great condition. I would expect to do some repairs occasionally. I however I am continually amazed with the engineering that went into these small tractors back then. I currently have a deere 420 for sale. The 420 is way over kill for you. Its built like a tank. Its from 1984. Great machine.
LIke the Simplicity of moons ago- Sunstrand transmission, sorry can't remember the other one, but the Sunstrand was bullet proof and the other was almost as good. and for some reason these newer unit tranys just seem to suck up hp that used to be available to the mower deck. I still have a Simplicity 728 ( 1960's unit) ( manual trany) That old 7.5 or so hp briggs and the 36" deck go through stuff that my JD 120 just upchucks in ( 18 hp twin cylinder I think).
Ashful
Minister of Fire
You can't beat those old machines, but I have to take issue with the terminology you use to describe your sentiment. Specifically, it is the LACK of engineering that made them so great, so many of the key drive components are massively over-built. "Engineering" is the art of "just good enough", at lowest possible cost, not throwing money down the drain to overbuild one part of a system when other components are guaranteed to fail. The beauty of it is that those with the time and energy can keep these old tanks going, despite their shortcomings in some areas, thanks to being so stout in others.
Anyone can over-build a bridge that will stand for 100 years, without really understanding engineering principles, my house is literally surrounded with examples of this. It takes a crafty engineer to build it as light and inexpensively as possible, to withstand the same span of space and time, at much lower expense in time and materials.
I do not consider a $1500 dollar investment in a lawn tractor/ mower as a 3 or 4 year throw away item. But that is exactly how they are being made and the no longer available parts. IMOP.
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