So, I've had the bottom-end J-D lawn tractor, L100 for 16 years. Last few years it had been "knocking" on startup and shutdown. I assumed the AVS balance rod was worn out and getting ready to come through the block. I may have even posted on here about it. Someone says "check the motor mounting bolts for looseness", so I give the engine a push and a good shake and it's nice and snug. Doesn't budge. Heck with it, I'll run it 'til it breaks. I mean 16 years old, right? I even bought my moving-away neighbor's Husqvarna tractor as a backup.
The other day, my neighbor's dad, who ran a small engine repair business for years, is over when I start it up. He points and says, "the engine is loose". I watch it as I shut it down, and sure enough, you can see it rock a bit as it comes to a stop. We tighten the bolts, and she runs like new. Guess I need to treat her to an oil change. Darn thing will probably last another 16 years.
That Husqvarna is nice, though. V-Twin for the win. Wife wants me to sell one or the other. I'm like "Sell it? Why would I sell it? Are you crazy?"
I have a Craftsman DGS6500 with a 26HP Kohler V-Twin in it. I hate every minute I have to use it just because of the slope of the front yard. Plus some mice ate the ignition harness last year and, since it's an older mower with NLA parts, I had to rewire it myself.
Already told the wife that when it's time for another mower I'm buying a Husqvarna robot mower for the .75 acres of what passes for grass. With my luck that'll be another 15 years because I have too much mechanical empathy, or I'm just frugal with a mechanical skill set, to just abuse machinery until it dies of neglect.
Grizz
UberDork
4/20/20 11:14 a.m.
In reply to TJL :
Nah it's from a local place but all the problems I've had are pretty much a "no matter where you get it from" kinda deal. I wish my grandfather didn't buy the thing but I'm considering yanking the 24 hp motor to replace the kt17 in the tractor.
In reply to AAZCD :
Regarding the gas flooding of the crankcase.... I found on my old Craftsman rider that gas was seeping past the carb seal into the crank and causing the same situation. Checked with my local small engine guy and he wanted $$ for a carb kit, so instead I purchased an in-line shut off valve and installed it in the fuel line. Simple fix that cost about $2...
Cheers
Gordon
In reply to Apexcarver :
The shop took one look at it and said "tuff torque k46". Famously terrible rear end. That was a pricey mower when new. The john deere tax is up there with the porsche tax. What should have been a 800$ mower has green and yellow paint, now its a 3000$+ mower.
In reply to Apexcarver :
RE: The JD Trans failure. It is a known problem. I've been told that the box store JD mowers have plastic gears in the trans. The JD mowers from the dealers have steel in the trans. I've not verified that just been told that by a friend who gets off on busting my bubble. I have one from the box store with 80 hours on it and so far so good. Knock on wood....
this one has 325hrs on it. I managed to flip the gear and get about a 5min test on it before the 1/8th or less of remaining tooth gave up. New gear should arrive today. label indicates that it came from JD store, not big box.
In reply to 68TR250 :
If you keep it on flat ground and dont attempt to tow or pull much at all, it can last a decent long time. My dad has one that has close to 15 years of regular use on it, still seems fine. But ive also seen people kill them in a year or so. Some of them you can rebuild and fix. If i remember right, that entire rear axle assembly weighs less than 20lbs. The hydro on my craftsman of similar size weighs something like 80lbs. The pump on mine weighs more than the whole k46 assembly.
In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :
Thanks for the info, I never pull or push anything with it and the lawn is pretty mildly sloped. It is about an acre of grass with lots of trees and stuff to go around. It gets used about 45-50 minutes a week.
