I've got the exact same mower but with the Kawasaki engine. Love it. I only have 1/2 an acre but lots of trees, parked cars, trailers, etc to mow around and the zero turn is awesome. I would ask your Toro dealer if you could use the Kawa motor from an earlier model. May be cheaper than the Kohler.
Also, in a quick CL search locally I saw the 42" deck offered with a B&S powerplant as well. Your mowing season isn't quite as long as ours here in FL. If you are looking for a larger deck I would seriously search in the SE and consider a road trip to collect. You may have many more options south of the border (the one on I95 that is).
I have 2.5 mowed acres and I have a JD with a 48" deck; I really wish I would have ponied up the extra $1000 when I bought this for a ZTR but the place I lived then didn't need it. I can't see downgrading if I were in your position I would repair what you have.
just saying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogN-n4hcIIE
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOnKb-j6CrY
We bought one of these in the Spring: http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-54-in-26hp-turn-tight-hydrostatic-yard/p-07128858000P?prdNo=7&ViewAll=true&blockNo=7&blockType=G7
We paid something like $1900 for it before tax (free delivery), and it does a great job on our open 2 acre lot. I was looking at more expensive tractors, but the break-even on this tractor vs. a lawn service is about 1 year, so if I get 3-5 years out of it, we're way ahead.
If I was mowing the lawn, I would have gotten a walk-behind, but my wife volunteered to mow the lawn if we got a tractor. So far, she's more than kept her own end of the bargain, as I've only mowed the lawn with it once 
I do the trimming with the push mower and the weed whacking, and she does the rest with the tractor.
We went from 2+ hours with my Cub Cadet 21" push mower to under 45 minutes for the entire yard. So far, it's been everything we hoped it would be.
Where were all you guys that are advising to buy the biggest, heaviest duty machine to mow the grass when we were talking about trimming the grass?
I've never seen a Kohler let go. A couple of Briggs, but never a Kohler. There's one on a 20 or so year old, 1,200 hour Dixon ZTR that still sees commercial use. It sounds like you had a freak accident. Unless you really want a fancier mower, repair what you have. If buying a cheap mower for its engine is the way to go, you can easily recoup several hundred selling the parts.
Derick Freese wrote: Where were all you guys that are advising to buy the biggest, heaviest duty machine to mow the grass when we were talking about trimming the grass?
Trust me, those people are there on the tractor forums. I could have spent triple the money we spent and gotten a "real" tractor, but really all we're going to use it for is to mow the lawn.
Derick Freese wrote: I've never seen a Kohler let go. A couple of Briggs, but never a Kohler.
I've heard that the Kohler Courage line is not as reliable as Kolher's earlier models. In fact, I specifically avoided the Kohler Courage engines in my searches based on feedback on the tractor forums. Kawasaki seems to be the gold standard in engines, B&S is second, and Kohler is 3rd.
Yes, apparently the Kohler Courage engine has a bit of a reliability "issue". I went to a large local mower/tractor dealer last night. As soon as I told them what mower I have, one of the guys said "Oh...you have a Courage engine, huh." Their comment was that typically Kohlers have proven reliable, but they've seen several of these Courage series with cracks in the block. After kicking it around with the guys there for a while, I decided the best plan for me is to fix what I've got. Riding tractors have a few advantages, but they won't be as fast as my ZT. And the repair bill will be 1/2 or less the cost of a new model. If the head isn't damaged, then they'll short block it. Either way, they'll at least try to see if they can get Kohler to pitch in. Not holding out hope, it's 5 years old and the warranty was only 2 years.
dj06482 wrote: Trust me, those people are there on the tractor forums. I could have spent triple the money we spent and gotten a "real" tractor, but really all we're going to use it for is to mow the lawn.
Those guys are nuts!
"I have to mow 1/3 acre, and I have a bad back so I can't push, what kind of mower should I get for $1000"
"Well, I say anything less than this 42" ZTR from this specialty company for the low low price of $5499 is asking for trouble, but it's your stupid lawn, go cheap out if you want to, you'll be sorry!"
We have 10 acres and mow half of it. I started with the lawn tractor style when we mowed about an acre and it was a pain with the trees etc. Now that we mow 5 acres it's zero turn all the way.
Glad to hear you have a dealer that will work with you and try to get the OEM to pitch in. After driving a ZT you will not enjoy driving a tractor. My 52" Hustler Fastrak with a 20 hp Honda is going strong after 10 years.
Derick Freese wrote: I've never seen a Kohler let go. A couple of Briggs, but never a Kohler.
They're not what they used to be. I bought my Cub Cadet because they didn't have a Briggs. Since I was 8 I had fought with mowers with POS Briggs motors on them so when I bought my own it was going to be different. I have a 19hp Kohler and at about 70 hours it started to smoke like a battleship. I have been told be happy that's all it does. This tractor has been the biggest piece of crap I have ever owned. It throws belts almost every time I used it. The last straw was when the pin that holds the PTO popped out and tore the wires out of it. $350 for the part. The guy that plows my snow gets $60 to mow 1.5 acres, and in half the time it took me does a better job. I know it's the lazy way out but it's worth it to me to spend 3 hours a week on the lawn.
New Kohlers are not what the old ones were because Kohler got tired of being killed in the market by Briggs.
They are now a chinese sourced or cheapy domestics. :(
The one you have is built in Hattiesburg, MS to the chinese spec. It is all about cost savings.
Source: Work with Former Kohler Sales Rep.
Cub Cadets are built by MTD now and have been for years, you're right, they aren't what they used to be.
I also stray away from and Husqvarna stuff including Craftsman, horrible manufacturning
The Toro you have is a nice piece of equipment, I would find another motor and go that route. Maybe a used one and do a quick refresh?
The only advice I can give you from all of our testing at me previous job is run full synthetic in everything. Engine and Hydrostatic transaxle. Also you want the smallest possible tire with the available transmission. They don't upgrade the transmissions with the tire and the extra torque on the hydros shorten the life.
Get a Dixie Chopper with a Guardian engine and it will be the last mower you buy. Oh sure, it costs as much as nice Miata, but it's almost as much fun to drive. 
petegossett wrote: Get a Dixie Chopper with a Yanmar Diesel engine and it will be the last mower you buy. Oh sure, it costs as much as nice Miata, but it's almost as much fun to drive.
FTFY
I live on 47 acres and we mow about 3-4 acres of it. I have lots of trees to navigate around and some pipe fencing too. I have a Cub Cadet 24hp 50" deck that does the job perfectly. Takes me a full day to do it though because I'm a perfectionist and if I see a piece sticking up, I have to go over the whole line again. Navigating around the pond, house, barn, etc. takes some time too. Anyway, great mower, I love it, wasn't too expensive at Tractor Supply either. Home Depot sells them too.
I talked to my industrial engine sales manager (former Kohler guy). We apparently are a Kohler Distributor. I can get you pricing, if you want. If you don't choose us at least you will have a negotiating point.
Get me the model and serial number off the engine and I can PM you.
Wally wrote: I have a 19hp Kohler and at about 70 hours it started to smoke like a battleship. I have been told be happy that's all it does.
Sounds like you've got the same engine as me.
Flightservice, thanks for the info. Well, at least Kohler can say "Proudly built in the USA"...just leave out the part about being built to a lower standard. Overall, I've been quite content with my Toro, which is one of the reasons I decided to fix it. I'm waiting to hear back from the shop. They're reaching out to Kohler directly to see if they can get warranty coverage, or even contribution. Apparently, this particular model of Courage engine has a known issue where some bolts come loose and fall off (I forget which ones). They then hit the flywheel and destroy the engine. I'll grab the serial number at home...IIRC the model was something like SV590.
To put some finality to this one, I just heard back from the mower shop. The head is fine, it's just the short block that's trashed. Kohler agreed to send a new block, I just have to pay for the installation. So my final bill is going to be $450, instead of the $1500 that it could of been if I needed a long block. Still sucks it broke, the engine was defective. But all things considered, not a terrible outcome.
That's cool, but why are you having to pay for labor? How much is that labor rate? I rebuild single cylinder diesels for commercial stuff for less than that.
Not only does it sound like a lot of labor, but just have Kohler ship it to your house, it's not a Caterpillar, you could probably knock it out in an afternoon.
fanfoy wrote: Does it have to be a Kohler? You can get a good B&G of the same power for about half the price. If you ran that thing all day long, than a Kohler would be worth it, but for a private operation, the B&G would be good enough.
This. I bought a used mower with a rotten deck for $100, got the B&S out of it then sold the scrap for ~$25. It's been in my mower for about nine years now.
I've seen way to many Kohlers fail to be very impressed by them. Old or new.
OP, watch craigslist and such, and check the farm type auctions, you'll find replacement used engines for under $200 quite regularly. This isn't a rocket science application, pretty much any strong vertical shaft motor can be made to fit and work with little more than a pulley change on the end of the engine shaft.
I bought a late 80's Craftsman riding mower with a 15hp B&S "non-running" for $200. Replaced the starter and it runs like a top. It's only a 42" deck, but I'll be using it on our new place, which is about 5 acres of grass.
Dunno why people think they need a 60" deck for anything over 3 acres. Biggest mower I had in Vermont was a 48" Simplicity for 8 acres of grassy hills.
TAMU FSAE has a 16.5-horsepower vertical-shaft Craftsman single for sale stupid-cheap.
Will it fit in your existing ZTL?
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