How reliable and durable are Husquvarna Lawn Tractors?

[JOE G]

Update on my Husqvarna YTH24V48LS, Post #31 above I told you guys the Cylinder flooded out adn Hydro Locked, Well it did it again, Filled teh crankcase right full also. The motor developed a tick after this last time,Husky and Kawasaki both were not real helpful and pretty much told the dealer I need to deal with the tick and they will try to figure out why i is draining the fuel into the the cylinder/motor.

My Dealer has been great and I was there for all of the Phone calls and heard all of this myself. My Dealer who I buy all of my stuff from picked my mower up this morning and is exchanging it for me from his own inventory since Husky and Kawi won't do anything now that is customer service.

I still like the mower and it seems to be that only I am having this flooding issue, I hope all is well with the new one I'll Have it Tom.

 

[chowdahed]

I have a 2004 GTH2254. I cut about 3 acres a week with it. No idea how many hours it has. Last year I replaced one of the spindles and the mower deck belt. It is in the shop right now for a broken right rear axle. I'm having both replaced while it's in the shop as well as the drive belt which is looking pretty ragged. I can't complain with 8 years of trouble free use and abuse. I read on a bunch of different forums where people were having lots of trouble with broken axles on a few of the YTH models.

Best garden/yard tractor I had was a 1993 Wheel Horse 314-8 Classic.
Had 1155 hours on it. Kohler Magnum 14 Engine. I was giving it some serious cutting in a field 2 1/2 -3 ft tall grass when it threw a rod in the summer of 2005. Because of the new emission standards could not find another Kohler M14 engine. To repower it was going to cost me Aprox $2200 to put another motor on it with me providing the labor.
Had the snowplow, snowblower, 3 point hitch w/double disc harrow, 48" deck with the blower to a 3 bagger. Other than oil changes, the only things I had to repair/replace was 2 drive belts, deck belts, blower belts, 1 blower housing that I put a piece of oak thru( Wheel Horse actually warrantied it 1 year out of warranty and I even told them it was my fault, many sets of blades, 1 light bulb, spark plugs, air filters and 2 sets of front wheel bearings- 10 plus years and 1155 hours I believe that is **** good.
Best **** piece of equipment I ever owned.
New machine was going to cost me a little over $5 grand. I should have spent it while it was still available.

But I made a mistake of buying a Husqvarna GT2254 with the 8 speed manual- 4 high-4 low( I simply do not like the hydrostatic drives) with the 22hp ELS Briggs & Stratton.
I have always maintained all my equipment and they have always lasted.
After about 6 months I began to realize just what a engineering cluster f*ck this Husqvarna GT2254 was.
Problems from the starter being replaced 3 times, now I found a place to rebuild it it for me cheaper than buying a new one, 2 electric pto's, Steering shaft, 2 sets of front wheel bearings and 2 spindles, 2 deck spindles, 1 fuel pump, 2 gas caps, 2 brake/clutch springs, 1 drive pully and a few more that I forgot. I only have 196 hours on it.

The idiots in engineering decided to mount the engine lower in the frame and put a 90 degree oil drain valve that you have to use a 10" vinyl tube to attach to the valve to drain the oil. It takes about an hour to drain the oil-(2 qts) because you simply cannot open the valve enough to get any more than a very very slow drip. I even jack up the opposite side to help it drain. The Oil filter is a total mess to change. I put some aluminum foil under it folded to catch any spillage, but still oil gets all mover the frame runs down to the front onto the muffler-takes about 1/12 hours just change the oil and clean the mess up.

I really believe this unit was started to be put together on a Friday 5 minutes before the assembly guys left for the weekend and some hungover dude tried to finish it Monday morning..
Husqvarna ( AYP) may make some good machines, but this was not one of them..

With some luck in a few months I will not need it any more, seriously downsizing in housing( 3 1/2 acres) to a 7600 sq ft lot with about 2300 sqft grass area.

I found that the Husqvarna reps for the SE MA area really do not give a dam. I bought this and all my equipment at a landscape equipment dealer. HE has stood behind what I bought as much as HE could and then some. Would I buy another Husqvarna ? NO because Husqvarna would not stand behind their product. I know other people that have bought Husqvarna tractors and snow blowers that have had problems they had some real issues and Husqvarna did not care.

I really can't wait to be moving so the only things I'll need is a couple of shovels, rakes, pruners/shears, my 28 year old Craftsman 20" 4.5 hp Tecumseh rear discharge push mower, a 32 year old Honda HS35 single stage snowthrower that still starts up on the 1st pull.

Long winded here but I guess what I'm saying is if you have a piece of equipment and you have maintained it, that has been good but is showing signs of age, rebuild it, keep it.
Avoid box store buying of tractors, mowers, power equipment. Go to the outdoor power equipment dealers. They have a much more durable selection and THEY will fix it for you. You may pay a few more $$ but it is well worth it. They do not sell the same product that is in the box stores. Theirs are better built and better power combinations. Lowes, Homedepot and Sears equipment, in MA and I believe are now nationally, are actually warrantied fixed by Sears Techs. They don't say Sears on the uniforms but they are a repair unit out of Sears.

Any way.... good luck with what ever you have for equipment.

 

[JOE G]

Solenoid just went bad with 10 Hrs on the new Tractor.

 

[mudcat47537]

I've had my YTH130 Husquvarna with a 14 hp Kohler, 42" deck from a dealer 17 years ago. It has been a great mower without a doubt. I have rebuilt the deck spindles, the electric mower clutch went out at about 5 years, the steering shaft bushing was replaced for the second time this year. My wife ran it in a ditch and broke some of the deck attachment brackets. I repaired them myself and fabbed one. Batteries, belts and idler pulleys here and there. The Kohler has been perfect never once has it given me any problems I just change the oil 2 times a year and keep the air filter clean run some Sea Foam though it at the end of the year before I store it.
My yard is pretty rough we live in the woods have lots of trees and roots nothing flat and square probably an acre or just a bit over including the orchard. It survived my son and daughter learning to mow experiences without much fanfare. It has been a great mower and I will probably buy another when this one gives up. But I will buy from a dealer and not a box store.

 

[cdaigle430]

Over 300 hours on mine-everything is original even the drive belt. Will be replacing the mulch blades next year though. Had it since 2005-just performed regular maintenance and had to have the carb adjusted by a professional. The three bin bagger works okay but you have to learn how to get the most out of it-otherwise it clogs often. Im hoping with the new blades it will help the suction more as the original blades are half the size they used to be.

 

[HUSQVARNA13]

I've got 1,350 hours on mine. Mine is a GTH 220 It's been really good.