Big box mowers . . .
Bought a brand new Husqvarna 46" riding mower/garden tractor from Lowes in 2011 or early 2012. It has a Kohler "Cowardice" engine, excuse me Kohler "Courage" engine. It currently has 202 hours on it, I don't use it particularly hard, it is maintained according to the schedule, and the area I mow is fairly smooth, no rocks, rebars, cement blocks, etc. This mower should be living the life of Reilly, right?
Well, not exactly.
Understand that I'm 74, and have owned and worked on over 150 cars since I was 16 - all kinds of stuff, ridiculous to the sublime, Porsches, nine Jaguars (I learn, slowly, but I do learn), Mercedes (old and new), Lotus Elan (!), Volvo, Fiat, MG, El Camino, Ford, Chevvy, the list goes on and on, also uncounted motorcycles, a three boats (ugh), a couple of airplanes, a tractor and more AND a 4,500 sf building chock full of tools which I have a pretty good idea of how to use and I've taught in trade schools and publish technical books on airplanes and motorcycles, so I have a pretty good idea of which end of a screwdriver to hammer on, and I take care of stuff - good care.
This Husqvarna perfectly fits the description of "Designed by morons, assembled by chimpanzees, sold by charlatans" and the last part is "to fools", and I evidently have to plead guilty. This mower is the worst, least reliable, crankiest, all-around vilest piece of vehicular garbage it has ever been my displeasure to be afflicted with.
Optional sunshade didn't fit, it sagged down over my eyes in ten minutes, bracing it and making sure the hardware was correct and correctly installed made no difference. It was only $60, Lowes was far away, it wasn't worth fighting over.
Both aluminum blade spindles broke - fixed under warranty by dealer (30 miles away).
Anti-vibration straps on hood fell off. I left them off and took the hood off for better visibility and for better service access, which I have needed a LOT.
The gas tank filler is partially blocked by the cowling. You are WELL advised to let the engine cool completely before attempting to fill the gas tank because it is almost impossible to refuel without splashing fuel on the hot engine. The tank itself is opaque plastic so you never know the fuel level unless you check constantly or it overflows on being filled. Talk about dumb design . . .
Two welds on the mower deck broke, dropping it to the ground. Fixed under warranty by same dealer.
Pulley bolt on the deck worked loose (evidently never tightened), ruined the drive belt. Replaced with decent quality hardware, the OEM bolt was as soft as butter. If there is such a thing as a Grade Zero bolt, this is it. You could practically squeeze it gently and leave fingerprints in the metal.
Both front tires dry rotted. Husqvarna supplied inner tubes under "We're doing you a favor" warranty program. (That was inside of six months from date of purchase.) Got the usual "Gee, we've never seen that before" line of BS from them before they asked for my shipping address,
Steering spindles loose, mower steered about as well as an epileptic spider on roller skates on ice. Shimmed with washers, now it more or less goes where I want it to. It'll never be a sports car, but at least now it will go in a straight line. Almost. Sometimes.
Oil quick-drain loose, it was less than two turns from falling out, which would have poured hot oil on my left foot and blown the engine because ALL the oil would have been on my left foot and none left in the crankcase. Teflon tape, tightened and safety wired, so that should be the end of that issue.
Deck baffles vibrated apart, locked up the mower and bent a blade. Not once, but twice. Fortunately, these are on eBay for $12 or so and I'm getting good at changing them. I am also keeping a spare on the shelf, I *KNOW* I'll need it sooner or later.
Muffler vibrated apart - replaced. 135 hours.
Carb rebuilt twice in 200 hours, still ran like warmed over cr*p. Finally bought a replacement carb (eBay again) for about 1/5 of what the dealer wanted, discovered that the intake manifold gasket under the carb spacer (which is why I didn't catch it on the two rebuilds) was installed folded from the factory and there was a big air leak in the intake tract, which MIGHT explain why the mower always ran lean, stank of gas, started hard, backfired and seemed to lack power. After 200 hours of ownership, now it seems to run at least decently. (Keeping fingers crossed.)
One of the carb rebuilds was prompted by large clouds of white smoke from the exhaust, it seems the float sank and filled the crankcase with gasoline. Drained and refilled everything, the carb kit had two different length needle valves with no instructions or any way to tell which was which. Took a chance, at least it didn't run any worse, so evidently I guessed right.
FOUR batteries so far, it needs a new one every 24 to 30 months, mower is stored inside, never gets cold, and on a charge maintainer. Good old WalMart, $27 a pop, at least they are close.
Deck washout plug broke off/fell apart, evidently from the extreme stress of being exposed to sunlight. Replaced.
Slap it together and get it out the door. Lowes' warranty is (or was, it is long expired) "Bring it here, we'll get back to you within six to eight weeks, it could be more."
I've had old, tired 50's vintage Fiats that ran better and were more dependable than this Husqvarna mower, and that should tell us something.
I'm now mowing with the Kubota, and there is a zero-turn mower in our future, which is why I'm reading this thread. The Husqvarna is going to be used as an aircraft tug, we'll see if it likes that better. Or maybe I'll just blow it up and claim it as a casualty loss.
Friends don't let friends buy Husqvarna garden tractors.
Best Regards,
Mike/Florida
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