A reliable used lawn or garden tractor?

   / A reliable used lawn or garden tractor? #31  
You are close, I'm right off M34 east of Adrian, between Adrian and Deerfield. I hunt once in a while off Territorial just south of 127 and 34...... Howdy neighbor.

I still work part time, in Toledo, supposed to be retired but it never seems to end.
 
   / A reliable used lawn or garden tractor? #33  
Are there any manual transmission to avoid?

Bruce
 
   / A reliable used lawn or garden tractor? #37  
I may as well add my 2 cents. After a few nightmares (Simplicity & Craftsman), I got a JD F-525. Its a front mounted mower deck. It's a 3 wheeled almost zero turn, 48" deck. I pulled a Woods leaf vac behind it for 10 years or so and still runs nice. A new fuel pump is all it needed for parts. Kawasaki 18 hp gas motor. You can get a front snow blower for it if necessary. Still have it. Fired it up after a few years 2 days ago and just could not stop running with it. Its VERY fat and maneuverable. The pine trees I used to race around are now 20' tall.

On the way to work one day, I saw a JD F-935 diesel front mower 72" deck and had to have it. Seller bought it from a local metro park to cut the golf course. This job is also very fast. I cut fields with it, I even run a pto generator off of the driveshaft that normally goes to the mower deck. You can also get a snow blower for it if necessary. All I've ever had to replace is the rubber hoses inside the two fuel tanks, the battery and put in new glow plugs just because it was fun.

A gal I sell hay to asked me to fix her MTD/Toro 17-44 gas lawn tractor. Transmission drive belt went south. To change this belt, you have to take the machine 1/2 apart, including pulling the battery and battery case, steering pitman arm, and of cource, removing the deck. Don't need to pull the battery for changing the mower deck blade drive belt. Youtube videos saved the day for me on the best way to do it.

Here's my point: If you only need a grass cutter, get a front mounted shaft driven deck. Easy to change/sharpen blades. At least a few castings in it somewhere. Dealer close by in case you need something special. Designed for easy maintenece and repair, not just ease of initial assembly. Fast ground speed, as wide a deck as you can store.

I also keep my eye on the neighbor's JD 316. Its a 50" deck 1 belt garden tractor (mid deck). She abuses the crap out of it but has not been able to kill it. I put a set of bearings in one of the mower spindles, a new belt and a pair of deck gauge wheels on it for her in the last 15 years. Good cutter of thick grass but I hate the transmission selector design on it. A clutchless lever selector for FWD, neutral and reverse but a pedal brake. I know how she runs into things because its unnatural for me after using the rocking fWD, neutral reverse single pedal systems on my mowers.

My 48" gas 525 uses 2-1/2 gallons of gasoline to cut the yards. My 935 uses 3/4 of a gallon of diesel to cut the same pattern on my lawns and street runs.
 
   / A reliable used lawn or garden tractor? #39  
My brother in law gave me his old JD LT150 last spring when he got a newer Deere. It was not running at the time, but after about an hour or so tinkering with the carb and some safety switches I had it running like a song. He had cut several acres with it for more than 10 years and it was a little beat, but he had just replaced all the deck bearings, prior to getting his new mower. The second time I cut with it, a deck bracket failed, but another hour or so with my little buzz-box arc welder and that deck is now better than a new one. I used it the rest of last season with no issues and 5 or 6 times already this spring, and it is still going strong. That 15 hp Kohler engine does not use a drop of oil between annual changes, and that hydro tranny is really nice on my acre lawn. With a 38" deck, I can easily finish it in an hour or less. All I got into this machine is a few welding rods and a couple hours time, but if you are mechanically inclined at all and can find one for under $500, you would do well. It also makes an extremely neat cut, which keeps my wife happy. She was never that thrilled with the cut I got from my old Wheel Horse. I gave that one to my dad, and my mom is not quite so fussy.
 
   / A reliable used lawn or garden tractor? #40  
Walk past anything with the Tuff Torq K46 Hydrostatic drive

If you're going to push or pull something, listen to buckanddeere. If you're just mowing grass with a 46" deck or less, the K46 is OK.
 

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