Craftsman LTX 1000

[Daryl]

Just bought a left over 18 hr Kohler Craftsman LTX 1000 lawn tractor. Got it for what I thought was a great price. Was looking at the new John Deere L110 mower but ran into this one and could not pass it up. Question is, maybe a little late, /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif does anyone have one and what is their opinion of this mower.
Thanks
daryl

 

[pajoube]

Great unit, you will be pleased. Stay with summer use as it is a little light for snow blowing (stamped front end).
PJ

 

[Bird]

Daryl, if you'll go to this thread you'll see pictures of the one I had. Harv even fixed up a picture of what it would look like with the canopy and FEL from my Kubota /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif However, I got the one with the Briggs & Stratton engine simply because I was hoping the two cylinder engine would have less vibration (no evidence that it actually does). At the time, they were on sale at the same price, but otherwise, I think the Kohler engine was priced $100 more. It was a fine mowing machine; only thing I didn't particularly like was the hand lever instead of foot pedals for the hydro.

 

[Daryl]

Did not really like the hand hydro either but got the mower for $1223. including tax. Seemed like to good of a deal to pass up.Mow most of property with TC 30 just needed something for close to the house.
Thanks
daryl

 

[Bird]

Very good price, and should last a long time.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I just picked up my Sister and Brother-in-Law's Craftsman LTX-1000 yesterday. They got it sometime last August (bought it from Sear's online) and used it 4 times. They just moved to a much smaller fenced in yard and this was simply too big. So I (having a pretty large yard for Suburban Chicago) bought it from them for $1000. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Mine has the B&S Intek 21.5hp engine. I see a few people posting that they have the Kohler 18hp engines instead. Why/When did Craftsman change them? I like Briggs personally, but I always had stone cold reliability with Kohler too.

Also, I also believe I read somewhere that the LTX-1000 had a solid cast iron front axle, not a stamped steel unit. Not that it really matters. I'll use it all year round for everything from simple mowing to plowing in winter. But I don't have big ditches or anything dramatic to worry about.

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Why/When did Craftsman change them? )</font>

I don't think it was a matter of changing; it was a matter of giving you a choice. At least that's the way it was when I bought mine last year. At the time, the local Sears store had them on sale at the same price, but supposedly the regular price was $100 more for the Kohler engine. The Kohler engine was a single cylinder and the Briggs was a V-twin so I went with the Briggs.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Gotcha, for some reason (maybe it was just wording) I was thinking they replaced the Kohler with the Briggs.

Then why did they discontinue the LTX series? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Then why did they discontinue the LTX series? )</font>

Beats me; looks like they still have the same thing, but call them LT2000 in several different cutting widths and engines. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[pajoube]

Sears continues to carry both the Briggs and Kohler engines. You will find most of the garden tractor series (5000/6000) are Kohler engines.
The LT 1000 series are all Briggs engines with the LT 2000 being half Briggs and half Kohler.
They ended up changing the number series as they introduced more pedal control models in the mid range.
PJ

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks PJ and Bird. Kinda makes me feel "special" knowing I REALLY have a LT2000 series. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I got to use it Monday night for the first time and ****!! Even after going over a large section of my yard twice as well as generally fooling around, it still took me half the time it did before when I jogged behind my 6 speed Snapper. One thing I don't like about it is that I would like more finite control of my deck height. Overall throughout the yard I don't think I can get as low a cut as I did with my "walkers" (probably due to the deck being twice the size) but in certain places, I nearly scalped the grass at the same level settings. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I also don't feel it mulches as well. Creeping along in 1st gear, I still got a lot of clumping. That's why I went over it twice as I mentioned above. And the grass (seeing that this was the first cut of the season) wasn't overtly long as it will get later in the season. I sure hope a set of blades that have only been used 4 times prior aren't dull already.

But I'm exstatic overall. AND, it moves along pretty good in 6th gear. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[pajoube]

Do you have the 48 inch deck? If you do, it does not come with mulching blades. You have to buy the kit which runs around $50 dollars. This may account for the poor mulch cut.
PJ

 

[Anonymous Poster]

No, it's a 42". It had the deck block off for mulching which would lead me to believe they got it all as one package at once when they bought it new from Sears. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Mine was a 42" model also and came new with the discharge chute block for mulching (which I never used). I believe the manual also listed about 4 different blade part numbers. I had to buy new blades after I drove across a stump I thought was low enough; it wasn't; made a tiller blade out of one blade /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

 

[CMNTMXR57]

So, I do apologize up front for bringing an old thread back up. I was looking up some info for this tractor and this post came up in the search. I was "Anonymous" above. I completely forgot I posted those...

Anyway, I still have it (the LTX 1000) and overall, despite being used like a bulldozer (probably well past it's design intentions), in the past years since I originally posted, mid-summer last year, I tore a mandrel out of the out of the mower deck. There were parts down the alley and throughout the yard that I was finding for a few weeks after.

Anyway, being the somewhat frugal person I am, I have been keeping up on CL, preferably in the Chicago area, for another 42" deck that was clean and not rusted and nasty, to no avail. Looking to rebuild it, by the time I get the parts (figuring I'd replace both mandrel assemblies) and a new deck (as I tore it from the mounting holes), It was getting a little costly. So the Wife has given me a green light on just getting another newer tractor if I'm gonna spend the money...

So once I get the new yard whip, I will probably put the LTX up for sale as is. THe engine is still bulldozer strong, but the paint on the tractor parts has seen it's better days. Being used as a snow-plow in winter kinda did that to it...