Who makes the new Plastic Transaxle in the Riding Mowers?

[jenkinsph]

I personally feel everything sold at the big box stores for mowing lawns is pretty much throw away. I have a 9 year old Troy Built (anyone remember when that was a good brand) which is built by MTD. The variable speed transmission is similar to what bcp posted above but it uses a standard belt for the variable speed and the case is aluminum. It doesn't use bearings, just brass bushings. The brake setup is the standard one that has been used for years. But without a seal the betonite grease leaks all over the brake rotor pretty much killing any stopping power. The variable speed belts slips once you start to go down any sort of hill. I usually replace the belt every 3 years or so.

Since I have to do things like remove the transaxle to replace the belt you get a real good look at how things are built and to be honest they aren't built well. But there's a reason why they sell for a fraction of what a real tractor sells for. But it's not just MTD. The Kohler engine in it is junk. Mine has held up except for the automatic decompression for starting. A coworker hasn't been so lucky. The engine casing on his has split. The worst thing about it is the engine is designed and made in the US. You would think that it was made in China in a backstreet plant with no quality standards. Sooner or later I'll replace it with something that will last. I'm sure that's going to cost me $5k or so. The other option would be to replace the cheap parts with high quality ones and rebuild it from the ground up to last.

Pretty much how I feel, the truth of the matter is money today isn't worth much so it takes a big stack of it to buy a good mower (or anything else for that matter), At least you have some nice tractors and equipment to work with, I did the same and got the large pieces first before buying a better mower.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . .

Since I have to do things like remove the transaxle to replace the belt you get a real good look at how things are built and to be honest they aren't built well. But there's a reason why they sell for a fraction of what a real tractor sells for. But it's not just MTD. The Kohler engine in it is junk. Mine has held up except for the automatic decompression for starting. A coworker hasn't been so lucky. The engine casing on his has split. The worst thing about it is the engine is designed and made in the US. You would think that it was made in China in a backstreet plant with no quality standards. Sooner or later I'll replace it with something that will last. I'm sure that's going to cost me $5k or so. The other option would be to replace the cheap parts with high quality ones and rebuild it from the ground up to last.

Kohler, Briggs and Kawasaki all build some good motors, but you have to get into the commercial mower lines to find them. The Kohler Command, the Briggs Vanguard and the Kawasaki FX series are all good engines. I've heard the Kawasaki FS series are the same as their FX series except for not having the Donaldson air filtration system.

I doubt if ANYthing sold at a big box store has a Kohler Command, Briggs Vanguard or Kawasaki FX (or even FS) engine in it.

 

[oldpilgrim]

The kohler in my ltx1046 is a Courage model. 2 cyl, seems like an excellent machine.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

The kohler in my ltx1046 is a Courage model. 2 cyl, seems like an excellent machine.

I'm not saying that all the Kohler Courage, Briggs "Commercial Turf" series or the Kawasaki FR motors will fall apart or fail prematurely. I'm sure there are some of them out there, like yours, that are working just fine and lasting a long time.

But the chances of getting one that performs well and lasts more than 500+/- hours are much lower with those residential / non-commercial series than with the commercial mower series like the Command, Vanguard and FX series. The commercial series engines will routinely go 1,500 - 2,000 hours or more with proper maintenance.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I'm not saying that all the Kohler Courage, Briggs "Commercial Turf" series or the Kawasaki FR motors will fall apart or fail prematurely. I'm sure there are some of them out there, like yours, that are working just fine and lasting a long time.

But the chances of getting one that performs well and lasts more than 500+/- hours are much lower with those residential / non-commercial series than with the commercial mower series like the Command, Vanguard and FX series. The commercial series engines will routinely go 1,500 - 2,000 hours or more with proper maintenance.

Putting an engine that will last 20 years on a mower that will last 7-10 years does not make sense. A Courage engine is not as sturdy as a Command but it is not as expensive.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Putting an engine that will last 20 years on a mower that will last 7-10 years does not make sense. A Courage engine is not as sturdy as a Command but it is not as expensive.

Ok, I give up.

I was responding to crazyal's post where he said "The Kohler engine in it is junk." My original point was that Kohler (and Briggs and Kawasaki) all make good engines and not-so-good engines. Just like equipment manufacturers make light duty, medium duty and heavy duty lines of equipment such as rotary cutters.

 

[whizdbiz2]

Now that I know it's a CVT and the more I think about it, that might really be a great thing, hydrostat-like pedal control with gear-drive like low maintenance and reliability.

My 2002 MTD made Huskee (TSC house brand) was/is a pedal control CVT. Love it still. For some reason about everything went hydrostatic... good to see it's coming back in modern materials.

 

[whizdbiz2]

Since I have to do things like remove the transaxle to replace the belt you get a real good look at how things are built and to be honest they aren't built well. .

You must be doing something wrong, I've replaced my drive belt a couple of times and haven't needed to drop the transaxle... MTD built Huskee from 2002, and it's still mowing every week. B&S engine that has been trouble free.

 

[crazyal]

I'm sure not every Courage engine Kohler made is bad. Mine only had a broken automatic decompression problem. My co-worker has this problem.
[video]https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIHbG6lVKBIAVpv7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTExMm loNGhnBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDQjA1MjEEZ3BvcwMx MA--?p=kohler+courage+engine+crack&vid=2c17b1819c0b065ee434a44e8ced0f48&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DWN.S n13BfW%252fPfjbOE%252bNL8peow%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D2 25%26w%3D300%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dt ymBpfiZMb0&tit=Kohler+courage+running+with+split+block.&c=9&h=225&w=300&l=43&sigr=11b0l4pbu&sigt=1187v7hjp&sigi=12o0nimbq&age=1334533129&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yfp-t-700-s&tt=b[/video]

There are two belts. One that goes from the engine to the transaxle, never had to replace it. There's a second belt that is part of the variable speed, that one I just drop the transaxle. It's only 4 bolts and two snap rings.

Two days ago I broke another belt for the mower deck, I'm on my third now. Turns out that it's pretty common problem as well. I just don't think that $1000 buys you a riding mower that is built like what it would have bought 25 years ago.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to be spending $3500 plus on something that will be made from much stronger parts. $3500 is actually bottom of the barrel if you would like to get a step up in engine/ transaxle quality and frame construction. A Deere or Cub Cadet (with a drive shaft and steel transaxle) will set you back over $5k. For $3500 you can get a Husky with a fabricated deck and the K66 transaxle.