Zero Turn Mower Questions

[WinterDeere]

I like diesel. I rarely have to refuel, ethanol problems are not possible, and assuming this engine wasn't doomed when I got it, it should outlast me.

I guess it comes down to the lifespan of the remaining components, in your environment. My deck is likely already beyond half life, and my motor has about 1400 hours on it, having been rebuilt at 1200 hours. I fully expect that my engine and mower deck will reach end of life roughly simultaneously... a perfect design, in that respect.

I don't see much point in putting a 4k hour engine on a machine with other 2k hour components that are so expensive as to be considered essentially irreplaceable. Who cares how many hours are left on that engine, when you're sending the mower off to the scrap yard with a rotted-out mower deck and totally-spent spindles?

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I don't believe this mower has components like that, since they routinely go 5,000 hours. But I definitely rolled the dice, buying used.

The transmission is the only thing that concerns me, and that would be true of a gas mower as well.

All the peripheral frame parts can be replaced. The deck plate will never wear out or rust out here. Bearings can be replaced.

When I was shopping, I was told to expect 750 hours from a new gas engine, in addition to all the gas headaches. If I get 1500 more from this diesel, which I probably will with just oil and coolant changes, I'll be too old to want to mow any more, so that would be a win. And I will never, ever have an ethanol problem.

One nice thing is that this engine was made to be rebuilt multiple times, and that is not true of most gas jobs. And I really like mowing my big yard over and over with no trips to BP for diesel.

If I had this to do over again, I think I would just plop down $20K on a new ZD1211 or something comparable. Life is too short to have a bad mower or deal with gas.

 

[WinterDeere]

The deck plate will never wear out or rust out here. Bearings can be replaced.

That's the crux of it. My deck only gets scraped clean once or twice per season, and our grass here tends to be damp and acidic. The underside of the deck was a delaminating rusty, crusty mess a few years back, when I inquired about a replacement deck pan. Stock is limited, and cost for the bare pan was something like $3700. But the spindles aren't exactly new, those aluminum castings are also pretty ratty, and the hardware fixing them to the old deck is quite rusty... odds of having to replace parts in that component transfer seems high.

At some point the repair cost exceeds what's a justifiable investment into a 20-year old machine. But if you live in a dry environment where decks and spindle castings don't corrode nearly as quickly, then perhaps the expense of a longer-life engine is justifiable.

As to dealing with gas versus diesel, I don't understand the issue there. I bring both home in 5 gallon cans, neither is less a PITA than the other. I don't have bulk storage for either, on-site. One advantage to the gas mower is that I always have gas on-hand for other OPE, and to put some in my wife's car when she routinely runs it down to fumes and is worried she won't even make it to the gas station the next morning.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Is your motor vertical shaft?

Yes, mine is vertical shaft ... It's a FX921 - 31 HP with a carb.

I can snake my arm down between the seat and gas tank to get to the drive motor grill, if you zoom in you can actually see the drive pulley, just behind the seat hold open rod.

 

[WinterDeere]

Just watch your fingers! Lots of spinning bits and belts, if it's anything like mine.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

My mower must have at least 1,000 hours on it, and there is still a little paint on the underside. My grass is thin garbage, and it never sticks. My JD 430's stamped deck is thinner than the Kubota's and has a couple of rust holes. I have no idea how many hours are on it, though. The meter was dead when I bought it, and the deck has serious repair welds on the underside. I believe it was made in 1990.

Even that old rusty deck will work just fine.

Ethanol is a real problem for me. I have had to rebuild chainsaw carbs over and over, and my EZGO has the same issue. I guess it's the climate. Also, based on my research, I believe I am refilling my tanks about half as often with diesel.

I switched to ethanol-free for everything, and I have to use an additive, but ethanol isn't the only thing that makes modern gas gum up, so I don't want to fool with it any more than I have to. I can get diesel three minutes away instead of driving farther to get ethanol-free.

 

[WinterDeere]

Ethanol is a real problem for me... I guess it's the climate.

Yeah, things definitely vary by region. I've always just run regular pump gas in all of my OPE, which as been either E10 or E15 the last 20 years, and have had zero problems. Even my rarely-used 1973 Briggs-powered Toro walk-behind mower has E15 sit in it two years at a time, with zero issues. I run it in my mower, chainsaws, leaf blower... no issues.

But mower decks do not last that long around here. Our grass sticks to everything like a nasty green acidic paper mache, this time of year. It dries out mid-summer, but spring and fall are always a wet mess.