Another Piston To Look After…Ride-On Lawn Mower

[keithb7]

My justification for this latest purchase is weak. I’ve always wanted a ride-on mower. I’ve pushed a lot of mowers in my time. I’ve never really “enjoyed” mowing the lawn. My wife loves a green lawn. I heckle her when she fertilizes our lawn and sets the timers for the sprinklers. The last couple of years she’s been busy with house renovations so I let the lawn lay to waste.  
 

It took Momma exactly ¼ of  a second to agree on buying this when I presented it. Its 1 year old and has 15 mins run time. The seller had all the literature and original purchase receipt. I saved $1000 off the price of a new one today. 
 

Not the greatest build, made overseas but I can look after and repair it. Troy-Bilt with a 382 cc engine. Momma likes the ride-on mower so we can fight over who gets to run it.  I’m happy to have another internal combustion engine to put to work and maintain.  Its fun hobby, engines and related. 
 

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by keithb7

[greg g]

My sis in law had one of those with craftsman decals on it. She had about 1/3 acre suburban lawn.  Her yard had some rough spots and ruts from parking her small van based rv.  She was forever getting it stuck even when she marked the areas worst spots.  I used it a couple of times. Pretty light grade materials and lots of non greasable wear spots.  Steering was wonkie from the get go.  Wouldn't release from full lock without shutting down getting off and rocking it while twisting the steering wheel.  Slow down the ground speed, keep the blade speed up and air down the tires if your lawn is bumpy.  If you have embankment, or side hills, stay away.  Short narrow wheelbase doesn't play nice with having wheels on different planes.

 

Good luck.  With good maintenance and careful use it should last a few years.  She left it on the property when she sold her place.  She had it 4 or 5 years, still starting and working ok.  I shouldn't mention this, but when she bought hers probably 8 years ago now, she got it for 500 usd delivered to her house.  

Edited April 3, 2023 by greg g

[keithb7]

I agree as I could see its limitations as soon as I got close to it.  Lots of happy owners on line it seems. Today I drove up, down and sideways across the steepest part of our yard. It worked well if I shift my weight around to prevent any possible rollovers. We’ve been riding dirt-bikes and ATVs for many years. We’re sort of used to it I suppose.  We’ll see how we like it after a season of mowing. 

Edited April 3, 2023 by keithb7

[Dan Hiebert]

Most US riding mower brands are made by the same manufacturer now.  Just different levels of doo-dads, fit and finish, etc.  We have a low end MTD Yard Machine "lawn tractor" that has a manufacturer's estimated "useful service life" of 7 years.  I've never researched how they come up with that estimate, but ours is still going strong in it's 15th year.  I don't baby it, and I've bent the blades a few times, but good old-fashioned TLC at the end of the day is keeping it quite reliable.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Wow Troy Built 382cc's sure are reasonably priced now days!

[Sniper]

I bought one a couple of years ago after my triple bypass.

 

It does the job.

[Los_Control]

NO   NO   NO!

This will never work for a owner of a 1938 Chrysler.

 

You need the 30 year old 1994 mower for all the experience it will give you.

You just cant imagine the hours of fun you will have driving a old mower.

 

My 1994 John Deere I paid $35 for it.

The starter was ok, but a kid took it apart & it never worked since.

 

It actually has a Kawasaki engine .... with a new battery & starter it runs well.

The Deck was rusted out .... good practice patching it back up.

I never seen blades so worn out ..... is only a 38" mower but gets through my gate from the barn to the front yard.

The deck bearings all needed replaced ....

 

 

I probably have $200-$300 in this mower .... I really like the fact it has a manual transmission .... I have bad feelings about about the automatics.

I did make a hood for it ..... 1994 they were plastic and all of them disintegrated.

 

New blades, battery, starter, bearings , body & paint ... a couple tires .... It runs & performs like a new machine.

 

Yeah it goes slow .... I mow in 1rst gear.   If I drive faster in 2nd gear It cuts terrible.

I realize if I increase the rpm the blades turn faster .... will cut better at high speeds ..... I just have a comfortable rpm I like to run the engine at.

So I putt around in 1rst gear slow speed & cut the grass. .... works for me.

 

Is fun to watch the new zero turn mowers with large motors on them ..... looks like a carnival ride watching them go back & forth.

My 30 year old mower never misses a lick .... I just putt around on it & get the job done.

 

 

[Young Ed]

You guys all need one of these to mow with

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RobertKB]

On 4/2/2023 at 2:06 PM, keithb7 said:

My justification for this latest purchase is weak. I’ve always wanted a ride-on mower. I’ve pushed a lot of mowers in my time. I’ve never really “enjoyed” mowing the lawn. My wife loves a green lawn. I heckle her when she fertilizes our lawn and sets the timers for the sprinklers. The last couple of years she’s been busy with house renovations so I let the lawn lay to waste. 

Glad you got what you wanted. I personally like a green lawn and enjoy mowing it. Grass cutting to me means it’s decent weather instead of winter. 

[greg g]

Some coverage from you tube

 

 

[Los_Control]

Just now, greg g said:

Some coverage from you tube

Thats a good find for information .... That girl is pretty solid on her advice, I have watched many of her videos.

 

Seems to be after the fact, after the machine is already bought. Seems to be poorly built .... the steering really does look funky .... but with maintenance can be ok?

 

I try to joke about my 30 year old mower. I feel like it was built pretty well ... with maintenance it will work a long time. Parts are available cheap.

It is a 38" John Deere .... Again I have less then $400 into this mower & it works like new. $100 to get it working, then $300 over the next 3 years to improve it.

Not pretty but it does the job. I use it all year long if not mowing I pull a trailer behind it.

 

I have a Sears Craftsman 42"  mower given to me for free. The problem with the machine was it cut terrible. So it sat for 5 years and they gave it to me.

When I loaded it up, I noticed the blades were installed upside down. Then it needs a wheel bracket welded back on. Just basic issues.

 

Thats my goal, restore/repair the Sears Craftsman 42" ..... It really is built better then the John Deere.

I like manual transmissions because I can mow while backing up.  .... Only experience I had with a Auto trans you had to shut off the mower deck or flip a switch to back up.

 

Problem is time. I thought it would be a quick pull the body off, go through the bearings, fuel system, lubrication points .... clean & paint .... will be a great mower to last years ... I simply can not find the time .... while trying to work on a old Dodge truck, keep the daily driver going. ..... I need to sharpen the blades on the JD mower now ... after I just installed new wheel bearings & fresh oil .... just never find time to work on the next project.

 

I do not think I would spend much $$ on the rear engine mower showed .... I would toss $$ into a old mower instead .... But I am retired & have time for nonsense.

[greg g]

I bought a used Wheel Horse shortly after we moved to our current home.  This was made before the Toro merger,  10 hp kohler, 42 in deck 48 inch dozer blade. Think it was 4 years old making it a 1985. I believe I got it for $350.00.  Still have it and it's in permanent snow plow mode.  I inherited my father's 94 JohnDeere LX 266, which has summer duty.  Except for belts,batteries,  tires, fuel and oil changes and one ignition  module they have both been trouble free.  The JD is approaching 1200 hours. The WH is going on 1800.  Don't know if those are considered high for residential grade stuff, but I am happy with both of them.  Change the oil annual grease job, new spark plug every 5 years, no complaints.

[Los_Control]

13 hours ago, greg g said:

Change the oil annual grease job, new spark plug every 5 years, no complaints.

 

There you go, take care of them and they have the potential to run a real long time.

One problem with the JD, is the electrical. Mine needs a new ignition switch. On the JD it is actually on a circuit board that doubles as a fuse box ... all the electric runs through it.

So a $12 ignition switch just turned into a $150 OEM part replacement. I dunno, maybe the sears is the same way ... I have not looked.

I just installed a push button on the jd to start it. ....

 

My plans have changed since I picked up this pile of junk. My next stage on the JD is to pull the motor & lift off the body. Hit all the lubrication points, new brake pads, change oil in the transmission, new fuel lines .... has a noisy bearing on the pto. .... New wiring. .... It works fine just the way it is now.

So I'm thinking to just pull the body off of the Sears mower and go through it.

They have plastic fuel tanks, no rust issues but may need cleaned.

They have a single disk brake on the rear axle .... simple to deal with.

Hit all the lubrication point, get all the doo dads moving freely. Belts & bearings.

Do something with the paint ... I like the color combo but new paint ... new seat, new shift knobs.

 

I figure to have between $200-$400 depending on paint & cosmetics. If I get another 20 years out of it will work for me.

May be the oldest mower on the block .... I'm fine with that.

 

My neighbor is connected with some race cars, use to do his test & tuning in front of my house till the police got on him.

I assume he is mechanically inclined .... He is on his 3rd mower in 4 years .... buys them used & wont work on them .... run em til they drop & replace.

 

I feel no shame driving a old mower that works well. The parts are cheap enough, just labor & time that cost.

 

 

[greg g]

The wheel horse is a torque monster, I can put it at idle, put it in low range first. Pull shrubs out by their root balls. It's got wheel weights chains and lockable diff.  It will plow piles of wet leaves into windrows. Move 6 to 8 inches of wet snow, pull vehicles around. Just won't quit.

Edited April 10, 2023 by greg g

[Los_Control]

They are just small tractors .... You find more uses for them when you have them. .... I pull a trailer with mine all year long.

With my legs, I use it to haul trash out to the alley to avoid the walking .... I use it to haul dirt or compost around.

I need to haul the old seat from my Dodge to the barn ..... I use the trailer all the time year round.

 

Last year I used the Lil JD to pull the wife car into the carport for a engine swap.

It did ok until it was uphill.

My 150# with the tractor on concrete .... it was just spinning the rear tires.

 

I knew if my wife with her added weight drove the tractor, it would work.

I stopped & said we need to use the truck ..... Why I'm married for over 30 years  

 

These little tractors are not expensive, great little tools to have around .... the longer you have them, the more uses you come up with to use them.

[Veemoney]

I have a Ford 17HP that was purchased from the Reed Randal Ford dealer which was just down the road from me till it closed shop. The mother of an older friend purchased it new in 1987. He inherited it and worked it pretty hard for years until the driveshaft wore out and that is when I took it in. He provided all the original paperwork from the purchase and maintenance over the years.  I was just out charging the battery and preparing for the first cut of the year. It is a hydro-drive and runs strong but is in need of some TLC. I fitted a craftsman 48" deck to it when the original rusted out and the charging system has not worked for the last 2 years so requires a manual charge about every third cut but I love keeping it going. I have a JD 212 and 317 that are sitting under the pines dying the slow death but the Ford gets all the work and attention.  

[keithb7]

When my steering rack bites the dust I may see if I can get a heavier replica machined. I greased the steering parts today. Some replaceable bushings on the steering end links would have been nice. I’ll keep pouring the grease to them. I will consider bushings in the future.  So far my unit runs, steers and cuts well. 

[Kilgore47]

I had an old Murray riding mower I used for 15 years.  I patched it up and kept it running.  Finally it was just wore out.  So I got a new Craftsman.  It was junk from the start.  Hard to steer - hard to shift.  My shoulders and arms would hurt after mowing.  After two seasons something inside the engine broke.  Something in the valve train.

 

So I used that new Craftsman as a trade in for a mulching kit on a new zero turn.  My first experience with a zero turn and I like it.  Except zero turns don't do well on hills.  They loose traction and go where they want to.  So I use a weed eater on the hills.  Still looking for a better way to do that.

 

BTW My neighbor blew the engine in his riding mower - So I transplanted the engine from the Murray to his and it's still running 5 years later and not smoking.  

[Dan Hiebert]

Rabbit hole time...  I worked on Grand Island when we lived in western NY, one Saturday every spring they close down a section of the river road that runs along the Niagara River for....lawn mower races!  Different classes and everything.  A real hoot to watch, and awful tempting when you have a couple old riding mowers lying around, because there's even a class for something you dragged out of the weeds behind the shed yesterday.  There's a fellow on US1 north of town up here that has a small oval track just for lawn mower races.  Lights, mini-grandstand, pit area, old mower on a pole for the sign, etc.  There's some pretty tricked out mowers up here - custom paint, chrome stacks, the works.  But they don't do the different classes thing here, you run what you brung, and a lot of them are downright scary just to even think about driving.  None of these still have the decks and blades for safety, but you can't help wondering how quickly that mower with wheelie bars would cut your lawn.   

Edited April 13, 2023 by Dan Hiebert