My buddy said half the stuff he ships out, is to Ohio for some reason. Ohio loves John Deere lol
CK5
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Riding lawnmowers
- Thread starter bp71k5
- Start date
Guy I work with just bought a big fancy brand new Husquvarna and said it's pretty nice but it was also like $1800. I like old used ones. Someday when I get grass I'll buy one. My buddy in Wisconsin when we were growing up had an 11 hp allis chalmers mower with a plow that we used like a dozer until it threw a rod. He also had an Allis Chalmers WD I think that had a mower deck mounted under it. That thing could cut like 3 foot tall grass. They had shitloads to mow around all their buildings and farm.
I've got an early 90's Snapper GT2000, 18hp Magnum Kohler. 48" cut, eaton hydro trans(with filter). Paid $300 from my old boss.
Love it.
Love it.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Is the consensus to stay away from the Briggs engines? The JD 108 has one, but looks like the same guy has a bunch of different ones so maybe I’ll look around a bit.
I never had any problems with Briggs. Had a vanguard that sounded like a Harley lol. Kohler’s are awesome, Onan ain’t bad but parts are expensive, even make Tecumseh anymore? Good way of telling a box store tractor from a good one is looking at rear rims. If the wheel just slides on the hubs, it’s not too heavy a duty. 4 or 5 lug is a heavier better built tractor.
Newer OHV Briggs are the ones that are troublesome ..older flatheads are much better...
Tecumseh went tits up about 10-15 years ago,but most parts can still be had for the more common ones,unfortunately their best engine,the "HH" cast iron ones I mentioned are now getting difficult to get some parts like pistons and connecting rods..they usually don't need either of those very often however..
It is true "most" garden tractors built ruggedly enough to do ground engaging work do have lugged rims,usually a 5 bolt 4.5" bolt pattern,but it is possible to swap only the hubs with the lug studs onto a lighter duty transaxle ,so it isn't always an indication of the tractor being beefy..also some very beefy ones only have 1" keyed bore rims..
"Old" is better when dealing with lawn & garden equipment..as stated earlier the parts availability is the main drawback to getting something built in the 50's,60's or 70's..but it isn't rocket science to repower an old one with todays newer engines like the Honda clones and V-twins sold at places like Harbor Freight..
I saw a nice Case 220 tractor on FB marketplace yesterday that needs minor work to get running,with a mower deck that looks to be made of battleship armor,for only $250 B/O,and it looks like it had never been left outside its whole life..ad claims its grandfathers mower,and he's moving to a place where no lawns need mowing and he's had a landscaper do his yard the past few years,that is why the tractor sat..
Case and Ingersoll make some very beefy machines..
Tecumseh went tits up about 10-15 years ago,but most parts can still be had for the more common ones,unfortunately their best engine,the "HH" cast iron ones I mentioned are now getting difficult to get some parts like pistons and connecting rods..they usually don't need either of those very often however..
It is true "most" garden tractors built ruggedly enough to do ground engaging work do have lugged rims,usually a 5 bolt 4.5" bolt pattern,but it is possible to swap only the hubs with the lug studs onto a lighter duty transaxle ,so it isn't always an indication of the tractor being beefy..also some very beefy ones only have 1" keyed bore rims..
"Old" is better when dealing with lawn & garden equipment..as stated earlier the parts availability is the main drawback to getting something built in the 50's,60's or 70's..but it isn't rocket science to repower an old one with todays newer engines like the Honda clones and V-twins sold at places like Harbor Freight..
I saw a nice Case 220 tractor on FB marketplace yesterday that needs minor work to get running,with a mower deck that looks to be made of battleship armor,for only $250 B/O,and it looks like it had never been left outside its whole life..ad claims its grandfathers mower,and he's moving to a place where no lawns need mowing and he's had a landscaper do his yard the past few years,that is why the tractor sat..
Case and Ingersoll make some very beefy machines..
I've forever had an '85 Wheelhorse 211-3. Even being the "economy" Wheelhorse of it's time it's lasted me for a very long time. I've had it in a lot of places it shouldn't be, pulled things it shouldn't have all the while just working reliably the whole time. My favorite part about it is the separate clutch and brake pedal. It makes it very easy to control your speed in tight areas.
Anyway, I moved from a nice flat 1/2 acre lot to a 3 acre lot with a lot slopes, contours, and rocks. I quickly realized the little Wheelhorse was out of it's league. I had a lot of trouble with the hills and amount of grass. The now very tired 11hp Briggs and Stratton and the 38" deck just wasn't adequate for my needs. Anyway I ended up buying a new Cub Cadet XT2 SLX50 and it's definitely an upgrade over the old iron.
The XT2 has the larger tires, 50" fabricated deck, and EFI. All big selling points for me. The K46 transmission wasn't a big winner for me and mowing up the hills I have I can tell that'll be the weak link. When it blows I'll put In a K58.
Literally everything these days are sold with the K46 you have to get to double the price point to get a K58 or bigger. And nothing is sold with a standard gear drive these days as well. It's either a fragile hydrostat or pay the equivalent of a lightly use pick up for a glorified lawnmower. I digress...
Anyway the new Cub Cadet still kicks ass and puts the old Wheelhorse to shame. More than double the horsepower, EFI, bigger tires, stiffer frames, and mows at about double the speed. I cut my mow time by a 1/3rd!
Anyway, I moved from a nice flat 1/2 acre lot to a 3 acre lot with a lot slopes, contours, and rocks. I quickly realized the little Wheelhorse was out of it's league. I had a lot of trouble with the hills and amount of grass. The now very tired 11hp Briggs and Stratton and the 38" deck just wasn't adequate for my needs. Anyway I ended up buying a new Cub Cadet XT2 SLX50 and it's definitely an upgrade over the old iron.
The XT2 has the larger tires, 50" fabricated deck, and EFI. All big selling points for me. The K46 transmission wasn't a big winner for me and mowing up the hills I have I can tell that'll be the weak link. When it blows I'll put In a K58.
Literally everything these days are sold with the K46 you have to get to double the price point to get a K58 or bigger. And nothing is sold with a standard gear drive these days as well. It's either a fragile hydrostat or pay the equivalent of a lightly use pick up for a glorified lawnmower. I digress...
Anyway the new Cub Cadet still kicks ass and puts the old Wheelhorse to shame. More than double the horsepower, EFI, bigger tires, stiffer frames, and mows at about double the speed. I cut my mow time by a 1/3rd!
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bp71k5
3/4 ton status
What kind of hills you have? Got a picture for me to compare mine with?
I have a "fleet" of Sears Suburbans that I use for the bull work--only have one deck to fit them,and I did use it to mow for several years,but its slow compared to the John Deere I have now,you had to use second gear hi range to mow,anything faster,it would leave to many uncut strands showing..the 50" deck was nice for getting the yard done quicker,but was also a drawback as far as using it in areas too narrow to fit the deck in like between trees..
I "think" I have read about guys swapping a K66 into many tractors that had the K46..I thinks it is a shame they no longer make tractors drive trains like they used too...even old vertical shaft Sears and MTD's I had used a Peerless 3 speed transaxle that was almost as rugged as a car transmission..
This is the Sears Suburban I use for dragging logs out of the woods,plowing snow & dirt,and brush piles...I put a tired old 6 HP Briggs flathead on it years ago,I bought it with no engine for $40,and I had a few of those engines collecting dust in my shed--I figured the engine would blow a rod,it sometimes clatters loudly and belches a cloud after each cold start,but once it warms up it stops smoking and gets quieter...it amazes me what 6 HP can push or pull when you have super low first gear & lo range,it can push my truck uphill without spinning a tire at all from a dead stop..
I have three other Suburban 12 HP tractors too,I stumbled across them and couldn't pass them up for the price they were offered to me..
I have a 3 point hitch,mower deck and a plow to share among them,--I had a Haban snowblower from an SS-16 but it proved too big for a 12 HP,so I traded it for the smaller Roper "rotary snowplow" that was smaller--that worked great until the gear box grenaded...still hoping I can find a good used one,but for the most part snowblowers suck here,with the wet slushy snow we get..
I made a John Deere plow blade into a combo plow & scoop bucket that uses a winch to raise the "bucket"..it only lifts about 2 feet high,and has no down pressure, so its not quite as useful as a real front loader,but it saves my back from a lot of heavy lifting..a foot pedal "dumps" the bucket in clam shell fashion..
This is the one I was mowing with till the J-D came along..
Like all old things,they do have some quirks,and some things could be better--for one I'm not that big a fan of the starter/generators they used,they are barely powerful enough to start the engine cold,the dinky battery doesn't always succeed in doing so,and the generator only puts out about 10 amps,which isn't really enough to keep the battery "up" if you use the winch a lot..
I put a GM altenator on the "bull" tractor, I have used it to boost the batteries in my diesel pickup a few times in the winter --it was so easy to adapt using the stock GM brackets I felt this is too easy,something must be wrong--didn't even need to drill any holes!..
I "think" I have read about guys swapping a K66 into many tractors that had the K46..I thinks it is a shame they no longer make tractors drive trains like they used too...even old vertical shaft Sears and MTD's I had used a Peerless 3 speed transaxle that was almost as rugged as a car transmission..
This is the Sears Suburban I use for dragging logs out of the woods,plowing snow & dirt,and brush piles...I put a tired old 6 HP Briggs flathead on it years ago,I bought it with no engine for $40,and I had a few of those engines collecting dust in my shed--I figured the engine would blow a rod,it sometimes clatters loudly and belches a cloud after each cold start,but once it warms up it stops smoking and gets quieter...it amazes me what 6 HP can push or pull when you have super low first gear & lo range,it can push my truck uphill without spinning a tire at all from a dead stop..
I have three other Suburban 12 HP tractors too,I stumbled across them and couldn't pass them up for the price they were offered to me..
I have a 3 point hitch,mower deck and a plow to share among them,--I had a Haban snowblower from an SS-16 but it proved too big for a 12 HP,so I traded it for the smaller Roper "rotary snowplow" that was smaller--that worked great until the gear box grenaded...still hoping I can find a good used one,but for the most part snowblowers suck here,with the wet slushy snow we get..
I made a John Deere plow blade into a combo plow & scoop bucket that uses a winch to raise the "bucket"..it only lifts about 2 feet high,and has no down pressure, so its not quite as useful as a real front loader,but it saves my back from a lot of heavy lifting..a foot pedal "dumps" the bucket in clam shell fashion..
This is the one I was mowing with till the J-D came along..
Like all old things,they do have some quirks,and some things could be better--for one I'm not that big a fan of the starter/generators they used,they are barely powerful enough to start the engine cold,the dinky battery doesn't always succeed in doing so,and the generator only puts out about 10 amps,which isn't really enough to keep the battery "up" if you use the winch a lot..
I put a GM altenator on the "bull" tractor, I have used it to boost the batteries in my diesel pickup a few times in the winter --it was so easy to adapt using the stock GM brackets I felt this is too easy,something must be wrong--didn't even need to drill any holes!..
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
What do you guys think of this model? Doesn’t necessarily have to be this exact one because I don’t need a plow but I’ve seen a few of this style.
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/grd/d/maryville-cub-cadet-deck-garden-tractor/6943067350.html
https://knoxville.craigslist.org/grd/d/maryville-cub-cadet-deck-garden-tractor/6943067350.html
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
While I'm not an expert on those, I see no obvious red flags. Kohler makes good engines, and unless something is different for newer stuff, they have great parts availability, at least for what I've looked at.
I'd say its worth a look.
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
I think I’m ok with items that are fixable at home, and as long as there’s a reasonable replacement parts market for engines and trans, I can deal with the older models.
I’m a JD guy, the 70’s - 80’s 200-300 series are stout tractors
I just picked this 1976 214 up for 400. Engine sounds great, but it needs a TRE.
Came with a good solid 46” deck and a power blower bagger, and new battery!..stole it!
And he threw in this old Huskee to get rid of it....a POS, but it has a good B/S engine in it.
I just picked this 1976 214 up for 400. Engine sounds great, but it needs a TRE.
Came with a good solid 46” deck and a power blower bagger, and new battery!..stole it!
And he threw in this old Huskee to get rid of it....a POS, but it has a good B/S engine in it.
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had my john deere store purchased unit ( not chain store lowes / h-d / or others ) for prob 15+ years now and around 280hr's of time on the hour meter .
its a L-118 limited and she has been threw a lot and gets parked outside most of her life and just keeps mowing . each year she gets a oil & filter change blades sharpened and deck spindles greased all by me . has had 3 spindle units now as orignals were not greaseable but the updated part # are and they last so much longer . 1 set of belts at around 220 hr's just cause i figued why not . tires all 4 have tubes now cause the tires on all of them are so cheep these days and dry rot and leak so fast .
otherwise i am a john deere fan doing my grandfather frost proud
as he always had green on the farm and they started and ran every time .
its a L-118 limited and she has been threw a lot and gets parked outside most of her life and just keeps mowing . each year she gets a oil & filter change blades sharpened and deck spindles greased all by me . has had 3 spindle units now as orignals were not greaseable but the updated part # are and they last so much longer . 1 set of belts at around 220 hr's just cause i figued why not . tires all 4 have tubes now cause the tires on all of them are so cheep these days and dry rot and leak so fast .
otherwise i am a john deere fan doing my grandfather frost proud
as he always had green on the farm and they started and ran every time .
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
There’s a 210 not too far away. Comes with a plow and a cart for $700. I’ll have to see what’s still available by this weekend. My neighbor isn’t going to want to keep mowing my lawn forever.
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
I'll try to get a pic of my 140 this weekend.
Like Zim, I also want a 4020 diesel too. Lol
Like Zim, I also want a 4020 diesel too. Lol
The Kohler "Courage" engines have a poor reputation,many of them had the bolts under the flywheel loosen up and the flywheel jams against them,often shears off the magneto,and those bolts hold the main bearing plate in position,once they loosen that bearing (just a bored hole,no bushing ),gets egged out and it starts leaking and rapping..some just grenaded for no apparent reason too..
Most of Kohler's other engines are good,the better ones were the Magnum series from the 90's that were opposed twins..
The old single cylinder cast iron Kohlers were very rugged and reliable..they do not like being over-revved though,they will toss a rod if you do not keep the govenor working right ..
I have a M20 Magnum 20 HP one on a 90's Yard-Man tractor (MTD made) and it has a Hydro-Gear hydrostat--that thing has seen a few thousand hours of mowing and I admit I treated it like a bulldozer and used it to pull some hung up trees down that were 50+ feet tall,the transaxle still works fine despite the abuse..
The thing is more of a riding mower than a garden tractor despite its size and HP,the chassis on it is just stamped steel,not more than 1/8" thick,and the front axle beam was a stamped P-O-S sheet metal thing that had plastic blocks for king pin bushings!..the front tires were laid over like a road grader when I got it,I welded 1/2" pipes into the axle beam to get rid of the idiotic plastic setup..
I have since found a cast iron front axle I may swap into it,but the thing has sat in the shed at least 3 years now with 4 flats,I stopped using it when the steering gears started stripping again,I had to rebuild the mechanism when I first got it..I mowed our 3 acres with it from 1993 until about 2005 or so with no issues with the engine or tranny,its the piss poor steering setup that gave me most grief..
I wish the Magnum was a horizontal shaft,they came both ways,I'd swap it on one of my Suburbans if it was..you could convert a vertical shaft one to horizontal if you had a complete horizontal for all the parts,but it is an involved swap and not something I'd want to bother doing..
Don't have a good photo of it--its tough to get a decent one in the shed..
Most of Kohler's other engines are good,the better ones were the Magnum series from the 90's that were opposed twins..
The old single cylinder cast iron Kohlers were very rugged and reliable..they do not like being over-revved though,they will toss a rod if you do not keep the govenor working right ..
I have a M20 Magnum 20 HP one on a 90's Yard-Man tractor (MTD made) and it has a Hydro-Gear hydrostat--that thing has seen a few thousand hours of mowing and I admit I treated it like a bulldozer and used it to pull some hung up trees down that were 50+ feet tall,the transaxle still works fine despite the abuse..
The thing is more of a riding mower than a garden tractor despite its size and HP,the chassis on it is just stamped steel,not more than 1/8" thick,and the front axle beam was a stamped P-O-S sheet metal thing that had plastic blocks for king pin bushings!..the front tires were laid over like a road grader when I got it,I welded 1/2" pipes into the axle beam to get rid of the idiotic plastic setup..
I have since found a cast iron front axle I may swap into it,but the thing has sat in the shed at least 3 years now with 4 flats,I stopped using it when the steering gears started stripping again,I had to rebuild the mechanism when I first got it..I mowed our 3 acres with it from 1993 until about 2005 or so with no issues with the engine or tranny,its the piss poor steering setup that gave me most grief..
I wish the Magnum was a horizontal shaft,they came both ways,I'd swap it on one of my Suburbans if it was..you could convert a vertical shaft one to horizontal if you had a complete horizontal for all the parts,but it is an involved swap and not something I'd want to bother doing..
Don't have a good photo of it--its tough to get a decent one in the shed..
runamok151
1 ton status
You looking for a riding mower or a garden tractor? There is a difference and tractors are considerably more $ for what may look like a similar machine. Mowers are really just for mowing and may have a hitch to pull a lawn sweeper or small yard cart. Tractors will have beefier hydros and transaxles, will be able to pull a heavier wagon and may be able to run small implements like snow blowers, loaders, sweepers.
2nd ? How much do you have to mow and how often? Riding mowers usually only go about 2 mph and are good for 1 or 1 1/2 acres. Much larger than that and you may want to look at a zero turn. I'm mowing 4 1/2 acres now. It was taking me up to 8 hours to mow everything on my JD D110 w/ 42" deck. I just sold that and bought my neighbor's old Cub Cadet Z-force S w/ a 54" deck for $1100. Went from 2 to 5 mph and now it only takes me 3:15 to mow the property.
2nd ? How much do you have to mow and how often? Riding mowers usually only go about 2 mph and are good for 1 or 1 1/2 acres. Much larger than that and you may want to look at a zero turn. I'm mowing 4 1/2 acres now. It was taking me up to 8 hours to mow everything on my JD D110 w/ 42" deck. I just sold that and bought my neighbor's old Cub Cadet Z-force S w/ a 54" deck for $1100. Went from 2 to 5 mph and now it only takes me 3:15 to mow the property.
