Consumer Lawn tractors with durable hydrostatic drive.

DuckRyder

DuckRyder

Joined
Oct 20, 2005
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Scruffy City
Family members Craftsman has died. No i do not know if it is a Husky or a MTD but it looks identical to a Husky. Its been a horrible tractor and is now out of warranty.

So other than Craftsman, which of the box store tractors use a decent drive system

Cub Cadet
John Deere

Alternately is there a good quality tractor with a simple FWD/REV transmission and no hydrostatic drive.

It needs to be on the smaller end of the scale, 42-43" cut is fine. Bonus if there is any chance of actually buying one...
 
The box store John Deere's are nothing special. I mowed for years on two 42in Murray gear drive mowers so my standards are low, but they cut fine and lasted 10+ years of hard use. Last time I paid attention you could still get a gear drive MTD made machine at lowes/home depot and that should be fine for normal use. I say this on every lawn mower buying thread, but consider looking around for a gently used zero turn. They are out there.
 
I have an old John Deere LX178 that has a Tuff Torq K61 hydrostatic transmission and it's been wonderful for 26 years. I have had to replace the cooling fan a couple of times and the drive pulley once but the transmission itself has not required any mechanical repair whatsoever.

When you make your purchase do as much research as you can with regard to the engine and transmission. Most people buy a mower based solely on the engine power and deck width but that's quite the flawed method of evaluation.
 
Manual transmission tractors are hard to find as they don't sell well. Most folks don't
want the bother. The hydro units are very common. Lower priced ones have light duty
units that generally don't hold up to hard or multi-year use. You get what you pay for.
The TuffTorq K61 is a 'heavier' unit than the more common K46.
If you want the manual trans, you'll have to do some research on several brands.
Good luck with that.


My 2¢
 
FowVay said:
I have an old John Deere LX178 that has a Tuff Torq K61 hydrostatic transmission and it's been wonderful for 26 years. I have had to replace the cooling fan a couple of times and the drive pulley once but the transmission itself has not required any mechanical repair whatsoever.

When you make your purchase do as much research as you can with regard to the engine and transmission. Most people buy a mower based solely on the engine power and deck width but that's quite the flawed method of evaluation.
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^^^ Same experience with my 23 year old JD LX188. My only repair has been replacing a hydro fan, a $100 repair. My neighbor has been through 2 box store gear driven MTD mowers over the last 23 years. He mowed yesterday and I noticed he was having problems with it pulling and we ended up having to push it from the yard into his garage. He thinks JD mowers are too expensive so he’ll most likely end up with his 3rd MTD. Buy once cry once.
 
gman2304 said:
^^^ Same experience with my 23 year old JD LX188. My only repair has been replacing a hydro fan, a $100 repair. My neighbor has been through 2 box store gear driven MTD mowers over the last 23 years. He mowed yesterday and I noticed he was having problems with it pulling and we ended up having to push it from the yard into his garage. He thinks JD mowers are too expensive so he’ll most likely end up with his 3rd MTD. Buy once cry once.
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My environment is very dusty and dirty and my mower has been used commercially for about 10 of the years I've owned it so I am hugely impressed. The drive pulley is aluminum and the input shaft to the transmission is hardened steel so it wallowed out the splines and gave me a "no go" situation. It was an easy fix and I love that John Deere and Kawasaki still have full support for the machine. I can get any part I need. JD is pricey but I'll buy another one without reservation.
 
products change vastly over the years with many "brands" made by one manufacturer that bought others. no experience with lawn tractors but IMO if you need anything to last a while its better to spend more to get more because every year prices increase + replacing that cheepie years down the road will cost more, good luck + as noted shop + search specific forums to learn whats the best value four $$$ you have to spend.
 
The short answer is none. Buy a used well taken care of beefier machine like a dealer John Deere or Simplicity. You can find an X-series Deere with the 42" deck used for great prices.

Husqvarna is probably the only "box store" brand I'd consider, and many of the box stores around me don't sell them anymore. If I had to chose I'd get a box store Deere over any of the other brands, since the Deere is about the only one not made by MTD.
 
jeepman3071 said:
The short answer is none. Buy a used well taken care of beefier machine like a dealer John Deere or Simplicity. You can find an X-series Deere with the 42" deck used for great prices.

Husqvarna is probably the only "box store" brand I'd consider, and many of the box stores around me don't sell them anymore. If I had to chose I'd get a box store Deere over any of the other brands, since the Deere is about the only one not made by MTD.
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I agree. But gear driven mowers are becoming rare..As a rule of thumb, just stay away from mowers made by mtd. Snapper spx ,is a decent lawn tractor.
 
It really depends on the ground you are cutting. If its flat and not much over an acre the k46 or the MDT CVT mowers should last. However if you have hills or need to pull weight I would lean towards the CVT in the less expensive mowers because if you burn up the K46 the repairs are about the same as a new mower but the CVT tends to burn up a belt that can be replaced for $40. I searched for a mower that had a heavier Hydro and the cheapest I found was a Husqvarna with the K58 but it ran $3400 and was discontinued 2 years ago with no replacement. Anything with a K62 or up will be rated as a garden tractor now and start at $4k and go up fast from there.
I know many like the JD and if you are getting a dealer only unit you will get a better machine but many of the box store JD's are worse than the MTD's and dealers dont like or wont service them.
If you want an inexpensive mower stick with something like a TroyBilt Pony 42" CVT. Parts are everywhere, every mower shop can work on them, you are paying for exactly what your getting without name premium and at about $1200 you can buy 4 or 5 for the cost of a really good JD.
If you want a work horse and very dependable get a JD 5 series or up the new 3 series are using K46 trannys at outrages prices. But get your loan preapproved before you go in to the dealer and take a pillow with you.
 
jeepman3071 said:
The short answer is none. Buy a used well taken care of beefier machine like a dealer John Deere or Simplicity. You can find an X-series Deere with the 42" deck used for great prices.

Husqvarna is probably the only "box store" brand I'd consider, and many of the box stores around me don't sell them anymore. If I had to chose I'd get a box store Deere over any of the other brands, since the Deere is about the only one not made by MTD.
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Agreed, I purchased a well used Deutz-Allis 613h that is the same thing as a Simplicity 5212.5, it came with a Briggs 18hp opposed twin from a Craftsman so obviously a repower, the original would've been 12.5hp. I paid $275 for it off eBay and literally all I had to do was clean the battery terminals, the previous owner replaced the battery with a top round post and had these adapters to convert but they had paint on them so cleaning that off is all it took to make it run. Whoever did the swap really botched it up though, I ended up taking it to my local dealer who straightened it out for me, to make it charge they had to add in a diode so the current would charge in only one direction. The mower is hydrostatic and came with a 48" deck. I still have a few issues to take care of but it runs very well, I currently need to replace the coil because it's hard to start again after it gets hot, common problem on these opposed twins, also the drag link had broke which is a common problem really on any lawn mower, I currently have a rubber band holding the two pieces together but did finally find a new part to replace it with.

The main issue buying used or from a big name box store is that a lot of service places will only work on them if you had purchased it from them. I recently had taken a Kawasaki motor to have it worked on and while they did do the work but only 1/2 of what I requested, when I went to pick up the motor they had a new sign that said they will only work on equipment that's been sold by them. I guess they would have to do warranty work regardless as they are getting reimbursed by the manufacturers. It really has become a throw away world, no-one wants to hardly work on anything anymore, you use it and when it breaks you just go buy a new one. I grew up not having a whole lot so you had to keep fixing it because your family couldn't afford a new one.
 
Used machine and zero turn are not options. I do appreciate the replies but it isn't for me and the person cannot do anything to it beyond light maintenance. (oil changes/air filters.) I am not ofter in the hood, so it needs to mow when mowing is needed.

Reply as if you are talking to your mother or grand mother with a rural property. The Craftsman/Husky/MTD is on like transmission number four so it needs to be something better than what they use...

It is neither especially large nor is it very rough, but it is not a golf course either.
 
My JD LT160 with a K46 just turned 500 hours and the transmission still works well. I've changed the oil two times with 5W-50 synthetic. Current fill is Quaker State that was on clearance at Ollie's for $1/quart.
 
Apparently the s100 series uses a TLT200 transaxle this seems to be a lighter cheaper k46? (edit, the 170 and 180 use the K46)

It seems the CC xt1 lt42 uses the same from what i can find.
 
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Keep the oil changed and the fan clean on the K46 mowers and they should last a good long time. I'm only at 100 hours on mine, but the oil has been changed twice and it is as quiet as it was new. Current fill is M1 5W50, prior to that it was Delvac 15W40, which was ok when hot, but super touchy when cold.
 
I think the lawn tractor is being phased out. Consumer grade doesn’t seem to last.

I’d entertain a name brand entry level zero turn. I’ve been impressed with the Bad Boy. Their entry level models appear to be built just as well as their high end models minus the fancy seat, wheels/ tires, and a few trim pieces.
 
My 5-year-old Husqvarna has a plastic CVT transmission made by General Transmission. I have a very gentle but long hill in my front yard, I mow less than an acre every 2 weeks for about 5 months out of the year, my mower has 88 hours on it. The belt used by the CVT was first replaced at 14 hours for "overheating" - the mower just stopped moving and there was a burning smell. The belt has since been replaced twice more for "overheating". The belts used by the CVT are not covered under warranty because they are considered a normal wear item. These transmission are huge hunks of ****.
 
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