First New Mower! (CC XT1)

Joined
Apr 20, 2014
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Location
Franklin County, PA
So I've been debating replacing my old 30" rear engine Craftsman rider for a couple years now, even moreso this year as it just takes a beating on the two yards I mow here. It's just plum getting worn out. Looked a month ago at some options, but just decided to hold off. That was until yesterday I "destroyed" the old Craftsman. I managed to hit a bad spot in the yard not once, but twice! I initially thought I just bent the blade, but the spindle and where it mounts to the deck are bent. I could fix it, but at this point there's no reason to. The 13.5HP Briggs is still strong, but the rest is gone. I needed a mower quick so there's a Tractor Supply literally behind my house so I went to see what they had. Came home with this:

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I literally drove it home, small towns are great! :LOL:

It's the LT46 with the 22HP Kohler twin cylinder engine. They had the smaller engine with fuel injection, but wasn't sold on the reliability of it yet. It also had a smaller deck, while it would have been adequate for my yards I do plan on moving so I figured get bigger than I need. That and it was only $200 more. Glad I went for the bigger engine as it went though the thick wet grass and never bogged down. The hyrostatic transmission is pretty nice and is needed for my irregular yard. I'm definitely going to have to get used to the two blade style deck as I definitely made a mess of the yard, but I've always had second hand single blade riders, so it's a learning curve. The thing turns on a dime which is a surprise to me. Also seems fuel efficient for what it is; used about the same amount as my old one to my surprise. So far I'm pretty happy with it, hopefully it'll last me a while. There is a slight clearance issue with the oil filter location so I'll have to be careful on oil filters, but that's the only issue I see now.

The old Craftsman will be given to a friend so it'll live on. Might repair the old deck, or just put the bigger engine on her current mower and scrap the rest.
 
Delta
Get on a flat surface and level your deck. Check your owners manual for the instructions. First, make sure your tires are aired up to the proper pressures. The deck or blades should be level from side to side. And, your deck should be about 1/4” lower in the front. I’ll bet that your deck isn’t leveled properly.
 
I did possibly find out why it was cutting uneven. With all the roof replacements around here from the hailstorm we had, I picked up a roofing staple on my journey home. The left side tire was 1/2 the PSI of the other side so that might have something to do with it. Brand new mower with 1 hour and I have 2 tire plugs, definitely my luck. Did learn how to plug a tire though :LOL: Also did some measuring and it looks like a Fram 4967 or Hastings LF410 oil filter will work. I'll pick up a Fram at WM since I need to pick up a couple things tomorrow. I need a couple filters for some other things so I'll order a couple Hastings to have on hand for later.

I did find out the deck wash system is kinda useless on built up grass. I just got out my Rhino Ramps and dug it out by hand followed by a spray of the hose. Messy, but oh well.
 
Talk of convenience :D . Enjoy and keep us up to date on it's performance . If there's fence , may want to consider installing a swinging gate between you a T.S.. Be even more beneficial . Will need parts , etc.. ;)
 
Delta
Wouldn’t the FRAM 8712 be a better fit? That is a cross reference to the Kohler 12 050 01S filter (short). The FRAM 3614 is the long version. The 4967 is a Kawasaki filter.
 
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Also did some measuring and it looks like a Fram 4967 or Hastings LF410 oil filter will work. I'll pick up a Fram at WM since I need to pick up a couple things tomorrow. I need a couple filters for some other things so I'll order a couple Hastings to have on hand for later.
The Fram 3614 will work for you. Personally I use the Tough Guard TG3614 that costs about $7 at Wallyword. That filter is 0.7 inches longer, but holds an additional six ounces of oil. My machine averages only 30 hours per season, so I leave the filter on for two seasons or 60 hours. That's roughly the equivalent of 2100 miles in a car with a filter rated for 10k miles. Granted this is by no means an apples to apples comparison, but the total hours pass the "reasonability test."

Enjoy you new land ride!
 
Astro_Guy has the right idea. The Tough Guard is an excellent choice for your mower. I would advise you to avoid WIX, NAPA Gold, Purolator, Carquest, Mobil 1 or any other Purolator made oil filters. The STP blue Can is another good choice. Other than the FRAMs or STP Blue can, use OE Kohler filters. You’ll save yourself some headaches of leaking filters.
 
I use Kohler filters on my Kohler powered Deere Mower. I can find them at menards or the local farm and fleet at a reasonable price.
 
Fram 3614 is too long in this application. The steering arm will hit. The shorter filter has to be used. I found out the hard way.

Wix 51056 is the Wix crossover of the Kohler filter.
After checking, drtyler is correct. The only filter FRAM makes to fit this particular mower is the PH8712. The STP S3512 also fits.
 
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Wow, lots of good information here! Yea a quick measurement shows I have about 3" to safely work with (heh) without hitting the steering arm. There's several options there, so I'll have to see what is the easiest to obtain locally. Worse comes to worse the same TS has the Kohler filter for $10, so not too outrageous.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with the Kohler filter and recommend it after cutting a few of them apart mysel.. Very important you are pre filling the filter before installing as required by Kohler SOP.
 
If you have a horizontal filter then it is not full flow and can not be prefilled.

If the filter sits vertically, then it should be prefilled. Mowers have a small oil pump, so if full flow it would run quite some time with no oil to the bearings.

If you are prefilling, and the oil filter has a drain back valve, then air can be trapped behind it. So I use a blunt object to vent the air. I let the filter sit about 10 minutes and the level always drops.

Rod
 
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