New Riding Mower

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Very nice choice, and BRAVO to the op for pitching in! He should make a contribution, it's great to see!

We shopped the 54 inch segment to death before finally buying another Craftsman. Our old 42 inch 14 hp was wheezing and had broken the frame.

Our new one is an amazing mower and eats yard like crazy. Also gets comparable fuel economy even with a twin cylinder 26 hp Briggs platinum! Only 17 hours so far, but it's been raining here all week and I can hear the grass growing.
 
We split the deal because it's their house, but I live here and I'm the one who does the yard work 95% of the time, so this is saving me effort and time.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
We split the deal because it's their house, but I live here and I'm the one who does the yard work 95% of the time, so this is saving me effort and time.


OK, that makes sense
thumbsup2.gif


I was just curious as to what the motivation was.
 
Originally Posted By: pbm
After you break it in, how often do you plan on changing the oil?


Once a season.

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
How big is the yard ?



Currently half to 3/4 acre (not sure exactly) and in the future my parents plan on owning more land so it was kind of preemptive as well. Also it saves me time now that I'm working 40 hours a week.
 
Where you working these days, Nick? I remeber at one point I think you were looking at working in the car rental business...?
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Where you working these days, Nick? I remeber at one point I think you were looking at working in the car rental business...?


I actually just started a new job at Time Warner cable as in Inbound Sales Representative at the new Colonie, NY call center. I'm hoping to get into the install tech class in the next 6 months or so, but either way it's a full time job, good pay, good benefits, and working for a great company. Posting this from work on my break actually.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Where you working these days, Nick? I remeber at one point I think you were looking at working in the car rental business...?


I actually just started a new job at Time Warner cable as in Inbound Sales Representative at the new Colonie, NY call center. I'm hoping to get into the install tech class in the next 6 months or so, but either way it's a full time job, good pay, good benefits, and working for a great company. Posting this from work on my break actually.

Good work! Make sure you save some money too! It will never be easier to do or help you more than now.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
So we've been talking about getting a rider for some time now, and I've been considering buying a cheap one on craigslist. Well my mom and I split a deal, she will pay for it on her Sears card (12 months no interest) and I'll pay for half of each payment. It's a nice mower too. We rented a trailer and towed it home with the nox.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-42inch-21...mp;blockType=G2

Nice and solid, the only requirement I really had was it had to have pressurized lubrication. This one fit the bill nicely. Nice to have a mower that can handle the tall and thick grass with ease for once, and not have to empty the bags constantly. Overall, quite satisfied. oh, and to answer the inevitable, I'm going to change it after the 2nd mow, with Rotella 5W-40 and a PureONE filter.



I'm also considering fitting an oil pressure and oil temp gauge. Any advice/ideas on how to do that?



Nick - check out what I did with my Husqvarna...

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2620588&page=1
 
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Well that was nerve wracking. Mine isn't pre-tapped for a oil pressure gauge, so I had had to drill and tap a hole in the oil filter housing. Talk about sweating bullets! Anyway the adaptor is in, and the hose is run. Now I just need to either find/buy/acquire a bracket or drill a hole out of the dash and stick it in. Kinda hesitanta bout drilling a hole too, but it's whatever.

What I can't figure out, however, is the oil temp gauge. Where am I supposed to put it? =| The actual sensor I mean. I don't think the quick drain plug screw is the same size, or I would use that.
 
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Originally Posted By: Nick R
Well that was nerve wracking. Mine isn't pre-tapped for a oil pressure gauge, so I had had to drill and tap a hole in the oil filter housing. Talk about sweating bullets! Anyway the adaptor is in, and the hose is run. Now I just need to either find/buy/acquire a bracket or drill a hole out of the dash and stick it in. Kinda hesitanta bout drilling a hole too, but it's whatever.

What I can't figure out, however, is the oil temp gauge. Where am I supposed to put it? =| The actual sensor I mean. I don't think the quick drain plug screw is the same size, or I would use that.


I put my oil temp gauge in the drain plug. You have to use one of the adapters, but it fit and works great. I did the oil temp and volts for now, but want to add a pressure gauge but my engine is also not predrilled so I'm waiting to get the guts to do it. I went electric gauges because I cut a 6 acre lot and don't need a mechanical gauge's oil feed line to break from all the vibration so you may want to reconsider mechanical. Oh and just drill the hole and install the gauges like I did - it looks so much better than gauges on a bracket hanging free. It is simple and the gauges holder (U like bracket) keeps them tight.
 
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Sigh.

Advice to anyone wanting to do this- if you aren't REALLY good at tapping holes, don't do it. The fitting seemed securely attatched and nice and tight. I started it up for the first time- all good at first. Until the tube fills up, the gauge starts working, then suddenly no pressure, oh crud. Shut down, and it's leaking around the threads. The threads had completely failed, because I must not have done a good enough job tapping them. At that point, there was no hope of getting it back in, so I sealed the whole with a large bolt, with thread sealant. It was too late to start it up, but this one shouldn't be going anywhere. The temp gauge should work fine, but the pressure gauge is going to remain until I swap it for a voltmeter. I'm not messing with it any more, because you can't replace just that part, it's an integral part of the block.

Long story short: Be confident in your ability to thread holes, before you attempt this.
 
Looks like you can kiss the warranty goodby. I am well
skilled in doing jobs like this, but would never do it untill the warranty is up.
 
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Nick R,
What's the latest on the plug? If you were near by I would be glad to weld repair the hole. Maybe someone close to you can do that.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Do you have room to tap to the next size larger pipe?


Unfortunately, not really. What I've decided to do is pull everything, and JB Weld it. Hopefully the JB weld will be good enough to hold solid under 50PSI or so of pressure, and will look stock enough that in the event a sears tech were to come out to repair something, it wouldn't really be that noticeable with the filter on it. lol.

Tig I did think about having someone weld it. Think I should put an ad out on craigslist, instead of just trying to JB Weld it?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Do you have room to tap to the next size larger pipe?


Unfortunately, not really. What I've decided to do is pull everything, and JB Weld it. Hopefully the JB weld will be good enough to hold solid under 50PSI or so of pressure, and will look stock enough that in the event a sears tech were to come out to repair something, it wouldn't really be that noticeable with the filter on it. lol.

Tig I did think about having someone weld it. Think I should put an ad out on craigslist, instead of just trying to JB Weld it?


Nick,
Here's the problem with JB Weld. If it holds(it may very well weep) your lucky with this high oil pressure. If it doesn't then welding becomes much harder because of the contamination of the the JB Weld. Alum has to be very clean to weld. I have fought this problem for many years. You should just find a welder that can weld alum and do it right the first time. Not sure about Craig's List but check the yellow pages for welding or go to Yello Book. com for your area. Alum welders are hard to find so I wish you well with this.
 
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