Got crazy, bought a zero turn mower today........

[GCroyle]

Yup, that's my line trivial trivia and worthless BS.

The dirt bike was off road competition 2 stroke w/o reed valves, Hare Scrambles was my game. 2 hours, 1 machine, 1 driver. Can you say reasonably rough course that a rabbit might run getting away from beagle path cut by a dozer thru the woods whatever.

The neatest Husky was a 360CC (IIRC) automatic 4 speed. A series of centrifugal clutches kicked in at their RPM overriding the lower gear via a sprag clutch. No roll off the throttle at all, just keep throwing dirt seamlessly. But ZERO compression braking.

 

[TFucili]

A tip of the hat to you, Mike, for buying from the local guy.

 

[Bill Stockard]

A tip of the hat to you, Mike, for buying from the local guy.

I also bought mine at my local JD dealer for some of the same reasons as Mike.... local service even though I haven't needed it and no "Johnny junk" at the big box store for me. Most other brands required hauling a z-turn for at least a 100 mile round trip for service. A diesel powered Kubota z-turn, even though I'd love to have one, were too far out of my price range.

Bill

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Something people need to consider when buying a high-er end zero turn mower is that it will last 10 times longer than most traditional rider type mowers that are made from stamped steel components.

I was eating up rider mower about every 2-3 years at about $3500 each average. The engines seem to last, but the transmission and other light weight steel items.....not so much. My Scag was about $8k and hasn't missed a lick since I bought in 2009 and I expect it to last many more years. For us, the $8k investment was a financial gain for the long run.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Something people need to consider when buying a high-er end zero turn mower is that it will last 10 times longer than most traditional rider type mowers that are made from stamped steel components.

I was eating up rider mower about every 2-3 years at about $3500 each average. The engines seem to last, but the transmission and other light weight steel items.....not so much. My Scag was about $8k and hasn't missed a lick since I bought in 2009 and I expect it to last many more years. For us, the $8k investment was a financial gain for the long run.

You are correct. Spend a little more for a better built product instead of those "throw away" riding mowers and it will save in repair and replacement costs later. I've never owned one of those cheap stamped steel riding mowers. Our I-H dealership's Ag division sold Cub Cadet lawn tractors for years when they were built by I-H with cast steel components, greasable cast iron hub bearings, real ball bearings instead of sleeves, reliable Kohler engines, etc.; however they discontinued selling the product after the Cub Cadet product line was sold by I-H to Cub Cadet Corp which immediately began the cheapening the product. I owned two of the "real" Cub Cadet lawn tractors. My first one was a used trade-in from a commercial mower and my brother is still mowing with it today. When it became time to replace my second and last Cub Cadet which is also still in use, I purchased a John Deere 345 lawn tractor with a liquid cooled twin cylinder Kawasaki engine, hydraulic mower lift, and hydraulic power steering in 1999 from our local John Deere dealer since it was easier for my wife to operate. We are still using it for some mowing and other jobs around our place.

Bill

 

[rscurtis]

Couldn't agree more. I bought this 5 years ago for $2000. It's a 1992 model. These typically cost half as much as the average new car of the same era.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Couldn't agree more. I bought this 5 years ago for $2000. It's a 1992 model. These typically cost half as much as the average new car of the same era.

WOW!! Nice restore job!!

Bill

 

[GCroyle]

Bill,

Copy that on the original IH Cub Cadet. Got a 100 made in '64 and I know almost anything can run circles around it, but it'l run circles long after they're recycled. Running it is like 4 wheel therapy.

Engine has never been out of the frame, still on the original dry SINGLE SIDED friction disc!

Gary

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill,

Copy that on the original IH Cub Cadet. Got a 100 made in '64 and I know almost anything can run circles around it, but it'l run circles long after they're recycled. Running it is like 4 wheel therapy.

Engine has never been out of the frame, still on the original dry SINGLE SIDED friction disc!

Gary

My first one was a Cadet 107, 10-hp. with a hydrostatic transmission and a 42" mower deck. I bought it used. The commercial mowing contractor didn't change the oil regularly, probably once a year whether it needed it or not. He traded I since it was using oil and had a rod knock. I replaced the block with a new 12-hp short block, serviced the transmission (original filter was still on it), replaced the wheel bearings and the mower spindle bearings. I used it for several years without any further expenses. One day I popped off to my brother, he owned it, and suddenly I was without a lawn tractor. He is still mowing with it today. I'd like to see him restore it like rscurtis has done to his Gravely.

Bill

 

[rscurtis]

WOW!! Nice restore job!!

Bill

That's not restored, Bill, that's its original finish. I did do a little touch-up on the wheels. The original owner obviously took good care of it. I had to do a little mechanical work on it such as new bearings in the mower deck and a leaky axle seal, but that was about it. Didn't do a thing to the engine.

 

[Bill Stockard]

That's not restored, Bill, that's its original finish. I did do a little touch-up on the wheels. The original owner obviously took good care of it. I had to do a little mechanical work on it such as new bearings in the mower deck and a leaky axle seal, but that was about it. Didn't do a thing to the engine.

And I thought I took good care of my stuff... My 16 year old JD 345 doesn't look that good and it's never sat outside overnight since it was built. I bought right it off the dealer's show room floor and it had never been parked outside. I've washed and dried it off it many times and even waxed it two or three times.

Do you actually mow with your Gravely?

Bill

 

[TFucili]

Bill, does your 345 have painted panels, or the color-through resin panels? When I was a dealer @89-95, they went to panels constructed of Ektar, made by Eastman Chemical, and it was tough as nails. We had a micro-compound kit from 3M that could easily remove scratches and restore sheen. The downside is that it never had that rich, deep luster of a painted panel. At the time, they were making combine cabs out of it, and they were the largest one-piece resin molded components in the world. Worthless trivia for the day.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, does your 345 have painted panels, or the color-through resin panels? When I was a dealer @89-95, they went to panels constructed of Ektar, made by Eastman Chemical, and it was tough as nails. We had a micro-compound kit from 3M that could easily remove scratches and restore sheen. The downside is that it never had that rich, deep luster of a painted panel. At the time, they were making combine cabs out of it, and they were the largest one-piece resin molded components in the world. Worthless trivia for the day.

I'm guessing it has color-through resin panels. The reason I suspect it is when I broke one of the panels that cover the front bumper it was JD green all the way through. I've never had a problem with the hood cracking. There have been complaints on different JD forums about hood cracking; however, I suspect rough treatment is what causes the hood cracks. Overall my JD 345 has been a very good lawn tractor and what service it did need the local JD dealer did the work quickly and was what I thought was very reasonable with the charges. It's the reason I went back to JD for my z-turn. Yep, I know... those statements coming from an old I-H guy. Both the JD and Kubota dealers know I'm a former dealer person and I'm allowed free rein around their dealerships and I enjoy talking "shop" with them.

Bill