Consider this a therapy thread for you guys who can't go five feet past a lawn tractor with out dragging it home regardless of it's condition.
The "I'm Obsessive With Lawn Tractors" Thread
- Thread starter pagrunt
- Start date
Don't knock it till you try it!Consider this a therapy thread for you guys who can't go five feet past a lawn tractor with out dragging it home regardless of it's condition.
Besides, this latest one I didn't have to drag home, it came to me
Well considering I used to fix and sell them for a living, I'm kind of in the same spot. But I do it because it's easy 💰
This was one of my best deals. $500 for a 72" cut Husqvarna pro zero turn. Hydro pump failed. Had been sitting for several years. Was able to repair the pump with no parts. Changed the filter and fluid, been using it to cut our lawn ever since. Had to fix some mice damage to the engine (coils) & clean the carb too.
This one was free, blown engine. Yes it's a Kawasaki. They had some issues for a year or two. Wasn't worth a new engine, couldn't find a used one. Ended up putting a Briggs twin in it. That's a fabricated 52" deck. Used it for three years before we got the zero turn. Sold it for $1750.
Had several others, not sure if the pics are still around or not.
Flipped a Troy-Bilt (MTD) rider last summer. Got it for free. Needed the carb cleaned, flat tire fixed, one deck bracket for $15, deck belt, and a battery. Had it sold in 4 hours for $350
This was one of my best deals. $500 for a 72" cut Husqvarna pro zero turn. Hydro pump failed. Had been sitting for several years. Was able to repair the pump with no parts. Changed the filter and fluid, been using it to cut our lawn ever since. Had to fix some mice damage to the engine (coils) & clean the carb too.
This one was free, blown engine. Yes it's a Kawasaki. They had some issues for a year or two. Wasn't worth a new engine, couldn't find a used one. Ended up putting a Briggs twin in it. That's a fabricated 52" deck. Used it for three years before we got the zero turn. Sold it for $1750.
Had several others, not sure if the pics are still around or not.
Flipped a Troy-Bilt (MTD) rider last summer. Got it for free. Needed the carb cleaned, flat tire fixed, one deck bracket for $15, deck belt, and a battery. Had it sold in 4 hours for $350
Funny how these become an obsession.
My Uncle purchased this new in 1977, I inherited in the late 90's and has been my quite the ongoing project. Sears (Roper built) 16/6 twin with the double lung Onan BF-MS series engine.
Has just the 42 inch mower deck which Dad and I rebuilt about 2 years before Dad passed. Hardest part to locate was the center spindle shaft for the mower deck. As luck would have it a local lawn equipment repair shop had one in a box that was going for scrap " Because after being on a shelf for 35 years no one needed it" Paid 10 bucks and a 12 pack of Labatts Blue for the spindle and a set of usable blades.
Put new tires, Carb rebuild, New brake friction lining, stainless fuel line from carb to tank, replace the coil, (Onan replacement was 3 times the cost of an MSD coil for a GM "Wasted spark" 6 Cylinder) set of points with a ballast resistor to save them and repaired the plastic dash. Looks fugly but runs like a dream. Fixing the nose cone is next.
My Uncle purchased this new in 1977, I inherited in the late 90's and has been my quite the ongoing project. Sears (Roper built) 16/6 twin with the double lung Onan BF-MS series engine.
Has just the 42 inch mower deck which Dad and I rebuilt about 2 years before Dad passed. Hardest part to locate was the center spindle shaft for the mower deck. As luck would have it a local lawn equipment repair shop had one in a box that was going for scrap " Because after being on a shelf for 35 years no one needed it" Paid 10 bucks and a 12 pack of Labatts Blue for the spindle and a set of usable blades.
Put new tires, Carb rebuild, New brake friction lining, stainless fuel line from carb to tank, replace the coil, (Onan replacement was 3 times the cost of an MSD coil for a GM "Wasted spark" 6 Cylinder) set of points with a ballast resistor to save them and repaired the plastic dash. Looks fugly but runs like a dream. Fixing the nose cone is next.
Obsessive ? Nah.Well... maybe. LOL
Heres a few pictures of what Ive owned since the mid 80s.
It all started back in 1984 with this '69 JD112. A guy I worked with had a late 40s flat fender Willys in his yard that he wanted to sell. Since I was into Jeeps back then I drove over to check it out. Didnt buy the CJ but on the way out I asked him what was under this huge green tarp behind his garage. He had over a dozen Bolens lawn/garden tractors and this single JD. Tons of Bolens attachments but nothing for the 112 besides the 46" deck. What caught my eye was the hydraulic lift. Even back then I knew that was a rare option. Some wheeling and dealing and I got the JD and a 4x8 home built trailer for under $200. The JD ran but the deck was a bit rusty and needed a rebuild and the front of the hood was smashed in. Some sandblasting, some paint and a new hood and decals made it pretty clean. I used this little tractor for grass and snow until 1998. Sold it to a neighbor down my block for $1200. Came with blower, plow, deck and every manual printed for it.
Loved that 112 but it was a gear drive. After a while I wanted a hydro. Looked all over the tri state area and found this 1978 316 not even 20 miles away. The owner stepped up to a JD455. It was pretty mint. Had the plow, deck and powerflow bagger. From what I remember I think I paid around $2500 for everything. The only thing I bought a year later was the single stage blower. It was cheap and needed paint. Again, the sandblaster worked well. Never put the decals back on but for the amount of snow we would usually get it worked fine and it looked clean. The only thing I didnt like was the controls. Forward and reverse on the right side. plow hydraulics on the left. Plowing a lot of snow was a pain in the butt. Its like you needed a third hand to steer. I had this until 2003. Sold it to one of my coworkers for what I paid for it.
In 2003 I decided to look for something newer with better controls. I drove to VT to buy this one. Private sale. It had 68 hrs and came with a 54" deck and the same size blade. The owner used Mobile 1. Waxed to show but never cleaned the bottom of the deck. There was a field mouse nest underneath. cleaned the deck (yup, sandblaster again) sprayed it with epoxy primer and acrylic enamel. New decals. A few years ago I did the same thing to the seat pan and added new back lights. Its a real workhorse. Grass, leaves with the powerflow bagger I found online and snow throughout the winter. The first picture is before I redid it.
When I started to freshen it up. Yes. Its a sickness.
This took a little time to do but I wanted it done before the snow started to fall so the cars sat until it was finished. This has well over 700 hrs on it now. My buddy just bought a newer X series with 4wd. I gotta say if I had a little more extra cash I'd try to find a low hour one but right now theres some house repairs that are the priority
Heres a few pictures of what Ive owned since the mid 80s.
It all started back in 1984 with this '69 JD112. A guy I worked with had a late 40s flat fender Willys in his yard that he wanted to sell. Since I was into Jeeps back then I drove over to check it out. Didnt buy the CJ but on the way out I asked him what was under this huge green tarp behind his garage. He had over a dozen Bolens lawn/garden tractors and this single JD. Tons of Bolens attachments but nothing for the 112 besides the 46" deck. What caught my eye was the hydraulic lift. Even back then I knew that was a rare option. Some wheeling and dealing and I got the JD and a 4x8 home built trailer for under $200. The JD ran but the deck was a bit rusty and needed a rebuild and the front of the hood was smashed in. Some sandblasting, some paint and a new hood and decals made it pretty clean. I used this little tractor for grass and snow until 1998. Sold it to a neighbor down my block for $1200. Came with blower, plow, deck and every manual printed for it.
Loved that 112 but it was a gear drive. After a while I wanted a hydro. Looked all over the tri state area and found this 1978 316 not even 20 miles away. The owner stepped up to a JD455. It was pretty mint. Had the plow, deck and powerflow bagger. From what I remember I think I paid around $2500 for everything. The only thing I bought a year later was the single stage blower. It was cheap and needed paint. Again, the sandblaster worked well. Never put the decals back on but for the amount of snow we would usually get it worked fine and it looked clean. The only thing I didnt like was the controls. Forward and reverse on the right side. plow hydraulics on the left. Plowing a lot of snow was a pain in the butt. Its like you needed a third hand to steer. I had this until 2003. Sold it to one of my coworkers for what I paid for it.
In 2003 I decided to look for something newer with better controls. I drove to VT to buy this one. Private sale. It had 68 hrs and came with a 54" deck and the same size blade. The owner used Mobile 1. Waxed to show but never cleaned the bottom of the deck. There was a field mouse nest underneath. cleaned the deck (yup, sandblaster again) sprayed it with epoxy primer and acrylic enamel. New decals. A few years ago I did the same thing to the seat pan and added new back lights. Its a real workhorse. Grass, leaves with the powerflow bagger I found online and snow throughout the winter. The first picture is before I redid it.
When I started to freshen it up. Yes. Its a sickness.
This took a little time to do but I wanted it done before the snow started to fall so the cars sat until it was finished. This has well over 700 hrs on it now. My buddy just bought a newer X series with 4wd. I gotta say if I had a little more extra cash I'd try to find a low hour one but right now theres some house repairs that are the priority
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Damnit I don't need too resurrect another one....
Dad's got an early 70's MF10 disassembled for paint that's stalled.
I missed out on a Deere Patio 110 in college for $200. Dumb me didn't buy it. Big money maker flop right there...
Dad's got an early 70's MF10 disassembled for paint that's stalled.
I missed out on a Deere Patio 110 in college for $200. Dumb me didn't buy it. Big money maker flop right there...
I don't have pictures of all of them and if I did I'd crash the site trying to upload them but here's the tractors that were/are my personal machines.
This was the first tractor I was ever on, a Cub Cadet 1525. Had a Kawasaki 15 HP twin. Dad bought it new in 2003 after shoulder surgery left him unable to use the push mower. It was a really solid tractor for years and took a lot of abuse. The paint was failing and I was constantly repainting and touching it up but mechanically it was really solid until a couple years ago when the hydrostatic rear started getting really noisy and wasn't going up hills anymore. I think it had about 900 hours on when I got rid of it.
Wanting a bigger machine, I replaced it with this, a 2000 Cub Cadet 3235. It has a 23 HP Kohler Command, 54" deck, power steering, hydraulic deck lift, shaft drive for both the transmission and deck and a locking differential. I spent a while trying to find a nice 3000 Series before I came up with this one. It was on the opposite side of the state and I hauled it back with the Subaru.
The only thing I didn't like about the 3235 was it only had a single spool valve. The spool valves for these tractors are Cub Cadet only and very expensive, although it wasn't long before I found this on Craigslist-
It was total junk, but I got these off of it for $75-
After new seals and a lot of cleaning and repainting, I got them put on the tractor and found a used snow plow that can be lifted hydraulically. I don't have a hydraulic angle cylinder for it yet but when I do find one, it will be plug and play.
This was the first tractor I was ever on, a Cub Cadet 1525. Had a Kawasaki 15 HP twin. Dad bought it new in 2003 after shoulder surgery left him unable to use the push mower. It was a really solid tractor for years and took a lot of abuse. The paint was failing and I was constantly repainting and touching it up but mechanically it was really solid until a couple years ago when the hydrostatic rear started getting really noisy and wasn't going up hills anymore. I think it had about 900 hours on when I got rid of it.
Wanting a bigger machine, I replaced it with this, a 2000 Cub Cadet 3235. It has a 23 HP Kohler Command, 54" deck, power steering, hydraulic deck lift, shaft drive for both the transmission and deck and a locking differential. I spent a while trying to find a nice 3000 Series before I came up with this one. It was on the opposite side of the state and I hauled it back with the Subaru.
The only thing I didn't like about the 3235 was it only had a single spool valve. The spool valves for these tractors are Cub Cadet only and very expensive, although it wasn't long before I found this on Craigslist-
It was total junk, but I got these off of it for $75-
After new seals and a lot of cleaning and repainting, I got them put on the tractor and found a used snow plow that can be lifted hydraulically. I don't have a hydraulic angle cylinder for it yet but when I do find one, it will be plug and play.
Oh the memories...
My first engine rebuild was a Cub Cadet with a 16 HP Koehler. Set the lash way too much. Way, way, way, too much. WOT was the only speed it had, then hydrostatic trans slam it to drive and hang on! It chirped and pulled the front end at least a foot. Didn't take long until I found several quarts of oil and then started burnouts in the street. Something about excessive overlap and lift... 😁.
Well, finally snapped a rod, it was fun while it lasted.
My first engine rebuild was a Cub Cadet with a 16 HP Koehler. Set the lash way too much. Way, way, way, too much. WOT was the only speed it had, then hydrostatic trans slam it to drive and hang on! It chirped and pulled the front end at least a foot. Didn't take long until I found several quarts of oil and then started burnouts in the street. Something about excessive overlap and lift... 😁.
Well, finally snapped a rod, it was fun while it lasted.
Older Cubs were great little machines. A guy I worked with restored a bunch of narrow frames. Very well built like the early JDs. I'd love a Cub compact/sub compact but since theyre long gone I'd be concerned about buying parts and attachments. Theres some nice ones on marketplace.
