varidrive mowers??

[0rion]

I have an MTD that uses varidrive. It's been kicking my ass the last week or so and I'm about out of ideas. The mower in any gear bucks and surges. I can hear the belt slapping around under there too. Replaced variable pulley and both belts with no change. Replaced 1 of the springs but the other is on back order. I have a feeling though that this isn't due to a spring but I'm just out of ideas. Anyone have any experience working on them?

[pajeff02]

I have a 15 year old Troy Bilt (MTD built) -- too funny, as I just fabbed and installed a tab behind the driven pulley on the rear axle to keep it from jumping off. I have never had any issues with it bucking though, just recently it started falling off when stopping to change directions. Only other issue I have had is that the belt would relocate itself to the outside of a guide in the area under your feet. This would cause it to want to move even when the pedal drive was not engaged as it took slack out of the belt. Other issue was changing the belt - I have always had to unbolt and lift the engine up off the chassis as the pulley would never come off the crankshaft.

[GTP231]

Is that the one with the tie rod that fell apart recently Jeff?

[0rion]

got it figured out I believe.....frame has a crack in it letting the motor sag just a little bit to one side. Pretty sure that's what's causing the belt to grab and pop. I'm going to weld it up and see if that fixes it but either way it looks like I'll be mower shopping soon. I would love to get another month out of this piece of shit and catch the end of the season clearout on mowers.

[pajeff02]

You and me both - I already started shopping around 2 weeks ago. Going to look at the Husqvarna this evening down at Lowe's.

[0rion]

let me know what you find.....I'm just starting the process. Cub Cadet makes a pretty decent mower too. Husvqarna you kinda have to be careful with....at least their chainsaws.....they own Poulan and you find the same parts on both.

[0rion]

been looking at mowers and I think I may be down to these 2 and a cub cadet. I'm liking that husqvarna even though I'm leary of them. The cub cadet and Troy Bilt both have a strike against them since they're both owned by MTD. Not sure how the quality of those 2 are but the MTD I have now has required constant work for about the last 5 years. I'm sick of working on a damn lawn mower every year.

See if this side by side comparison of the husqvarna and troy bilt work:
Comparison Assistant


cub cadet I'm also pondering:
http://www.allpowerparts.com/pages/m...itID=100170362

[0rion]

oh...... to give you guys just a little sense of what kinda shit luck I can generate I have a sweet ass story.

I've spent a couple months now working on this damn thing and dropping money into it. Today found the cracked frame and welded that up. Took it for a test drive and no change but I could hear the belt popping around so I put it on stands to run it and see what's going on with that belt. Put the mower on stands (no deck on of course) and start it up and put it in gear. Let it run for about 10 minutes while I'm watching the belts seeing what's going on when "POW". Engine blowed the fuck up. That's the kinda luck I roll with.

[pajeff02]

Good lord -- guess you'll be shopping sooner than later.

This is what I was looking at: Shop Husqvarna LGT2 26-HP V-Twin Hydrostatic 54-in Garden Tractor with Kohler Engine at Lowes.com

[0rion]

Good lord -- guess you'll be shopping sooner than later.

This is what I was looking at: Shop Husqvarna LGT2 26-HP V-Twin Hydrostatic 54-in Garden Tractor with Kohler Engine at Lowes.com

saw that one too...... what scared me away was out of 46 reviews 11 were 1 star. That's a pretty shitty track record. Several that I saw were engine related. On the other hand the 24HP briggs version has 9 1 star ratings out of 313 and feature wise they're pretty similar. I keep flip flopping back and forth. I like that troy bilt a lot. I'm going to look at them in person tomorrow. What I can't figure out is the weight differences between the huskies and that troy bilt.....the troy is almost 200 pounds heavier than even that larger huskie you like. The MTD is a huge strike against that troy bilt but I'm going to go look it over. It's quite a leap from my old piece of shit to that one so maybe I won't end up laying under it all the time. Tough decision for sure. MTD bothers me but so does husqvarna to be honest with you.....their quality isn't what it once was. The problem I run into is I can say that about just about any mower manufacturer. Do you stick with the devil you know or go out on a limb with another one? I will tell you that tomorrow when I go look at them I'm going to go over them like no other person probably has ever. If I knew they would let me I would take my tools and jack stands to get it up in the air with the deck off so I can look at what I'm going to be working on at some point. Wonder how many goats I could buy for $2000? Probably enough to where I wouldn't have to mow.

[smokestack]

Why not just buy a good "old" Garden tractor? Thats what i did. I dont have a big yard but pull trailers and yard tools. Even after being bored and restoring it i have less than a grand into it. Blows away any of the over priced cheap ones at the stores today. Its 1967 and will outlast my lifetime now!

[0rion]

went with the troy bilt

[pajeff02]

I grew up mowing with an old Wheelhorse tractor we labeled, "The Grassosaurus". That was better than 30 years ago and although the mower deck has long since rotted away, the tractor still runs fine.

[0rion]

I like the old farm tractors....I'd like to have one at some point but not as my main mower. Like I said before....I'm tired of working on a mower every other week all summer long. I have plenty of other shit that needs done

[pajeff02]

My rig job on the belt worked - mowed my parents' lawn Thursday night and the belt stayed on. If I could fix the charging system I might try to run it another season... but no clue what is wrong with it.

[0rion]

let me know if there are any parts you need before I scrap this one....what model is your mower? I'll see if any parts are interchangeable. I just put a new steering shaft and bushing on this one a month ago....check and see if your worm gear is worn on the bottom of the shaft at all.

[pajeff02]

Tie rods would be good to have. Not sure what model it is without checking the book.