Mower Died

[ridewv]

Yes a ZTR can drive up those ramps. I prefer Kawasaki motors but don't worry about if a deck is stamped in one piece or if it's made with a number of pieces of steel welded. In fact the smoother, radius, stamped deck will likely be superior. The gauge of the metal is important.

 

[SMSgt]

It's a Deere. You'll have to order parts from Mexico from now on.

I've got a 2007 Murray rider. It never quits on me. It just won't start from time to time. Intake manifold was loose once, safety switch went bad the next time, and the ignition switch failed the last time. Other than tightening the intake manifold bolts, I've never needed to fix the engine. Belts seem to be the most likely failure item on it.

 

[wood714]

I think my John Deere is a 1986 model. When I bought it I ordered a user manual for it.

About 8 years ago the drive belt broke on it. Replacing the drive belt wasn't listed in the manual. I'm guessing they figured the belt would last as long as the mower. Found one at the John Deere dealership. It was not a good time at all changing it.

Picked up an extra blade drive belt too, still have it in my kitchen pantry. I can change out the blade belt in about one minute. They did that right.

 

[mtgianni]

It's almost October 1st, go ahead and shut things down until mid-May.

 

[djohns6]

Yes a ZTR can drive up those ramps. I prefer Kawasaki motors but don't worry about if a deck is stamped in one piece or if it's made with a number of pieces of steel welded. In fact the smoother, radius, stamped deck will likely be superior. The gauge of the metal is important.

The stamped deck can rust out and is easy to bend if you hit something . Not everybody mows a smooth , obstacle free yard resembling a golf green .

 

[SweetMK]

If there is no carb, or coil,, they can not fail,,
that is why I mow with diesel,,,,,,,,,,

 

[yeti]

Did it cut out when it was hot?

Possible ignition coil fail?

 

[ridewv]

The stamped deck can rust out and is easy to bend if you hit something . Not everybody mows a smooth , obstacle free yard resembling a golf green .

A one piece 10 gauge deck is every bit as strong (stronger really) as one pieced together with 10 gauge metal. It resists rust and bending from impacts the same.

It's pretty easy to form light gauge steel so that's the efficient way to manufacture light duty decks. It takes a large and very expensive piece of equipment to form heavy steel so smaller manufacturers have no choice but to fabricate their heavier decks.

 

[JeffD607]

My fathers did this to me while I was mowing his lawn. It started as an intermittent problem and then just finally quit. It was a small electronic part down next to the frame on the left side. I don't remember the name of the part, but it was around $21.00. I don't know if yours is equipped with this part, but you might want to check. A part that you would never suspect.

 

[GypsmJim]

That exact same thing happened to me last year with my camp tractor. It was at the bottom of the hill at the time and we had to tie a rope to it and use the car to haul it back up to the cabin. I was lucky to find a local shop and the owner came and got it. It was fixed in a few days.

Since I was not astute on the workings of a mower engine, I did not want to throw parts at it just to find out that it was something else.

Short story long...when it died I immediately opened the hood to check the gas tank. It was then that I saw some light smoke coming from the bottom of the carb. It disappeared in a few seconds so if I had not worked so quickly I would not have seen it.

Turned out to be the fuel shutoff solenoid. I think it cost less than 10 bucks, plus maybe 15 minutes labor.

The best part of the deal was I got a new guy that didn't even charge a pickup fee. A similar issue came up later in the summer and he helped me out again.

The rest of the story was that he and the wife were in their upper 70's and a few months later they closed the shop and sold the building.

 

[wood714]

Did it cut out when it was hot?

Possible ignition coil fail?

Started up perfectly, ran about 5 minutes or so then died.

 

[tops]

If there is no carb, or coil,, they can not fail,,
that is why I mow with diesel,,,,,,,,,,

In a past life I tried that with a 45 HP tractor and a 72 in. mower. Bought a 52 in. ZT with a 19 HP Kaw. engine. The ZT mower cost was about a 1/3 of the tractor and mower and I can do the mowing in less time. Less

 

[djohns6]

A one piece 10 gauge deck is every bit as strong (stronger really) as one pieced together with 10 gauge metal. It resists rust and bending from impacts the same.

It's pretty easy to form light gauge steel so that's the efficient way to manufacture light duty decks. It takes a large and very expensive piece of equipment to form heavy steel so smaller manufacturers have no choice but to fabricate their heavier decks.

All of your cheaper mowers use stamped decks .

 

[deadin]

MOWER DIED??
You need to be a little more circumspect with your thread title....
I'm sure Bruce (member #662) and JoAnne are shocked..... I know I was...

 

[ridewv]

All of your cheaper mowers use stamped decks .

Correct, cheaper mowers use thin, stamped decks.

Only better mowers use heavy decks, either stamped or fabricated. Some Deere tractors like the 2 and 3 series compact tractors utilize heavy gauge stamped mower decks. I think Deere, Kubota, and maybe just a few others can stamp that heavy of a deck.

 

[Alton]

What I was told told the thinner the deck the weaker the spindles, I found this out with my Cub Cadet breaking and striping out all the time.

 

[wood714]

I was really hoping it was the coil, but it's getting spark.

Spark - YouTube

 

[Ματθιας]

It's getting fuel and spark, yes?

How about compression?

What does the oil look like?

 

[WardenRoss]

I was really hoping it was the coil, but it's getting spark.

Spark - YouTube

Try pouring a little gas in the carb and see if it starts momentarily. I had a Craftsman with a Kohler engine and the fuel pump diaphragm gave out. Just wasn't getting any gas. After a little yoo toob research, I ordered a new one from Amazon (I think it was less than $25). Easy installation and I was back in business. Another tip I'll pass on…if you've got the belt driven blades…go to Tractor Supply and match the belt size. I was replacing a couple a season and they were less than $10. Ordering the Craftsman replacements were something like $45 each.

My neighbor's Kohler had that diaphragm go out twice.


,

 

[tlawler]

Forget the ZTR…

…You need one of these!

https://youtu.be/beXPpObKWFo