I am in need of a new lawn tractor and was wondering if MTD brand is any good ? I know they actually make alot of the Dept. store lawn mowers. Does anyone know how many brands thay actually make ? I have a 1 1/2 acre lawn in rural Iowa and I need something to mow my lawn and would like to spend under $1500 . Thanks, Iowa883
MTD is middle of the road. John Deere and the like are the best. Paying more is sometimes the cheapest way in the long run.
Nick, You are so correct about the statement . I was at 2 JD dealers and what I really want is around 5K , and my budget doesn't like that . My wife and I also do not know that a JD will last longer than a mower built by MTD . THanks, Iowa883
On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 17:10:19 GMT, "David Martel" wrote:
Obviously I can only go with my experience here, but I found them to be absolute garbage. The deck spindles usually made it two years max, there is no provision to grease anything which leads to rapid deterioration of steering, lift mechanisms, pretty much anything that moves. Parts are readily available, but not cheap- I found that after about four years I had to spend enough in repairs to justify a new tractor (the first was the under 1000 8HPx38" type) So I bought one of their "better" ones- a two cylinder 17 HP X42", $1795 at Sam's Club. Same exact tractor except for motor and deck size, same puny deck spindles, etc. After the second season, it began eating drive belts at thirty bucks a pop. When I checked into it, I found that the frame had actually cracked where the drive axle mounted. Why did this happen after two years? There were four mounting points for the axle, two forward, to at the axle itself, only the two at the axle had been installed, so every time the mower was put into motion the axle twisted and eventually the metal failed. The forward bolts had never been there, the paint was still unmarked, but MTD said too bad, not our problem. That worked out to 800 dollars a year, I am pretty sure I could have hired someone to do the lawn for that. Anyway, I welded up the frame and properly fastened the axle, after two more years it (again) needed deck spindles, and now the starter was shot, so I junked the stupid thing and bought a Deere- haven't had to replace any parts in four years, and I bought used- the tractor was built in the
70's!
I think these go on sale at Home Depot or lowes for $999 several times a year.
MTD does make different "grades"
Your absolutely correct. Thin material and poor paint on the deck require that you dismount, clean, and paint the deck with rustoleum frequently. I do this every couple of years usually in the Fall. It's really routine maintenance.
That's pretty much my impression after talking to many people and having owned JD mowers for the past 18 years.
I got 12 years out of a Agway badged MTD 12 HP B&S powered Lawn Tractor. During that time I replaced the front wheels due to weld failures, the main engine belt pulley due to weld failures, the deck arbors due to bearing failures, reinforced the frame transaxle mounting points due to cracks in frame / body. Engine had a bad oil seal around output shaft. This was a 1989 model bought new. I got my moneys worth but it was a hassle to keep up with the repairs. Current mower is a husqavanna 42 inch cut model with 2 cylinder Kawasaki 15hp engine. So far nothing other than routine maintenance over 3 years.
When I bought a new push mower about 6 years ago, I wanted a good, solid, US of A made machine so I bought a John Deere. The JD said they were one of the most reliable machines made, that Kawasaki engine is just great!
It has been and starts on the first pull every time.
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