MTD Lawn Tractors ?

[Iowa883]

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

 

[Edwin Pawlowski]

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 Plume]

"Iowa883" wrote

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

Two days ago, you wanted to spend in the $2000 - $2500 range, as posted in alt.home.lawn.garden. I hope in two more days, you're not looking for a tractor in the $500-$1000 range.

MTD = Junk

You might be better off looking for a couple of goats.

 

[Iowa883]

"Iowa883" wrote

Two days ago, you wanted to spend in the $2000 - $2500 range, as posted in alt.home.lawn.garden. I hope in two more days, you're not looking for a tractor in the $500-$1000 range.

MTD = Junk

You might be better off looking for a couple of goats.

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

 

[Eric Houkal]

Iowa,

MTD makes tractors for a lot of stores. You should have no trouble at all finding a 42" cut on sale for less than $1000. Second hand is even cheaper. MTD's are mediocre quality. Expect to replace the wheel bearings (plastic sleeves) every 4 yrs. The paint is not particularly durable. Parts are readily available and you'll easily get 10 yrs. service with routine maintenance and a few minor repairs.

Dave M.

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!

 

[Duane Bozarth]

Iowa883 wrote:
....

also do not know that a JD will last longer than a mower built by MTD .

Trust me, used and maintained equally, the JD will outlast the MTD...

I've JD mowers/utility tractors approaching 40 years old that are still operating just fine (and still have parts available)...

 

[PoP]

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

Longevity with anything but the cheapest made models is a factor of maintenance, especially how the under-deck is cared for and how the oil/air filters/changes are maintained. Most discarded lawn mowers have decks that have rusted away until the bearing mounts etc. are about to let go. The underside of the deck is THE most important thing to keep cleaned and if need be, repainted every 3 years or so. Cutting habits also determine the wear on the underside of the deck. Almost none of them are thrown away for engine problems unless they've been run without oil or changing frequently enough.

Preventive maintenance is the key to longevity. I had
an MTD lawn tractor from Sears for 30 years and still
have a rotary push mower since 1979 that's in top
working condition. Only problem with it is the rear
'flapper' has worn off on the edges & I restored it
with steel bars. Still starts on second pull - first
pull when the plug's newly gapped and gas is fresh.

John Deere is definitely the best. But for longevity,
even it has to be properly maintianed.

HTH

 

[PoP]

message

Iowa,

MTD makes tractors for a lot of stores. You should
have no trouble at all finding a 42" cut on sale for
less than $1000. Second hand is even cheaper. MTD's
are mediocre quality. Expect to replace the wheel
bearings (plastic sleeves) every 4 yrs. The paint is
not particularly durable. Parts are readily available
and you'll easily get 10 yrs. service with routine
maintenance and a few minor repairs.

Dave M.

IMO:
That's a little low on price for our area, but I do
concur in general. MTD does make different "grades"
and you have to watch out for the deck material.
Sometimes bragging about an 18Ga deck as they do LOOKS
good, but in reality means it's too thin. But that's
true for any brand, not just MTD. Murray's like to do
that too.
Not impressed with the nylon bearings, but that
might be all that's available at the price ranges
people can afford.
Buy a machine meant for the job to be done is
important, and it sounds reasonable for an acre or so
that the OP mentioned. Maintenance and following the
manual's cutting recommendations are the key to long
life.

HTH

 

[PoP]

Top posted for your reading comfort:
Actually, this response is a great example of what I
call the "QAT" (Quality Added Troubles) added by a lot
of stores that assemble things "for" you. These things are almost never delivered fully assembled, and then there's the factory to consider too. That makes it imperative to inspect closely any purchase of equipment for loose or missing bolts, screws, etc.. I bought a lawn tractor once that didn't have an idler pulley for one of the drive belts. Like this post below, it was obvious it'd never been there, but I never noticed it until the belt broke - the pulley pin was acting as the idler pulley. I calmly and firmly started raising a fuss though, and was given a new receipt from the store I purchased it from so I could take it to a repair shop to get the new parts. They handed me the parts, I put it on, and it's been a happy tractor ever since!

FWIW

 

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Perhaps you and your wife don't know, but millions of others that have owned both brands do know for sure. JD by a landslide. There are many factors that are not visible that make the difference in cheap and quality machines. The sizes of bearings, the alloys of material, thickness of materials, tolerances of machining, etc.

 

[Duane Bozarth]

Pop wrote:
....

John Deere is definitely the best. But for longevity,
even it has to be properly maintianed.

Well, that's stretching, perhaps...there are a number of good quality manufacturers besides Deere. But as a comparison between MTD and similar, there's no question JD is "better"...

 

[Vic Dura]

Never had a Kabota have you!
I have a friend that has a lawn service, he has had four Kobota lawn tractors of one sort or another. He has a couple of John Deere's too. The Kabota's kick ass on the JD'S! He has put over 3000 hours on all of his Kabota's with little repair, the JD's never made it that far before he gave up and traded them. He had a JD 425 that IN warranty cost him $700 dollars in repairs! He has never put that much money in ALL the Kabota's he has had in repairs. I am excluding regular service off course.
Greg

That's pretty much my impression after talking to many people and having owned JD mowers for the past 18 years.

 

[Steve Stone]

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.

 

[Edwin Pawlowski]

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.