MTD is off and running

[USN_ED]

Hi guys!! I asked Admin to put this MTD category in the Lawn and Garden Tractor section. I thought it would be appropriate for all tractors made by MTD - i.e., Cub Cadet, Cub Cadet Commercial, Troy-Bilt, Yard-Man, Ryobi, Yard Machines, Bolens, White Outdoor, Ranch King, and others.

Of course I expect the Cub Cadet guys to post under the Cub Cadet section whether they have the older International Harvester made Cub Cadets or the newer MTD made Cub Cadets. The same may apply to Bolens, White, and Troy-Bilt.

Anyway, I just thought this would be an appropriate category.

ED

[sixchows]

Well Ed us FMC Bolens guys try to get real far away from that MTD banner! Nothing personal just really light years apart. But of course we like ALL tractors!

I hope you can bring some life to the MTD forum. It was very quiet on the old site.

[USN_ED]

sixchows -

It may well be a bust but I thought I'd like to give it a shot. I saw in another post somewhere where you had discussed this very thing. If it doesn't work out, we can scrub the MTD category.

As you noticed, I did make a distinction between pre-MTD and post-MTD tractors.

I'd say, if thre is no mention of MTD or very little traffic by the end of June, we could scrub the category.

ED

[Kid Muddy]

I've got a mid-80's Montgomery Wards that was made by MTD. It came with the house. Nice little mower, but I want to change the pulleys to speed it up a bit, then I want to build some ramps and see if I can jump it over our pond. My wife thinks I'm crazy and says she won't watch, but I told her she has to at least hold the video camera.

[DUCK]

I have a 48 inch Ranch King I use to trim around the trees and other places the 6 footer and Ford tractor can't get to. Have had it for 7 years never a proble, Sits all Winter, fires on first crank in the Spring. All I do is change the oil and keep it gassed. It does use up sealed bearing belt drive pulleys but they are not too expensive or hard to replace.
I use the grass catcher (3 bin) to collect the cut grass for the horses and goats. They love it.
DUCK :trink40:

[johndeere]

There are a lot of MTD products out there.My parents have a Yardman that is still going after about 10 years.My neighbor has a White.You see MTD every place I guess there just not into discussing it?

[slkpk]

With some of the junk MTD puts out today its hard to imagine that back in the 70's MTD made some good tractors. I had a MTD Farm King 16hp all cast iron BS, 3PH, shaft driven tiller. Metal hood cast iron front grill. Very sturdy and still going strong today. slkpk

[kubotachick]

I use an mtd pro 61" for cutting, and just watchout for sharp metal objects near the brake...i reached for the brake and slit my whole arm open on the side panel that spontaneously got ragged and sharp...i'll take pictures of the scar.

[Carl]

I also have one of those old 70s vintage MTDs. 16 hp hydrostatic drive.

Last spring I decided to replace the transmission cooling fan that broke clearing brush. Somewhere in the process of getting access to the fan, I discovered metal particles in the transmission oil. So took it all apart. Found that a new transmission would cost $680. Thought that it is time for a new putt putt. Looked around and couldn't find anything comparable. Of course I didn't even think to look on the internet for real garden tractors. What I found was the crap that they put out today - - riding lawn mowers. So I fixed the one I have.

[USN_ED]

With some of the junk MTD puts out today its hard to imagine that back in the 70's MTD made some good tractors. I had a MTD Farm King 16hp all cast iron BS, 3PH, shaft driven tiller. Metal hood cast iron front grill. Very sturdy and still going strong today. slkpk

Modern day MTDs may not be the best on the block but MTD puts out a decent tractor for the money they cost. I've got a Yard Machines "Gold" Lawn Tractor with a 42" deck and 17.5 B&S engine that just keeps going and going and going. It is used primarily by my wife to cut grass but it has done considerable Yeoman Duty hauling stuff and cutting some pretty rough terrain. Until I got my GT5000, I used it to cut the saw grass around my septic tank area.
http://img153.exs.cx/img153/4687/cut26xa.jpg
It cuts that saw grass with no problem. I'd put it up against most of the tractors (Lawn or Garden) in this Forum.

ED

[Carl]

Let me appologize. I never even got a mower deck for my MTD. I built a FEL for it, and used it to plow and disk my garden. So My MTD has never been used as a riding mower.

So let me say this. MTD manufactures a good product for its price and intended use. They no longer make a machine that will compete with the model that I have. The new ones are not rugged enough to stand up to the work that I do with mine. But then MTD doesn't sell them as garden tractors either.

I hope that I didn't offend anyone with my hip shot.

[lb59]

Well Ed us FMC Bolens guys try to get real far away from that MTD banner! Nothing personal just really light years apart. But of course we like ALL tractors!

I hope you can bring some life to the MTD forum. It was very quiet on the old site.

So it was about as dead as the MTD tractors Eh.

[john41]

hi new here but just couldnt resist replying my 2 teenagers have thier own mowing business and they own 3 mtd tractors ( 86 88 89 ) think highest price paid for any of them was 20 bucks but they have used them for 3 years doing semi commercial mowing with them and we have found that good maintenance i think is the key to even keeping the cheapo ones running anyways they have had real good luck with them even when the daughter thinks high gear is the only gear

[Jim_WV]

John41 :Welcome1: , glad you found us and we're pleased to have ya :).

[drbailey]

hi new here but just couldnt resist replying my 2 teenagers have thier own mowing business and they own 3 mtd tractors ( 86 88 89 ) think highest price paid for any of them was 20 bucks but they have used them for 3 years doing semi commercial mowing with them and we have found that good maintenance i think is the key to even keeping the cheapo ones running anyways they have had real good luck with them even when the daughter thinks high gear is the only gear

:Welcome1: Welcome aboard John41
Happy to have you with us , It`s great to hear about the young folkes out there working , getting the feel of the real world. I`m proud of them :fing32:

also I had a 20 horse White for atleast 5 years , with no complaints , I replaced it with a JD for bigger tires and power steering . because of back problem at the time.MTD is new to me , I don`t even know what I`m talking about . ROF

[jbgtb]

My MTD product is a Troy Bilt "Horse" garden tractor. I'm at about 130 hrs with absolutely no complaints. Its got a 21 horse Briggs with a 46 inch mowing deck and 23 inch rear tires. I mow just under 2 acres of grass (minus the house and pool). The back 3/4 acre is a big hill that this machine handles with no problem. The auto drive trans that everyone trashes has caused me no problems at all. Its got a hi-lo range rear that comes in handy when pulling a cart up the hill. They don't make this tractor any more. Seems like MTD is putting a lot of their efforts into the Cub garden tractors. For the money (right around 2K), this was the perfect choice for me. I use it mainly for mowing duty, with some occasional hauling. It stays parked in the garage during the winter though. That should add to its longevity. I know that I don't own the cream of the crop when it comes to GTs, but so far, MTD has proven to be a halfway decent choice.

[lb59]

I have a Wards Power craft MTD Lawn tractor

Worst tracto I've owned.

[snyper438]

I've got an old Montgomery Ward garden tractor that is rough looking but will out work my two newer mowers anytime. Only problem is parts are getting hard to find.

[lb59]

good maintenance i think is the key to even keeping the cheapo ones running

=========
This won't work on a lemon.

[john41]

=========
This won't work on a lemon.

Sorry to hear that u got a bad one, but they have been pretty lucky with theirs although they bought a new bigger tractor last year and going to buy another this year as the old mtds arnt really holding up as they r expanding all the time with even more to mow but they still have them as back ups. They served their purpose though as they made enough money with them to buy better equipment

[Jim_WV]

I had a 94 Yardman 15 HP 42" deck and a blade for 9 years, worked that thing year round and sold it in 2003 for $175 to a guy at my workplace. According to him it runs like a top and is still working year round pushing snow and mowing grass. I sure wish I would have kept it as an addition to the JD I bought, would have just used it for snow duty and hauling firewood if nothing else.

[SAS]

I bought an old Farm King garden tractor about 8 years ago. 16HP Hydro,came with snow blower, rotor tiller, belly mower(42) and only some of the pieces for a side cycle. But I never new who made it until I read an article in your forum under MTD. It may be a model 990 built in the 70's?? I'll post some pics soon. This has been a great tractor and I just took it out of service to build a loader for it. I bought a craftsman 4500, 23HP Briggs with a 42in mower. Seems OK for cutting grass. Again, interesting forum.

[lb59]

Mine is more off than running.

Worst piece of crap I ever bought!

[Mrwiggles2]

My BIL has a White GT with a 54" deck made by MTD. Its probably 12-15 years old or so. It has a full width deck roller and is shaft drive. Its got the MTD name right next to White's, so they did make quality products. He loves this tractor and it handles his very steep hills without lugging.

I like my tractors to have muscle. Flimsy sheet metal, belts galore and styling that looks like Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" just ain't for me.... but, they do sell a lot of them. :confused:

[lb59]

My BIL has a White GT with a 54" deck made by MTD. Its probably 12-15 years old or so. It has a full width deck roller and is shaft drive. Its got the MTD name right next to White's, so they did make quality products. He loves this tractor and it handles his very steep hills without lugging.

I like my tractors to have muscle. Flimsy sheet metal, belts galore and styling that looks like Jeff Goldblum in "The Fly" just ain't for me.... but, they do sell a lot of them. :confused:
Lots of suckers born every minute.

[Rusty Jones]

Gave a guy $25 for an old MTD tractor, with ohv engine, supposed to run. Didn't, so i junked the tractor, after stripping it of any good parts! Got steering shaft and sector, many engine parts, deck, variable speed pulley and other parts, good differential, couple wheels and tires!
Then--enter another guy--said if i'd come over, he'd give me his old lawn tractor.
A nice, newer, MTD, needing some of the parts i got off the other one, and some careful reassembly. He knew nothing about machinery, so he said. He was right! Engine in a box, head off, starter messed up, wires missing, ignition switch gone, throttle cable broke! A days work took care of most of it, only a bit more to do, and i'll have a nice lawn tractor, to use or sell!
UMMMMM!!
And, i never did find out why he took it apart! He said he'd better stick to the work he does, and let me fix his tractors!
UMMMMM!!
Engine runs great, belts new, nice tires, needs the long skinny battery.
UMMMMM!!

[Gene Wissink]

I looked at the low end MTD tractors and that gas tank gave me the shivers. I think it is a bomb waiting to go off if any fumes get to the engine because someone forgot to shut off the engine when they refueled.

[blacksmithman]

Carl on your MTD you added bar tires from a skid loader. What brand are they and if I my ask what was the cost? I want to get a pair for my tractor that I'm building a FEL for. Any information on the tires would be appreciated.

[Rusty Jones]

My next door neighbor has an MTD tractor, and it has given good service!
And, one day last monmth, a guy stopped in and said: If you com,e to my home, I'll give you 2 tractors, free! Now, thats the words i like to hear--especially FREE!!
So, over there i went. One is pure junk-a very old, rusty Sears Craftsman, with the engine out of it. The other is a nice looking MTD product. Of course, it has the problem of somebody trying to work on it, with no mechanical experience!
I've gotten the engine to run, all the parts back on it, cleaned up, the pulleys freed up, all i have left is some carb work, since it leaked all over the garage floor, leading to some (read many)complaints about the smell! fortunately, the floor is 2 feet lower than the cellar, so i didn't have a problem with the fumes getting to the HWH or furnace. The bottom of the over head door is a poor fit, so the fumes got out. It didn't have a fuel valve, but it does now.
The paint is nice, so i might have something i can use, or sell, if it is o.k. when ready.
I hate to junk the old Sears, but its too bad to clean it up.
I had another MTD given to me, but it was too bad to fix, so i saved the engine for parts, some wheels, and gave it a ride to the crusher man's place!