[mowergene]

Yesterday, while driving home from the Post Office, my eye caught a Simplicity 6516 on the side of the road. I turned around and went back for a closer look. Dang it! After some time of looking, I'm so intrigued, I cannot get this machine out of my mind. It has 6XX hours on it and does not smoke at all. It has the 16 horse brigg I/C, Hydro, and 48inch deck. No belt on the deck, so I couln't try it out. The battery required a jump from the truck, so it could have problems with the stator, but it may simply be a bad battery. The deck has a single belt that costs $50, so that's a serious consideration. The deck is so clean, it looks like last years model and the seat is super nice....like it's never been sat on! He wants $400 for it and I suppose, if you need a mower, it's worth it. My problem is that I do NOT need it. But I'm not opposed to tinkering with it and turning it loose on Craigslist if it would draw a few dollars. It has obviously been stored inside because the tires look GREAT and the paint isn't faded.
I need all the info I can get reguarding hydro, hydro fluid, engine, or any other helpful knowledge this forum has to offer..........thanks.

 

[ACmowerguy]

They are a decent mower. At that price there isn't much money to be made. By the time you put $100 in parts into it, you'll still only have a $500-$700 machine IMO.

 

[CityFarmer]

:ditto:
Fluids, filters, belts -- easily $100 for a complete do-over even using good quality after-market parts.

Personlly, I think they are worth a lot more than a new one! But mid- to upper-hundreds is all you are likely to get for a 25-ish year old tractor.

Can you be a little more specific about the basics of what you want to know? It would take me a half-hour to reply generically to your open ended question. I don't want to spend the time unless you are seriously going to purchase it.

By the way, you can get a good after-market belt on eBay for half or less of that $50.

 

[mowergene]

:ditto:
Fluids, filters, belts -- easily $100 for a complete do-over even using good quality after-market parts.

Personlly, I think they are worth a lot more than a new one! But mid- to upper-hundreds is all you are likely to get for a 25-ish year old tractor.

Can you be a little more specific about the basics of what you want to know? It would take me a half-hour to reply generically to your open ended question. I don't want to spend the time unless you are seriously going to purchase it.

By the way, you can get a good after-market belt on eBay for half or less of that $50.

Well.......I bought it for $375. With only 650 hours, it looks like the original oil came out of it! I've changed it three times already, running it about 1/2 hour each change. Right now I've got some lightweight 5-30 and a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil in it hoping that it'll eat at some of the years of crud. Biggest problem is probably a very dirty carb and perhaps a stuck float. It starts well, but after it warms up, it'll try to kill and needs a quick pull at the choke to keep her running. Guess I'm going to have to pull it. I found the deck belt for $20 + shipping. I was looking for a little project and I found it.

 

[CityFarmer]

I'm glad to hear you got it!

Deck belt: you did get a kevlar wrapped belt, I hope? Standard belts will fail in hours/minutes.

Use Sea Foam in both the oil and fuel. I learned about it here at MTF and the stuff is truly magic.

Make sure fuel lines are sound -- neither spongy nor hard. What kind of fuel cap do you have? The gauge kind? If so, is the plastic broken or the float assembly rusted? If so, you will probably want to remove the tank and clean it out. While out, replace the rubber bushing on the bottom and the fuel lines.
These tanks are notorious for gathering rust and debris, especially if left outside.

Howz the tranny fluid looking? You will probably want to change that, too. The one I bought would not even move until the seller changed the fluid and filter. It's been fine the 2 years I have had it.

Bring on the questions!

 

[mowergene]

I'm glad to hear you got it!

Deck belt: you did get a kevlar wrapped belt, I hope? Standard belts will fail in hours/minutes.

Use Sea Foam in both the oil and fuel. I learned about it here at MTF and the stuff is truly magic.

Make sure fuel lines are sound -- neither spongy nor hard. What kind of fuel cap do you have? The gauge kind? If so, is the plastic broken or the float assembly rusted? If so, you will probably want to remove the tank and clean it out. While out, replace the rubber bushing on the bottom and the fuel lines.
These tanks are notorious for gathering rust and debris, especially if left outside.

Howz the tranny fluid looking? You will probably want to change that, too. The one I bought would not even move until the seller changed the fluid and filter. It's been fine the 2 years I have had it.

Bring on the questions!

The cheapest belt I could find says "K-Plus" on it.....hope it's kevlar! I'm only going to use it to test and then it's for sale. My wife is in the hospital right now and we're looking at a lengthy recovery, so I won't have much time to diddle with it for a while. The fuel lines look to be fair and the tank is plastic. I've ordered the fresh tranny fluid and the new filter has arrived. The gas cap sucks, so new one on order (float gauge built in). I haven't added it all up yet, but it looks like nearly $100 in it so far. I'll let y'all know how it turns out, but it may be a while.

 

[mowergene]

About that choking to keep it running issue.........I read online last night that the fuel pump might be bad. If gas seeps down the line and fills the bowl, it can start and run well for a bit; but when it runs low, choking is necessary to suck more fuel into the carburator. Makes sense to me, so I'll be checking the pump first chance I get.

 

[mowergene]

I rebuilt the carburator, cleaned debris from the fuel pump, replaced the drive belt and found a buyer! That old girl brought in $850 cash money! It's been nearly a week since the sale and no call-backs so far. The couple seemed very happy to get it. If I'd had property that wasn't so ultra wet all the time, I'd have been very tempted to keep it as a "back-up mower". It's a rare find to see so few hours on that old of a machine!

 

[CityFarmer]

Sounds great...you got your hands black.....and then green!
I hope your wife heals fully and quickly!

 

[mowergene]

Sounds great...you got your hands black.....and then green!
I hope your wife heals fully and quickly!

Thanks for the good thoughts! Turns out she's got liver disease which is being kept in check right now with meds. We may be looking at a transplant down the road, though. At least she has no pain and is a happy girl.

 

[mowergene]

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