[rhal]

am looking at a craftsman tractor on line. it is light gray color
with 15.5 hp engine,hydro transaxle and 42" deck don"t have
model number. anyone have an idea when it was made,
it does NOT have the step thru body.

 

[Whirly]

well...I do know the one u have in pic is a LT 1000...think they were made late 1990's & early 2000's..if ur has a 15.5 hp...it prolly is a Kolher with pressurized oil & filter.. the sterrin shaft under the wheel at the bottom goes bad on these a lot...causin a lotta play in the wheel.. this can b repaired easy..if the engine has seen any servicing durin it's life it should b a good one..

the bearings on the spindles can b replaced... but if the 5 point star on the bottom is messed up...replace the spindle.. have seen quite a few of these that had blades installed improperly & mashed the star....other tham that...they were a good mower..lotta them out there still a chuggin away..doin what they were made for...

BTW....price in this area for one is 200-350

 

[Slow Crawler]

If you want to see a repair of the steering Gears look at this post http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=294665

I'm currently working on a LT 4000 that had bad steering gears.:trink39:

 

[tomw0]

That one has the B&S engine as noted by the sideways diamond on the side of the hood. The rear 'pan' sets the age, with the newer models having the foot rest(?) as one part with the transmission cover/seat mount. I'd say it is newer than '97 because they changed color from green to gray after that. I have what I think is a 97 with separate fender/footrest, the one piece being offered later, some in green, and gray being later than that.
By the time they used gray paint, I think the Kohler had been phased out. I haven't seen a gray with a Kohler. Until they went to the Courage series. The hydros and geared drives were available in parallel,. with the hydro costing a few hundred more.
There were to deck control mechanisms also. One with a two-position lever and a dial to adjust the height, and one with a multi-position lever. The second is the later style, and, to my mind provides easier control of the deck as both sides lift equally.
Good ones with a Kohler run from $400 to $600 in Northwest GA area. You can get worn out for less, of course. The steering part is plastic, and does not need lubrication. If you do put lube on it, you will soon have dirt mixed, creating a very fine grinding compound, wearing the plastic quickly.

 

[Ericjr16]

The machine is a nice unti. We have had one bought new with a 19.5 Briggs opposed twin. We bought the snowblower for it and used it for that since new. We bought ours new in 1996. Hope that helps!
God Bless!
Eric

 

[rhal]

tractor is a 1996 per the serial number 062496c 009436.