I'd opt for the neighbor's Craftsman, as long as you know he maintained it. Just MHO. Good luck with whatever choice you make, and :Welcome1:
Need something for throwing snow... WWYD?
Hi Everyone-
New guy here.. I'll try to keep this as short as I can.
I currently have a 1994(?) Craftsman Lawn Tractor, with a 44" mowing deck, with an 18hp Kohler engine. It has all the symptoms of the dreaded ignition module failure. This tractor was given to me by my father-in-law. (As a tangent, is this the correct ignition module for the Kohler MV-18S engines? http://www.psep.biz/store/kohler_52_584_02-s_ignition_coil.htm . It says it is for the MV-16 through MV-20, but I wasn't sure if that included the "S" models.)
I also have a Poulan Pro XT riding mower with a 40" deck, that is probably about 4-years old. It has an 18.5 HP B&S, and was picked up in an estate sale for about $300 when the Craftsman failed. It runs great, and cuts our 2 acres about 30% faster than the Craftsman did. It also uses much less gas.
Our issue is that we have a 600' driveway, and my little walk behind, 24" blower is not cutting it any more. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make any blower attachments for the size Poulan we have. Looking on Craigslist was not able to find any of the 42" blower attachments for the Craftsman, but I can keep looking.
A neighbor of mine has a 2011 21hp Craftsman YTS3000 with a 46" deck and a 42" blower attachment, that he'd sell to me for about $1500. It runs great, but he is now hiring out his lawn and snow removal work and hasn't used it in a year. However, I've read some are not a huge fan of the transmission in the YTS3000s (It is the Hydro tranny).
So, assuming I buy a new coil for the old tractor, and tune up the engine to get it back in good working order, what would you do?
If other.. I'd like to keep my out of pocket below $1k, after selling the old tractors. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
New guy here.. I'll try to keep this as short as I can.
I currently have a 1994(?) Craftsman Lawn Tractor, with a 44" mowing deck, with an 18hp Kohler engine. It has all the symptoms of the dreaded ignition module failure. This tractor was given to me by my father-in-law. (As a tangent, is this the correct ignition module for the Kohler MV-18S engines? http://www.psep.biz/store/kohler_52_584_02-s_ignition_coil.htm . It says it is for the MV-16 through MV-20, but I wasn't sure if that included the "S" models.)
I also have a Poulan Pro XT riding mower with a 40" deck, that is probably about 4-years old. It has an 18.5 HP B&S, and was picked up in an estate sale for about $300 when the Craftsman failed. It runs great, and cuts our 2 acres about 30% faster than the Craftsman did. It also uses much less gas.
Our issue is that we have a 600' driveway, and my little walk behind, 24" blower is not cutting it any more. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make any blower attachments for the size Poulan we have. Looking on Craigslist was not able to find any of the 42" blower attachments for the Craftsman, but I can keep looking.
A neighbor of mine has a 2011 21hp Craftsman YTS3000 with a 46" deck and a 42" blower attachment, that he'd sell to me for about $1500. It runs great, but he is now hiring out his lawn and snow removal work and hasn't used it in a year. However, I've read some are not a huge fan of the transmission in the YTS3000s (It is the Hydro tranny).
So, assuming I buy a new coil for the old tractor, and tune up the engine to get it back in good working order, what would you do?
- Keep prowling CL for a used blower attachment for the old Craftsman, possibly sell the Poulan if the old Craftsman is running better.
- Buy a new Craftsman blower attachment for roughly $1k, possibly sell the Poulan if the old Craftsman is running better.
- Buy the 2011 YTS3000 with the blower for $1500, then sell the Poulan and old Craftsman.
- Other?
If other.. I'd like to keep my out of pocket below $1k, after selling the old tractors. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
Being ever so frugal,I'd hold out hoping to find a blower on craigslist cheap!..then you'll have a Craftsman with a blower ,a good Kohler engine ,and still have the Poulan for mowing..you may find a blower that fits or can be adapted to the Poulan too..and have two tractors ready to go blow or mow for under 1500 bucks,maybe half that much..
Your neigbors machine sounds nice,but 1500 bucks ,I dont know--some brand new Craftsmans are not much more than that--the blower is probably 500+ alone for a new one though......the hydro tranny would concern me some,though I'd not be as worried about it faling as if it were being used to plow and PUSH snow,which really will put it thru the wringer..the snowblower wont be as hard on it,but still no picnic either..you dont really know how hard it was used either..a gamble that could turn out to be a costly one..
Your neigbors machine sounds nice,but 1500 bucks ,I dont know--some brand new Craftsmans are not much more than that--the blower is probably 500+ alone for a new one though......the hydro tranny would concern me some,though I'd not be as worried about it faling as if it were being used to plow and PUSH snow,which really will put it thru the wringer..the snowblower wont be as hard on it,but still no picnic either..you dont really know how hard it was used either..a gamble that could turn out to be a costly one..
1 - 3 of 3 Posts
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