[Spike Forehand]

Hi All -

I have a White Outdoor (by MTD) LT 1600 (42", hydrostatic) purchased in spring of 2001 with a 16.5 HP Briggs and Stratton. It has now stopped running and the local repair shop says the engine is blown due to running with a lack of oil. (My fault for not teaching my wife how to check the oil - doh!) Other than the blown engine, the tractor is in decent shape and everything else works well aside from a few nicks/glitches.

The quote I got to replace the engine with a B&S 17 HP single cylinder was $1050. I'm having a real hard time swallowing paying that bill, so I am leaning towards just buying a new one - thinking about the Cub Cadet LTX1040 for $1500 at Home Depot. We have about 9/10 of an acre to mow, and I also pull a plug aerator about 2-3 times per year.

At any rate - I was hoping to ask those of you with lots of tractor experience and knowledge a few stupid questions. Please indulge me if you can.

1 - Is the $1050 price (including delivery, pickup, parts, and labor) to replace with a 17HP single cylinder engine reasonable? Could I expect to pay significantly less somewhere else?

2 - If I do decide to get a new tractor, does my old one have any trade-in or resale value with a blown engine? Any thoughts on how/where to sell it?

3 - Any thoughts on my choice of replacing what I had with the Cub Cadet 1040LX? WIll I see a big fall-off in performance?

No need to suggest that I replace the engine myself - that would clearly be out of the question for me.


Thanks to all for any and all advice -

Spike

 

[Tractor-Holic]

Northern Tool or the Surplus Center at www.surpluscenter.com will likely have an engine that'll work for less than that..does it HAVE to be a Briggs?..other brands will likely fit and work,and may be available for a lot less ..however,if you cant swap it in yourself,any savings will likely be lost in labor,not many shops will want to put in a motor you bought elsewhere--it would be like bringing your own bacon and eggs to the diner,and asking them to cook them,you know?..If you can find a handy friend,then I'd say buy a motor and pay him/her to install it..a good used engine is another option too..

I'm no fan of the new "tractors" they sell nowadays,so I'd say dont buy a new one..personally I think your better off taking a chance on a used one that you can get for 200-500 bucks and get a few good years use out of it.
I see too many newer tractors here being sold at yard sales ,on craigslist,etc,to justify spending 3 times as much,for something not always any "better"..I saw a like new 2004 Craftsman GT5000 today being sold at a "moving" sale,priced at 500 or B/O..

 

[Bolens 1000]

Northern Tool or the Surplus Center at www.surpluscenter.com will likely have an engine that'll work for less than that..does it HAVE to be a Briggs?..other brands will likely fit and work,and may be available for a lot less ..however,if you cant swap it in yourself,any savings will likely be lost in labor,not many shops will want to put in a motor you bought elsewhere--it would be like bringing your own bacon and eggs to the diner,and asking them to cook them,you know?..If you can find a handy friend,then I'd say buy a motor and pay him/her to install it..a good used engine is another option too..

I'm no fan of the new "tractors" they sell nowadays,so I'd say dont buy a new one..personally I think your better off taking a chance on a used one that you can get for 200-500 bucks and get a few good years use out of it.
I see too many newer tractors here being sold at yard sales ,on craigslist,etc,to justify spending 3 times as much,for something not always any "better"..I saw a like new 2004 Craftsman GT5000 today being sold at a "moving" sale,priced at 500 or B/O..

I'm not much of a new tractor person so I say take a chance on a used one.alot of times you can get one in decent shape for a fair price, as I always say on all of my posts I'd buy a bolens, but thats just because of my obsession of bolens tractors :thThumbsU

 

[poncho62]

I picked up a White today....18 hp B&S twin, 42-46 in cut (havn't measured it yet)......just needs a few minor things fixed.....$200.

BTW...welcome to the forum.

 

[modaone]

It isn't that hard to swap an engine and can be done in an hour or two. Find a buddy with a little mechanical skill and offer $50 and beer (after the jobs complete of course). And buy something like this

There are many places you can get reasonably prices engines from.

Also you may want to have someone else look at the engine, some repair shops have been know to try to take advantage of customers the suspect to have no mechanical knowledge.

 

[Walt 2002]

"If I do decide to get a new tractor, does my old one have any trade-in or resale value with a blown engine? "

NO.

I have a 16.5 B&S I just overhauled for $195 plus shipping, model 310707 and an 18 hp same, $195 plus shipping model 31M707, this is an ELS engine.

Walt Conner
wconner5 at verizon dot net

 

[johndeereowner]

welcome to forum. I have an older White LT-1265 or something like that. you have got a good mower there. and speaking of oil, i need to change oil in the L-12

 

[tonyb]

http://tewarehouse.com/

 

[Spike Forehand]

Thanks to all for their advice.

You've got me out looking at used tractrors, as well as thinking about tackling the engine replacement myself.

Found the attached that's not too far away. Looks very similar to my current tractor and looks in decent shape and I may take a look. Any thoughts/issues with these?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/grd/1262713661.html

 

[D-Dogg]

Either replace the engine with a new one (yourself - it is not difficult), or upgrade when you go looking at used. $500 for a used 8 year old mower is risky.

You could get a JD 312 or 314 for $500 and have something worth fooling with.