I am guessing there was some unseen damage due to the blown gasket that is just now showing up. I would hope you would get more than 4 years and 200 hours out of that mower. You should be able to find a replacement engine for much cheaper than that. It will be up to you whether to repair/replace. Have you had any other issues or just these two?

I agree that you can probably get a new engine yourself for less than that but WHAT engine are we talking about, might be able to give you some insight into what happened.

By the way, our local Dixon dealer quit Dixon when Husqvarna bought Dixon a couple of years ago due to his previous bad experience with Husqvarna organization.

Walt Conner

Well, Husqvarna don't make the engine. So, You have to stick that one on Kohler or Briggs, unless you didn't check the oil, change the oil, and clean the air filter.

If it is a Kohler V-Twin???? they are pricey, especially at a dealer repair facility. But, If you're able to turn a wrench you can find them cheaper say 700 to 1300 by shopping online or Ebay. even cheaper used

If it's a briggs (not vangaurd) then it can be had alot cheaper. Again, if you are able turn a wrench, understand how things come apart and able to remember how they go back and can interpert wiring you can install the engine yourself.

Goggle engines you will be susprised what you can find and how cheap the can be.

"How does this all sound? Lemon machine? Bad driver? Reasonable life span?

It sounds sad, and, YES! NO! and NO!

I don't know what I would do. I know what I would want to do: push it off a bridge, and kick myself for buying it.

Your post will cost Husqvarna many sales. I would write the company a letter and let them know what happened, and about your post. Who knows? It can't hurt.

Tossing a rod @ any hours isn't good for anybody. There is a reason. Oil level? Oil changed regularly? My guess is the rod would not be related to a repair two years ago. If there was a lack of lube condition at that time, I would think you would have heard it sooner. My 2 cents.

i doubt seriously that a single post here on this site will affect Husq sales. Husq piss poor quality will affect there sales.

keep in mind that this machine is made by AYP and is the SAME thing as similar Craftsman/YardMan/etc machines.

does it have the briggs engine with the yellow tab on the breather housing? if so you MAY be able to get briggs to still warranty replace it. it ain't easy, but several folks have done it.

Well, I have discovered that when you post anything on the internet if someone is googling for information on a topic - Google will find it!

it and about 2000000000 other things with the words in it. so odds of seeing this are slim. search engines have rankings for each find, and unless you are REAL specific, with the low rankings of this one page then this thread would probably be several pages back in the results.

To call Craftsman or Poulan Pro the same as a Husky is wrong. I'm pretty experienced in guitars. The big companies all have another company that makes a very similar product for them, but with cheaper materials to appeal to lower price ranges. Look and designed the same, but the materials make a HUGE difference. Same for mowers or cars. A Chevy is not going to have the same quality of materials as a Caddy even if they look the same. Btw, Yardman is made by MTD, not AYP.

No, this post will not cost them sales. Maybe sway people from buying the engine in question, but one post is a blip on the radar. And I hear a lot less issues with Husqvarna than I do a lot of other machines.

Also, as a sales person once told me, a lot of people like the mower, but the engine is the issue. don't blame the mower company because the engine was a dud. It happens, particularly if it's a V-twin made in around 04-07 that says Kohler on it...

To call Craftsman or Poulan Pro the same as a Husky is wrong.

i beg to differ, they roll out the SAME plant off the SAME lines. AYP makes them for each "manufacturer" to that manufacturer's specs. and other than color and cupholders, they are the same machines.

you are correct on the yardman, though there ain't much difference between them.

the point is that ALL of the above listed machiens are for LOW END MARKETS. they are all designed to last only a few years and be replaced. Walmart/lowes/HD/etc don't have service depts, Sears may as well not have one, and none of them care to fix your machine in 3-4 years. they would all rather sell you a new one. Sears wants to sell you the "maintenance" plans, but they do this just to milk you out of as much money as possible. until you step up to mid level and high end machines, you don't get the quality of even low end machines made inteh 1980's.

My engine is a Kohler. And the Husqvarna people say that they actually don't warranty the engine, Kohler does.

So, more red tape to untangle. I'm not optimistic.

Should I fix it or get something better? Its predecessor was an old John Deere from the 1970s that lasted 25 years or so. Nicer to ride, too.

I'm just not sure it's cost-effective for me to get, say, a Gravely, for mowing my 2 acres of purported paradise.

--Jonathan

Heh, I hit click and the phone rang. It was the repair guy, who located a used engine, and will do the repair for $600.

I'm still a little pissed, but it seems the best option, at the moment. The Gravely will have to wait.

--Jonathan

You don't have to spend big bucks in order to get a commercial grade mower that's built to last. Watch for used commercial walk-behinds on eBay and Craigslist. A decent 48" gear-drive machine can be had for $1000 or less. (And sometimes MUCH less. I bought a well-used 50" Gravely for $300 fully expecting to have to replace some belts/bearings/blades, etc. Well....that was two seasons ago and so far I've only replaced the engine oil and put gas in it.)

And if you don't want to walk behind it, attach a sulky to the back. This is one I just welded together with some odds and ends I already had in the garage. Sit down or stand up on it, or disconnect it for mowing around the trees and doing the ditches....

For two acres of homeowner use a used walk-behind will outlast and outperform a similarly-priced lawn tractor by two to one....if not more.

;-)

{{gwi:349159}}

brokenot......clever indeed!

i beg to differ, they roll out the SAME plant off the SAME lines. AYP makes them for each "manufacturer" to that manufacturer's specs. and other than color and cupholders, they are the same machines.

That does mean the materials aren't different. Why are Poulan Pro cheaper than Husqvarna? Not a name issue, as AYP owns the name. Fords and Lincolns come off the same lines. The Lincolns often have a LOT nicer parts than the Fords. This is how a lot of companies work. They can use the same machines, which cuts costs on both, but use cheaper materials on one to further lower the price, allowing them to make a budget model with the same features as the nice one. Also, while they may be assembled in the same factory, the parts may not be sourced from the same people.

Then I guess a Snapper tractor is also just a rebranded Simplicity. If they were the same machines for half the price, everyone would have Snapper tractors and not Simplicity. Trim parts (dash, seat, levers, switches, minor things like that) are often the same. They then cut on things you can't see, like the transmission, metals used, mandrels, and other mechanical parts. On the surface they appear the same to entice buyers, but in reality, they are a bit different.

Husq piss poor quality will affect there sales. Not picking on that statement, but some are pretty far fetched.

What does that have to do with the Engine manufacture or the maintenance done or lack of. Don't they put Kohlers in JD's IN the pass??? IMO there is no difference in those engines other than comedic and label changes to fit in the JD.

Kohlers are some of the most expensive SGE made. there quality should be second to none. Was it kohlers fault for the failed connecting rod? I dought it. IMO probably it was neglect. You neglect any brand and it will soon be junk.

Look behind dealers lots and in LT junk yards you will see many neglected brands. Yes, the cheaper ones usually get neglected the most. Why? cause they set out due to no building to store them in, people just jump on them and mow, and most don't understand anything about pre-ventive maintenance or mechanic's.

I have a prefect example, a JD LX266 that had a connecting rod failure. I could tell the machine rarely had the oil changed, Probably the orginal oil filter on it, coupled with bad air filter pre-ventive maintenance, and probably the oil rarely checked you have the prefect formula for failure (in 3 to 4 years)(that's how long it takes for the oil to get low and thick as mud)(this tractor should of had the oil changed at least 6 times)( dought it was done once.

The thing that saved the rest of the tractor was it was stored inside and had low hours of use for it age. Did I blame JD or Kohler?? Nope, but the guy that brought it new did!!! I was glad to get it for 1/10th the cost of new. Not saying that happen with this post, but the odds are early failures are manmade IMO, I suspose there could be a machining or assembly error, but they will be able to tell when they crack it open. Lack of pre-maintenance has a noticeable effect on rotating parts.

Eh, it is possible (okay, okay, likely) that I'm to blame for the engine failure.

It had been 50 hours or so since I changed the oil, and 10 to 15 hours since I checked it/topped it off. Maybe 25 hours on the filter.

Now, I've got religion about checking the oil more often. Hopefully, that will lead to a longer life of the replacement engine.

--Jonathan

Isn't oil change interval on these newer oil filter equiped motors 100 hrs or once a season whichever comes first?

I should ad,d the reason Poulan Pro are also likely different from Husqvarna, is that Husqvarna won't risk their name on a lower end product built to compete with Yard Machines and the like. JD did a similar thing years ago with Sabre. It's to avoid harming the brand the name.

But on my Husqy's Briggs Intek, the interval is 50 hours w/ a filter. I think the filter lasts even longer than that, I'm not sure as I haven't had reason to check the maintenance chart lately. Air PRE Filter is good for 25 hours, but you should be able to extend the life of a washable prefilter to about a season/ 30 hours (did this on my Tecumseh for years). The actual filter is about 50 hours. While these are B&S numbers, I can't imagine Kohler are much different unless you're using premium filters in it.

you just keep on believing that. they all have the same frame, same engine, tranny, decks, etc. the only real difference is the body style. about like the difference between a Chevy and a GMC, not enough to even matter. all machines at this level are designed and sold based on 1 thing, PRICE. none can be expected to last 20 years like their predescessors did. if you want a high quality long lasting machine, you have to open the wallet up REAL wide and never even step foot in a box store.

comparing Snapper to Simplicity is off target here. the discussion is about LOW END MACHINES. the JD LA series is a low end series with low end parts, while the X series are high end and built to quality standards like the JD name commands. box store mowers of ANY brand are LOW END and cheaply made for the sole purpose of putting as many disposable units on the streets as possible.