Can't use this mower when going down hill. September 17, 2009

All around a decent mower with one perhaps significant exception. When mowing down the slightest incline, smoke pours out the front end of the mower. That is very dissappointing. Something is clearly wrong.

After 2 yrs. it smokes like crazy I have to put oil every time. September 13, 2009

I bought a GT 5000 in summer of 2004 in 06 the motor really started smoking bad. Alot of blow by on rings it has  a 25 hp. kolher motor hydro tyranny's reverse is weak with full throttle pushing dirt, stone, or snow with chains and weights. I bought attachments but they don't fit anything else if I by a different mower, so I keep an eye on oil every time I mow, and now I fogg mosquitoes with it as I mow. I do not own a 26 hp 54" garden Tractor but this was the only one to write a review on, same tractor bigger motor, they don't have a 25 hp.  any more to replace in mine.  Around  $1600.00 to replace now. with a 26 hp. Hmmm might as well by new with warranty. ???? Sounds good to them $$$$

Great for a perfect, flat lawn. Anything else, look elsewhere. September 09, 2009

We got this machine along with our house purchase in 2007. Although it's an earlier model, it's still basically the same as this new, 2009 model.  Quite frankly, we beat the you-know-what out of this thing. It's not intentional, its just that our property is pretty rough. There's a lot of rocky areas, bumps and dips and some nasty hills. So I guess we've found just about every weak point this machine has. Here's what we've encountered.

The Number 1 failure items are the aluminum stanchion's that the mower blade drive shafts run in. I think they are made to be sacrificial and lets just say it doesn't take much to kill them! Hit a rock hard once and that's it. Catch a piece of rope? There goes another one, hit a baseball, oops - I did it again!  In the last three seasons I've replaced 5 of them and I found paper work showing that the original owner had all three replaced the previous year when it was not even a year old!  Fortunately, they are pretty easy to replace if you're handy. They can be had on **** complete with new shaft and bearings ready to mount or you can rebuild them into a new housing using the existing shaft and bearings. I will say that when everything's running right, it does a nice job of mowing!

The next thing to watch is the steering mechanisms. If you run into anything too hard the hubs will bend and twist to the point where the wheels are going in opposite directions! Sears knows this is a problem because the replacement parts are much heavier duty. I mean visably larger and heavier! 

While we're on the steering, watch for wear on the steering shaft gear. The teeth on this gear engage the plate that turns the wheels through the control rods. The plate seems to be strong but the teeth on the steering shaft get chewed up. I also found that when cresting a hill the front mower pulley will touch the bottom of the steering shaft. This makes some nice sparks and a nasty squeeling-grinding noise. Wow!  There's a bumper stop hanging down from the frame that looks like it's supposed to prevent this from happening but it doesn't seem to be long enough to do anything at all. Again, Sears knows the weak steering shaft is a problem as the replacement part seems to be hardened better. I've greased the gear and plate teeth to give some lubrication there and no, I don't care about dust and dirt collecting there in the grease. At least it's greasy dirt and not just dirt!

Back to the mower deck. There is a rod that goes between the rear mounting bracket of the mower deck to the frame cross member. This is called an "anti-sway bar" and has nothing to do with handling of the tractor. What this does is keep the mower deck from moving too far to the left or right under the tractor. Problem is, if you bang into something too hard, like a fence post or a tree, the rod will bend and the hole in the frame bends too. Eventually the rod will fall out. Now the mower deck can move left-right and stress the mounting brackets on the deck. Guess what breaks next? Yes, that would be the welds between the mower deck and the rear mounting brackets.  The left side bracket on my mower deck tore right out of the mower deck and the deck is now at the local welding shop being patched together again - and reinforced! I intend to have them make me a heavier anti-sway rod too.

Let's talk about traction now. Well gee, I wish I could but this machine doesn't have any! It loses traction if there's even light dew on the grass! Try to go up even a gentle hill and the tires will spin.  I've tried all different tire pressures to no avail. If I keep this tractor I will look for wheel weights and see if that helps. Maybe I need regular tractor tires and not Turf Savers. But be aware, cutting in the rain is not a good idea.  It would be great if this tractor had a locking rear end. As it is, it's like an old rear wheel drive car - lose traction and the wheel just spins while the other just sits there. Then you have to wriggle your butt back and forth to get it to move which aggravates the mower deck condition some-more. Gotta love it. lol!

Finally all the little "nanny systems" are a constant annoyance; slide too much to the left or right on the seat and the seat switch cuts off the engine; Like a car, you can't start the engine unless your foot is pressing the brake pedal despite the fact that the hydro rear end won't move the tractor unless you're pushing the pedals which are on the other side of the tractor. So it's like double protection. Then there's the nifty no-backing-up-while-mowing protection. Unless you set the ignition key just so, if you go to back up with the mower running the engine will be cut off. Problem is, your knee will knock the key into the "safe" position and you won't know it until you try and back up. Gee, I never have to back up when I'm mowing, do you? LOL! Like I said, they're little annoyances but on a hot, sticky day with the sun roasting your brain, they tend to get to you. All they need now is a back-up warning beeper, alarm bells and flashing idiot lights...

And that brings me to the seat. It's too far forward and offers NO support. I finally reversed the mounting bracket on my tractor and (easily) bent the stop out of the way to allow the seat to flip up fully. (There's nothing on this tractor that isn't easy to bend!) This change gave an additional 2" of leg room which helped a lot. It also helps with the knee kicking the key issue too.  Next I will be making some arm rests.

Are there good points? Well...the engine runs like a champ! I keep a battery tender on the machine when not used, especially during the winter, and it always starts right up. No complaints here!  The hydro drive is pretty nice too. No shifting, clutching or anything like that. Just push the pedal and go. 

I think if you have one of those picture-book looking yards with nice, flat grading or an easy, gently rolling grade, minimal obstacles, no rocks or kid's toys to accidentally hit, (including balls) and you're no more than 5'-8" tall, this tractor would be just fine. It will run for hours on end and do a nice job mowing. Anything more than this and I'd look for something more heavy duty...like I'll be doing next season.

Bottom Line - This machine is a paper tiger. It looks good but push it too hard and it will start bending parts and breaking down.

I hate this POS September 08, 2009

I made the mistake of buying one of these a few years ago.  Every year I have to get a new carb - $350 installed.  Why?  nothing wrong with the carb.  But they put some kind of a solenoid on it that corrodes out every year.  Can't get it without getting a new carb.

The plow is pointless.  The thing doesn't have enough grip to push anything, even with wheel weights and chains.

The mower deck has now decided to quit working all together.  I'll have to waste at least two days now taking it apart to see if I can make it work again.  I'm not even sure it's worth it. I have had to have this in for servicing more than my car - and it has 132,000 miles on it!  I should have gotten the Briggs & Stratton version.  I have no problem with my 10 year old mower with the Briggs, nor with my generator.

Stay away from this POS.  It's more money - and trouble - than it's worth.