Sounds like my past. I bought a used Murray 42" can't remember the hp but it was a Briggs 2 cylinder (12 or 14hp?) back in '97. I wore that thing to the ground because I used it all year with a snow plow blade and tire chains in the winter. It was also a 5 speed and I'd do wheelies with it by putting it in 5th and realeasing the brake/clutch at full throttle. In '05 or 06 I bought my Deere 20hp V twin new, not from a big box hardware store, but from a lawn equipment dealer. It has the automatic with a throttle pedal, not a lever. About the same time my dad got a craftsman 1000 or something, single cylinder and about the same size cut and hp. I hate that thing. It idles and runs rough and choppy. Guess I'm spoiled with the smooth V twin.
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Neighbor has the lowest model deer with (iirc) the 18hp single cylinder.
Much smoother than my old murray, but still vibrates pretty good.
Drives him nuts because it won't idle smooth.
even on medium throttle it will pulsate.
reading about it, it seems to be related to the mixture being too lean due to emissions.
I actually bought a set of parts, a screw driver/drill tool to mod jets, and a spare jet incase i fk it up for him.
I just haven't gotten around to going back over there to finish it up.
With my old Murray, i could just adjust the idle mixture to smooth it out.
with my 20hp craftsman, it ran perfect the day i brought it home.
It just gushed oil out of the side once it fully warmed up.
Apparently,
these things have so much vacuum from the v twin, they are known to suck the gasket in.
there is a kit available to upgrade them.
thicker gasket, updated bolts, and an updated torque spec sheet that comes with the kit.
I thought i got ripped off pretty badly until i googled the issue.
$25 for the briggs kit to fix it.
I also had a good laugh at the broken front end.
po tried real hard to "fix" that front end with plates, screws, bad welding etc.
Tons of broken drill bits.
luckily not too much permanent damage was done with his attempt.
Made me laugh because i found the new stamped steel front axle on amazon for $30 with prime delivery.
People crack me up.
I got a real good deal on it, I saw their glance to the side of the mower and my gut told me something was up.
so that got me to not pay the asking price.
scored it for something like $120 or 160 + the battery was about a month old.
That's like $40 to me.
Their ad didn't even show the engine, if they had i bet it would have sold much quicker.
I got excited when i saw a big ol v twin sitting under the hood.
Did my best to hide my excitement. lol
fresh into the final product, i did do the math on the money I spent.
came out to be approx $600 all in.
Was something like $320 for a set of brand new tires installed...
good thing is they are actually really nice tires, and holding up very well.
Tractor supply for the tires, and discount tires to mount them.
My old murray.
I paid $80, and needed to replace a $20 gear in the transmission.
pretty much did nothing other than to fill the tank, new battery, and to change the oil once and a while.
Put on a fresh set of blades and belts at one point...
damn good mower, heavy as hell.
it started burning oil and stopped running at one point.
One day i'm going to pull it apart and see if i can get it going again.
If yes, then it's going to my property to keep the grass down.
