I wouldn't dismiss the B&S. I have a 22 Hp B&S Intec on a Sears 42" deck that was purchased in 2002. I like the oil filter is sold in most hardware stores. I did a tune up on it last weekend, new plugs, filters and oil. It still runs strong. I don't know what Sears offers now, mine is model LT 2000. At the time I bought the grass collection system with it and I think it came to $2400. Automatic trans with two peddles.

You don't say how many hours are on it but if it is as clean looking as you say and not high hours, this has to be a solvable problem. If the engine has good compression numbers and is not burning oil, there ought to be significant life left in your present machine. Several of my local John Deere service people are pretty sharp on this stuff. If you had to spend a few hundred bucks getting it fixed at a dealer, that might be money well spent. I agree that the quality of the new Deere stuff is not equal to the older machines. Compression problems don't come and go so you can eliminate that area though running a test wouldn't hurt. That should narrow it down to fuel or ignition. As mentioned above, slapping a pair of spark testers on it when it is acting up should verify ignition. I like those little testers with a clamp on one end, a spark plug fitting on the top and a provision for adjusting the tester gap. Last time I bought a few they were about $6 each. When it stumbles, put one on each plug with a wide gap setting and crank it over. If you have good spark on both, that should narrow it down to a fuel system problem. Talking to a good guy in the Deere shop sometimes gets good info if you have any kind of relationship with them. My guy gave me the answer to a hydraulic problem in about 30 seconds. Let us know how this all turns out.

I've had my X300 since March 2009. 280 hours on it at present. Bought in upon the recommendation of my S-I-L,he was a tech in a John Deere dealership at the time. In warranty repairs were a seat replacement, vinyl split and one seal in the hydrostatic transmission weeped.

Two years ago the deck belt broke. Last year replaced two pulleys on the deck and the drive belt. Replaced the OEM battery beginning of the season in 2016. I use a Battery Tender, one reason for the long life.

The Craftsman that it replaced after five seasons was on it's second engine (under warranty). On my dime, three batteries, a reweld of the shifter assembly because it broke and one blade spindle as the bearings went out due to not being able to lube them. After getting the new seventy five dollar spindle I took the old one apart and went to a bearing supply company, no more spindles did I buy. (Sears only sold it as an assembly,surprise)

The JD seems a lot more solidly built. In retrospect the only complaint is that it sometimes seems to lug down in very heavy grasses, like in an area that has not been mowed for awhile. Not severely,just I can tell it's laboring a bit.

Figure out how wide a cut you can get and use, including storage. Find the mower with the biggest engine (of the brand you like).

I am a zero turn fan and have had real good luck with Kawasaki and Kohler engines.

I put it back together after a thorough cleaning of the carb including removing all the jets, running the body through a heated solution of Simple Green and water in my sonic cleaner, blew it all out, squirted carb cleaner through all the orifices and jets, reassembled. While it was in the cleaner, I replaced the fuel pump with a new unit I had on the shelf.

There's only one adjustment on the carb, the idle mixture. I set that to where it wasn't surging at idle and it was surging horribly when run up to operating speed. Throttled back a bit and engaged the deck and it'll take full throttle without surging as long as it's loaded a bit with the deck running.

Finished mowing and it ran fine other than the no-load surging at high rpm thing. So, it's better but not right. Almost HAS to be a fuel issue. I did notice that the see-through fuel filter in the line stays full now where it was about half full with the old pump on it.

Still researching and scratching my head.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I put it back together after a thorough cleaning of the carb including removing all the jets, running the body through a heated solution of Simple Green and water in my sonic cleaner, blew it all out, squirted carb cleaner through all the orifices and jets, reassembled. While it was in the cleaner, I replaced the fuel pump with a new unit I had on the shelf.

There's only one adjustment on the carb, the idle mixture. I set that to where it wasn't surging at idle and it was surging horribly when run up to operating speed. Throttled back a bit and engaged the deck and it'll take full throttle without surging as long as it's loaded a bit with the deck running.

Finished mowing and it ran fine other than the no-load surging at high rpm thing. So, it's better but not right. Almost HAS to be a fuel issue. I did notice that the see-through fuel filter in the line stays full now where it was about half full with the old pump on it.

Still researching and scratching my head.

Boy that sure sounds like a fuel related issue - I'd be tempted to add some seafoam to the gas and run it hard for a while to see if it would snap out of it (maybe there's a little chunk of something that got missed?).

About 3 years ago I got tired of always working on my 1972 Allis Chalmers 310 (w/ a 10hp Kohler).
I broke down and purchased a JD X310 - mainly because it had a serviceable transaxle. It's been a great machine so far (although I did have the seat replaced under warranty because it cracked).

My Gravely did some surging while I was mowing a few years ago. Engine seemed to be “hunting” for a happy place to run. Spoke with a friend that has been repairing mowers for years. I had the engine running too lean. Adjusting it a little richer solved the problem.

Should you decide on something else, the Gravely noted above is 30 years old (1200+ hours). Still runs like a top. 60” deck, 18hp Kohler. Everything available through the dealer or from the internet.

Yup. Sounds lean. If you add some choke at idle it should run smooth. If so, fatten up your idle mixture screw to add some more fuel to the mixture.

The problem with some recommendations is that they don’t make a lot of this stuff like they did 20 years ago. I read somewhere that MTD makes most of the small lawn tractors, including the green ones.

I owned 3 John Deere lawn tractors in the past 30 years. Each cost twice as much as the previous one and lasted half as long before it started to break down.

I bit the bullet and bought a zero turn gas Kubota - ZG222. While it wasn’t cheap, it’s now 11 years old and mows 2 acres every 4 days during summer. Oil/filter change and blade sharpening are the only services I have performed in 307 hours.

My X300 JD now has 670 hrs on it in nearly 10 seasons. It has given such sterling performance my older brother who grew up farming with JD, finally decided his old JD from the late 1970s needed to retire.

He had overspent finally in major repairs but couldn't find transmission parts that finally gave up.

In any case, he was so pleased with the X300 package he bought one. It has all the features OP wanted including the 2 cylinder 18hp Kawasaki.

Yes, we do have it serviced annually at the dealer. Rarely has there been a problem that keeps it out of service. We mow most of an acre 7 or 8 months a year, sometimes twice weekly and sometimes twice monthly. Usually from Thanksgiving until after Valentines day there's no mowing.

42" is all that will fit in my barn space, so that's deck limitation.
We've got rough ground, up/down/around and slopes to deal with. Sometimes wish it were big enough to take a rototiller too.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I put it back together after a thorough cleaning of the carb including removing all the jets, running the body through a heated solution of Simple Green and water in my sonic cleaner, blew it all out, squirted carb cleaner through all the orifices and jets, reassembled. While it was in the cleaner, I replaced the fuel pump with a new unit I had on the shelf.

There's only one adjustment on the carb, the idle mixture. I set that to where it wasn't surging at idle and it was surging horribly when run up to operating speed. Throttled back a bit and engaged the deck and it'll take full throttle without surging as long as it's loaded a bit with the deck running.

Finished mowing and it ran fine other than the no-load surging at high rpm thing. So, it's better but not right. Almost HAS to be a fuel issue. I did notice that the see-through fuel filter in the line stays full now where it was about half full with the old pump on it.

Still researching and scratching my head.

There are tons of YouTube videos for solving the surging problem for all types of carburetors. This old boy may have the answer for you. Link

We mow about 5 acres of lawn in Florida from March-December. We have been through a couple big box John Deere lawn tractors and a Kubota diesel lawn tractor. We are now using a John Deere COMMERCIAL zero turn mower Z960 with 31 HP gas engine. I can tell you there is no comparison between the JD commercial mowers and the cheap JD stuff that is sold in the big box stores. This thing is a beast (and thirsty) and at 5 years it is holding up like a champ. My only regret is that I did not get the diesel version so I can fill it from the farm diesel tank. The commercial mowers are spendy but you have to pay for quality. I don't own one but Skag mowers also have a good reputation.

Could the surging issue be caused by vapor lock? Where the fuel gets hot in the line and turns to vapor? Is there a piece of heat shield missing, where it should be protecting the fuel line?
Just a thought...

I will be putting a house on .5 acres and will also need a lawn tractor.

Consumer Reports has some good information on lawn tractors. They don't consider Kubota, however. Their top five rated machines are all John Deere.

Consumer Reports is just another tool, not the gospel but thought it might be pertinent.

Reading PHPauls posts over the years, I believe if it can be fixed, he has the knowledge to fix it or realize it is time for a new machine.

Kubota has one that is real close to your specs and in budget.

T2290KW-42 has a Kawasaki engine (air cooled), fabricated heavy duty 42" deck but has Hydro Gear T3HD transmission. A little north of 4,000 msrp.

T2290KWT-48 same mower with 48" deck - has heavier duty serviceable Hydro Gear G730 and is around 5,000 msrp.

Heavy duty front axle and frame. Two pedal HST. Good solid mowers.

Both have front blade and snowblower options as well.

https://www.kubotausa.com/prod...t2290#specifications

I have an LX176 that is 25 years and still runs great that stays at the lake house. My primary mower is a Deere X370 , that model has the K57 hydro that is serviceable.Around $4000 new.

I have a Toro LX460 lawn tractor with a Kohler engine ( about 20hp) that's about 15 years old. 48"deck and a snow plow for winter.
Other than belt changes and oil changes nothing has crapped out.

My Snapper Pro zero turn was 5500 10 years ago. I mow less than an acre. Smile every time I start it. It was outrageously expensive (to me) at the time. Just accept that most under 3k are now junk. Sign of the times

I would check the gas cap to make sure it is venting and not drawing a vacuum.

Couldn't possible be that simple, I know but...