Zero Turn Mower

[Keystone]

My father's Huskie has the 23 hp B&S "INTEK" V-twin engine. This may be a totally different engine than your "Commercial Turf" V-twin, I don't know what those differences might be.

However, the INTEK is an aluminum block, aluminum head engine. They tend to have a problem with the valve guides coming loose in the aluminum head which then causes an interference with the valves ending up with BENT pushrods which fall out of the rocker arms and leave the engine "dead in the grass" so to speak. His engine had one cylinder fail but it continued to run on the other cylinder for a while. By the time I found out about it and before I could get it into the shop, the other cylinder did the same thing and the engine was then of course completely dead.

The best theory I've heard to explain all the HUNDREDS of similar failures of this engine is that the cooling fins on the aluminum engine get plugged up with grass, oil, dirt, etc., over time and without regular maintenance (cleaning of the cooling fins) this creates a "HOT SPOT" in the head. When this happens, the expansion of the aluminum allows the VALVE GUIDE to come loose in the head and it pushes out toward the rocker. On the next opening of the valves, there is insufficient clearance between the guide and the valve retainer which results in the rocker arm being forced to stop too soon. This of course BENDS the pushrods and then that cylinder ceases to operate.

This is a WELL KNOWN problem with this B&S V-twin engine, there are videos all over youtube documenting this problem.

If this "hot spot" theory is indeed correct, then the probable root cause of the problem is due mainly to a "lack of regular maintenance". How many owners will actually take the time to periodically remove all the shrouds on the engine to blow out the debris and keep the engine cooling fins clean. Not very many.

So if your engine is also aluminum (chances are very good it is) I would suggest you clean the cooling fins at least once per year. And for the record, his engine has many more hours than your 200. Two hundred hours is just broken in, and not very old, so you MAY be headed for a similar engine failure in the future. Hard to say! But some of the people who have documented these failures are reporting some catastrophic failures including holes punched through the crankcase. Not good.

Interesting; thanks for explaining. I hadn't heard that, but then I didn't do much reasearch on the engine either. I was actually willing to pay a little extra to get the Kawi (which was the only other engine offered on the model I bought) but the dealer didn't have one of those on their floor.

Guess I'll take all the covers off and see how clean things look before it's time to mow again.

 

[Bad Sport]

So if your engine is also aluminum (chances are very good it is) I would suggest you clean the cooling fins at least once per year. And for the record, his engine has many more hours than your 200. Two hundred hours is just broken in, and not very old, so you MAY be headed for a similar engine failure in the future. Hard to say! But some of the people who have documented these failures are reporting some catastrophic failures including holes punched through the crankcase. Not good.

This is part of regular maintenance on my Kohler as well, all 3 of them.

 

[Loggato]

Hustler is a solid choice. have one myself. Made right here in Hesston Kansas by some good ole boys!

If you got a little more to spend, Grasshoppers are made just down the road by some more good ole Americans as well. most of my neighbors work there.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I used to work on mowers and small engines for people in the county......a lot still want me to. I've worked on and cut with just about all of them at one time or another and I don't like ZTR mowers. I have one. A Toro Timecutter. It was given to me by a friend of a friend years ago with a bad starter. New starter and battery and it's run now for many seasons. Good mower, works good, I just don't like it. I sold my sister my Troy Bilt garden tractor with a 19 HP Kohler Courage engine when I got the ZTR and I wish I hadn't done it. That said, it does cut fast. I still don't like it.

 

[69DodgeMan]

...Regular service to me is priority.....

You are probably one of the minority of owners that do so. Unfortunately, with a 90 yr old father, if its got gas its good to go!

Of course, I don't find out about these problems until it has completely quit on him. If a BFH, baling wire, or duct tape don't fix it then I get the call!

 

[pt70]

Having a dealer nearby that has parts/service for your mower is important. I've had trouble getting parts for older John Deeres. Their lower priced mowers are built by MTD or others. There better models are built by JD and are good quality. Skag is the premium brand, but they are expensive. But they also have a high resale value if well maintained. Toro is a good brand.
Gasoline powered mowers would be my choice. Diesels have a price premium that requires many hours of operation to re-coup the investment. If gas, at the end of the season run it almost empty and add a gallon of ethanol free gas [$15 ?]. Run it for 10 minutes and store it for the winter.