Is it worth it to fix my mower?

[DaniR1968]

I have a Craftsman lawn tractor, 19 hp, runs well. Problem is the axle broke. A friend of the family offered to fix it. The break is on the very end where a sort of roundish tube things meets where the wheel is, right on a seam. He was going to have a friend weld it back together. Sounds easy enough right?

Over a month later my mower is still sitting right where I dropped it off. There is a shop in town that I can take it to, but I don't want to spend more than it is worth to fix. Or, if it's not too difficult to replace the axle and doesn't cost too much, dh could do it.

So, if it was yours and you lacked more than a basic mechanical ability, would you have it fixed, try to fix it yourself, or sell it for scrap?

Thank in advance

[Danaus29]

Our mower broke right in the exact same spot. It really can't be welded. A weld repair would never turn out right, at least that's what we were told. Dh ended up replacing the axle.

[DaniR1968]

Danaus29, is it a difficult repair and about what did the axle costs, if you don't mind sharing.

I'm glad to hear it's fixable. I miss my mower!

[Harry Chickpea]

Oooh! I'll buy your motor for $100. My Craftsman is fine except it needs a new one.

Problem is, you need to get it out of the mower and ship it to Alabama. Oh well...

[coup]

i would ask the guy if he still thinks he can fix it...i would advertise for a used axle in local trading papers....i would find out what a new axle would cost. i would think the motor would be worth at least $100.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Look on the Sears website and find the part you need. You can order online and they will ship it to you.

[MELOC]

you should be able to find a mower service shop that will have used parts. i've been shopping around for a transaxle for my MTD rider. one shop wants $100 and another wants $50-$75 depending on whether it is already out or if he has to take it out.

i'd say your mower is worth the repair cost.

[DaniR1968]

I'll be getting it back today so I'll have the serial number off the mower. I need that to look up the part and order it.

The friend would probably still do it but he's been fairly busy. He was the one that originally offered to fix it.

Thanks all for the advise.

[dirty]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

Oooh! I'll buy your motor for $100. My Craftsman is fine except it needs a new one.

Problem is, you need to get it out of the mower and ship it to Alabama. Oh well...

probably be easier for you to ship her the axle, at least one of you would then have a running mower.


i don't know for a fact. but i have heard. that the axle on riding mowers is not an uncommon break and should be easily fix able by any shade tree mechanic, with a new/used axle.

[HermitJohn]

Unfortunately the engine is many times the best part of modern riding lawn mowers. See lot junk that manufacturer puts Honda or Kawasaki or other quality engine in hopes the brand name of the engine will fool customer into thinking the whole implement is of simular quality.

If you have good running engine, just the engine alone should be worth far more than $100. Try pricing out a new 19hp engine. Now if its a "consumer" level engine (seems all manufacturers now have a cheaper consumer line of engines) then its going to be worth lot less than the top of line engine.

Best thing is to look for an entire used mower with bad engine that your engine will fit. Craigslist is usually filled with such this time of year. Wont necessarily have to be same make or model mower you have now. Though if your mower deck, etc is good, getting an identical mower would mean you could use lot other parts. Course if you are somebody or are married to somebody that cant stand to have spare parts setting around then this wouldnt be a consideration.

[Windy in Kansas]

Meloc is correct. There are many mower salvage yards most of them owned by service shops. An engine goes bad and the owner doesn't wish to install a new engine so the mow goes to salvage. I visited one two weeks ago that had been in business over 30 years and had not long ago sold 40 tons of scrap. We're not talking 20-30 mowers, we're talking 100s.

The trick is in finding the shop that has a salvage yard or knows of one they will deal with instead of just getting a new axle.

I don't know what your mower cost new or what a replacement would cost but how does that compare to the cost of an axle? If the mower was in otherwise good shape I would definitely replace the axle.

[DaniR1968]

It has been a good mower and has not been driven gently! We have a total of two acres and some pretty bumpy areas. We bought it used 2 1/2 years ago so don't know what it cost new.

But I really like my mower and prefer to fix it than part it out. I do not know of any lawn mower scrap yards. I'll ask my neighbor. If there is one, he will know. He would also help dh if he has any trouble. We should have gone that route in the first place. The friend was trying to repay us for some help we gave them recently, but has just been too busy lately working to get to it. Hey, in this economy, I can't blame him for putting in overtime that's being offered.

[legacy]

You might want to repost your original post in the Shop Talk forum. Lots of smart folks there. Good luck.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by DaniR1968

I do not know of any lawn mower scrap yards. I'll ask my neighbor. If there is one, he will know.

Your neighbor might know but I would call around to repair shops to see if they have one or know of one available. There are several within 5 miles of where I live, but then I live in a city of 40,000+ so there are a lot of yards and a lot of yard mowing meaning lots of machines in use and scrapped.

[Danaus29]

DaniR1969, the axle cost $25 plus gas from Columbus, Ohio to Indianapolis, Indiana but that was about 12 years ago and the junk yard that had the axle didn't realize they were selling locally for $225 and up.

[DaniR1968]

There is one, maybe two repair shops in town. I will call them on Monday. Hopefully I'll have it back by then.

I originally posted to find out if it was worth it to fix. I was imagining it costing hundreds for the part. The neighbor is really handy so if dh has any trouble at all, he's great about lending a hand.

Thanks all

[DaniR1968]

I got my mower back today and we have the axle off. I can't read the number on the mower so I did a general search and it looks like the axle is only going to cost around $40. The local Sears shows that they have several in stock that look like mine. I do have the axle so I can make sure it's the right one.

Hopefully I'll be back driving it tomorrow evening!

[fordy]

.............craigs list is an excellent source for mower parts . There are millions of old , broken mowers sitting in peoples yards across this country ! , fordy

[DaniR1968]

I went ahead with a new part since it really wasn't too much. I think it might be a good idea to get one for parts. This one hasn't needed much in the way of repairs until recently but I know of a couple things that will need to be replaced before too much longer.

I have also discovered that the local repair shop does not want my business. Tried to tell me I needed the number off the transmission but wouldn't even attempt to tell me where to look and was a bit rude. I got the part at a sears parts store and they only needed the model number. While waiting for them to get my part, another guy did tell me that the aformentioned shop is known to be rude sometimes. He also told me a place that scraps mowers so could probably get parts from them.

My mower is fixed and I took it for a quick test drive. After dinner, it gets to go to work! I've missed my mower. Hopefully I will remember to drive it a little slower over rough areas.