Hydros are designed to fail
Oil changes can prolong their life if you do not introduce dust into the box when you change the oil
Down side is purging has bare metal running on bare metal so you sort of end up in square one
When they get very grumbly and old you can go p a viscosity grade or two...
Well sounds to me like the dealer has no idea about what they are doing or are telling you porkies
IF it stops dead it has to be in the ignition system or the electrical system
Some thing simple like a burned out diode or dead short in the coil or if it has a control module ( not familiar...
Factory spec is to blow tyres up to the exact correct pressure .
drive the mower 15 to 30 minutes at full throttle to get both boxes at full operation temperature.
On a SOLID surface ( concrete or bitumen ) push bars full forward and travel 30'
Go full reverse for the 30' and you should stop no...
When trucked tyres are over inflated so the mower does not wobble like a bowl of jelly ties come loose & the mower fall off the truck .
Double check the tyre pressure , usually 10-15 psi rear & 15-20 psi fronts .
Easy fix for this one.
Go to the Warner web site and search for a similar spec unit with the next size up pulley ( blades will spin a bit quicker ) or slightly smaller ( blades spin slower )
Do not go overboard as a 1/4" is the effective limit
Usually a too big pulley will work with the old...
Actually the Chinese Kohlers are better than the American ones
We get a lot of Chinese tractor style mowers here fitted with the Chinese version of the bucket engine and they are brilliant .
FWIW I drop the front deck hangesr so the deck swings back closer to horizontal
However I use an yard crane not a mower lift so I can get the mower 7' up at either end if needed .
Water in the float bowl will do this .
Some times a bare patch on the kill wire can touch the block at different angles
Also the carb solenoid ground wire can do the same thing if the ground screw is loose .
Get a pair of orange in line spark testers and fit them
Drive down hill and watch for...
Put your finger on the joint between the engine and the body
You are feeling for relative movement between the two indicating loose mounting screws
A loose motor will cause a knock at low revs that disappears at high revs .
HAve you checked the wiring diagram ( I have not by the way )
A lot of these switches are ground switches and not power switches so there is never 12V on them
This is why Star told you to get the wiring diagram.
If you can not find one ask and some one will either post one or a link to where you...
Do you run a bagger ?
Baggers emit very fine dust that can get sucked into the engine and wear the rings
I have done quite a few re-rings on Timecutters fitted with Kawasaki engines because the air filter is a bad design and easily leaks if overtightened .
The solution is to fit the FX filter...