Thank you all for the warm welcome. I took a closer look at it today and this is what i have and my "issues":
First of all, I m a homeowner, not a lawn care professional. we re building a new house, it will be ready shortly and I will have about 3/4 acre to mow. yes, this mower is way overkill for my purpose but i like nice things and it was $1400 "cheap". i thought i d buy something like this now so i would have the whole winter to sort it out before mowing time starts again here in georgia.
Engine is brand new and is an 18hp Honda gx610, i m guessing that s good, no?
Looking at the tag under the seat, it is a 616 # 5034833. Since i dont have documentation for it, do you know from that number what year it would be?
Tires are worn-out 18x8.5-8 would it be possible to put larger tires and wheels without taxing the hydraulics or affecting the mower too much? it seems there would be plenty of clearance with the fender.
Hydraulics are kinda noisy, PO said he renewed the fluid with proper GH one. Is there anything i need to worry about now or do i just wait for them to die? I put some cardboard under them and they appear to not be leaking. They also function properly.
The biggest issue right now are those 2 lift-wheels up front, they dont caster freely the way they should, i guessed the bushings are worn out bad and need changed. I removed the wheels, banged on the bushing from the top but they re not moving. Are they pressed so tightly that i need to disassemble a little more and bring to a professional or is there a trick to it? (heat gun, special tool, hacksaw, lol)
The rest is pretty easy stuff: 1 banged up fender, grips are worn out, 1 headlight's out, deck serpentine belt is cracked in multiple locations, seat foam is worn out to where my butt goes all the way down to metal (lusting on a michigan seat 5300), and a few hardware bits are missing or rigged from other sources.
PTO works great and the cut is very nice despite the banged up deck.
What site are you all ordering your parts from, I visited most of them them and so far i like themowershopinc,com one. Any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance for all your help,
Francois