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Hello all. I've not used or purchased a riding mower before but I got a guy wanting to sell me a Montgomery Ward PowrKraft 18-46. Beyond that, I don't know much info except that it needs a battery & ran fine this last summer. Any idea of what I should pay? What should I look for when buying one of these used?

Thanks.

Don't really know how old this unit is, which makes it difficult to help you. Can you post both the unit and engine model numbers? This will tell us it's age and give us a better idea as to it's worth.

All I can guess is that it's a Briggs 18HP, 46". He says it doesn't smoke but needs a bit of carb work & TLC. I'll try to get some pictures or more info. Would $100 be something to take a leap on?

It would only be worth that if you have the extra $100 that you could part with. I have found out that you can't always go by what the sellers say. "It doesn't smoke" "needs a little TLC" means to me that there is something wrong with it, which either he doesn't want to fix or it costs to much to fix. You said it has a Briggs engine. If you go to look at it, the engine numbers will tell you the year it was built. Model, type, code. The first two digets of the code number was the year it was built.

I get where you're coming from. I'm sure the belts are worn, carb needs cleaning/tuneup, new battery, probably bad looking paint/plastic but none of that really bothers me. He says he mowed with it and that must mean that the engine, transmission, tires and a few other things must be functioning on a basic level. Looking around, I see similar ones on Craigslist for $300-$700.

The issue with this deal is that I don't have a way to haul it and he's maybe 50 miles from me. He said he would deliver it included in that $100 cost. That's a bit of gas just to go see it and then turn around and pay for him to deliver it.

I know neither of us have much info to go on but even with doing a bit of work to it, it seems like a decent gamble at $100 delivered, don't you think?

It's your money, but I think the guy wants to get rid of it to fast. Will deliver for $100? Not making much money and no one closer wants it?

Hmmmm. Well, I don't necessarily think he was actively trying to get rid of it, he replied to my Craigslist ad for wanting various cheap/free small engine projects. I don't recall seeing him post it up on Craigslist so he might have seen my ad and said "well, I'll make some room and a few bucks".

Who knows. I'm wanting to see some pictures or at the very least some more detailed model/year info on it before I decide one way or the other.

I got some more info today. I'll get pictures tonight. The guy says the engine ran a fair bit better with some Seafoam so the carb probably does need some cleaning. The mower has new belts as of last year and he's giving me an extra set of blades and the repair manual. The worst thing about it he said was there's a ball joint or something for the steering that needs replacing. He said it works but it needs replacing.

Being that it needs a battery, a carb cleaning and a repair, it makes sense that he would rather get rid of it for some cash in his pocket instead of pouring money & time into it. I still think for $100 cash, having a running riding mower delivered isn't bad. Even if I put $100-$150 of parts into it. It should be a good winter project.

I'm totally open to all thoughts & concerns, if there's something I need to ask or be worried about.

Well, I got pictures!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSC_1036.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSC_1037.JPG

I asked about the jack in the front. It might just be due to the flat tire (innertube that doesn't hold air?) and not wanting to damage the tire. He did mention an issue with the steering so I showed him a diagram and asked what part it might be (to get an approx price on repair so I can factor that in before buying). Aside from that, it cosmetically looks good except for the seat & dash but it is going on 18 years old... What are your guys' thoughts?

I found a couple other similar mowers on Craigslist:

Power Kraft riding mower with Cart
power kraft riding mower 42'' cut

Both have issues. The more I think, paying $100 for mine including delivery is looking better & better.

It's your money, you can do what you want. Tires may be hard and cracked from sitting in the weeds. Wiring could have problems due to mice. This is just an 18 year old Murray, good luck if you get it, I hope you don't need it.

I don't know how anyone can tell from a picture what condition a mower is? The only way to know is look at it and run it. It may or may not need a lot of bearings, does it have a engine knock, etc,? Buying any used mower can be a gamble, I would say for a 100$ dilivered sure sounds like a good deal. Like you said if you can do your own work plus parts you could end upwith a nice looking mower.

Rivets, your pessimism makes me smile Of course I don't need it now, it's frosted a few times and I've already mowed everything with my push mowers. This riding mower will sit around (with me working on it) until spring. In the pictures, the tires don't look cracked and even if they have slight cracking, that's fine with me. My garden cart has similar tires that have a fair amount of cracks yet haul rock and soil just fine. I honestly like that it's made by MTD, every time I've contacted their support, they've been extremely helpful with information and parts look up.

reynoldston, I was mostly referring to cosmetics. I know that still doesn't mean much but they can be a slight indication of how the machine was treated. There is sun damage but it doesn't look like it's sat outside for years and rusted together. I have no idea about bearings but the machine will get a once-over when I get it and if it needs replacing, I'll replace it. As far as engine knock, we'll see when it gets here. It is a gamble, definitely but my snowblower was the same way. Bought it for $75 and put another $75 into it in parts and I have a fully working & functional snowblower instead of paying $800-$2000 for a new one.

*EDIT*
Let me ask this; at what price is this mower a really good deal? What price would make it tempting?

I find for some reason when I buy a used mower it needs mower deck bearings which is no big job or cost, Like I said a picture can't tell much, As far as tires go they just run low presure, slow speed, and as for myself a bottle of green tire slim does wonders, I change my own so I don't mine the mess if I do have to change one. It sound like you can do your own repairs so as I see it go for it. Its when you need a repair shop to do your work it can get expensive, Yes I bought used JD 180 a few years back for resale and when I got done with all the repairs I lost money on it so it can happen and it looked well cared for. There again you are biying this mower for your own use.

I do feel comfortable with the repairs. I'm not inclined to tear apart the engine or anything but if the engine runs, doesn't smoke and makes no odd noises, I feel confident that I can do anything else to the mower with all the diagrams and parts available online. It's unlikely but even if I have to sink $200 into it (the battery will be expensive but I have a spare car battery I will try to use) that is worth it to me.

I do have 2 other projects that I put too much money into, lessons learned there. When I do work, I do try to think of resale just in case, you never know. So, I think that as long as I don't get say, $300 into it, I shouldn't have too huge of losses, as long as it fully works, if I try to resell it.

The guy that's selling is going to let me know what part in the steering mechanism he thinks needs to be replaced and I'll look it up & factor that into the cost.

It seems the last mower battery I bought was only 20 dollars from NAPA. You can't buy a car battery for that. I find that belts pullys can cost a lot of money,

I'll have to check NAPA, see if they can get something equivalent. I looked online from the diagrams and it requires a 275 CCA battery which runs $80-$100. I would prefer a sealed AGM battery but we'll see. No sense dropping that kind of cash on a battery if I can use my old car battery

80 to 100 dollars for a lawn mower battery, That will buy you a lot of 20 batterys for more years then you will have the mower. The last battey I payed over a 100 dollars for was for my Harley Davidson because I could only buy it from a dealer. One of my customers has a car battery in his mower because he telles me he has less problims with it, He so far has pinched wires with the large battery and burned up his generator,

Hmmmm, yea, the extra capacity that the car battery might be too much for the generator to charge up. Here's the battery that replaces the MTD part number in the diagrams:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/425-449-BATTERY-MTD-753-0608-BRAND-NEW-BEST-PRICE-EBAY-/270887753877
Again, I really don't want to go with lead acid if I can avoid it. Sealed would be more expensive but no maintenance and low discharge rates would be great.

Do you remember what the battery was you bought for $20? Perhaps a NAPA number?

Talked with the owner more today, he says a bushing in the left steering wheel assembly is missing. Looking up the diagram, all the bushings/spacers seem to be at most $9-$12. Piece of cake.

One thing I neglected to mention is that I'm a computer guy by trade so one of the first things I'll do is probably go through the entire electrical system and clean/replace the connectors and make sure everything is good. That's the kind of thing I like doing

Well, in 12 hours I'll have the mower delivered. The guy called and said he fired it up without issue to load it onto his truck. I'll post pictures when I get it tomorrow.

Well I have it and so far there's a few issues but I don't feel ripped off or anything. Fair deal all around. I expected a winter project and that's what I got. Engine runs great, no smoke, no weird noises, didn't want to die or anything.

All the aesthetics are great too, no dents or major scratches, no cracks in the plastic. The seat and dash are really worn & sun damaged but that's not a big deal. Choke lever is gone but you can still choke by messing with the cable, I'll fix that though.

The biggest issue with it is in the steering. The pivot bar assembly, it's like a steel box that both the front wheels connect to, it's got a rip/crack in it but none of it is bent. I'm sure I can have the crack welded and re-enforced by a friend for low cost. It's also missing some of the pieces in this diagram:
http://www.partstree.com/parts/disp...=0&ilIF=G&ilRE=8&ilSH=0&ilEG=0&ilRO=0&ilSC=49
Number 24 is missing but buying 4 new ones might be $15, no big deal. Number 32 and 26 seem bent up but I should be able to bend them back. If not, a quick look shows that they're about $30.

I'll have to disassemble the front end but everything should come out from under the mower so it doesn't seem like too much work. I could replace a ton of stuff on this mower but to get it working again, it might be $40 plus the cost of a battery if I decide to buy one.

Pictures will come later.

Here's some pictures:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSCF1155.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSCF1157.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSCF1158.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSCF1159.JPG

The worst part of the mower:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/464376/sma...Ward 18-46 Riding Mower/Pictures/DSCF1160.JPG
Had I seen that prior to handing the cash over, I probably would have haggled but the guy was on his way to leave and I didn't want to be awkward.


So far, I have a few things I'm going to do as far as fixing up:
- Either weld or replace the steering pivot bar. As seen in the picture, the bushing hole might be ovaled too much.
- Air filter, air pre-filter (missing), air filter cover (missing), oil filter, spark plugs
- If the one front tire refuses to hold air, I'll get a innertube for it.
- Go through all the wiring, some safety switches were disabled.
- Buy new side discharge chute (missing).
- Buy new drive belt, the one installed is original and horribly cracked.
- Buy new choke lever.
- Get all the blades (spares too) professionally sharpened and balanced.
- Buy new amp meter, old one is fogged up and the needle is bent.

A lot of this is basic maintenance and some of it can be put off until later. I could probably put around $200 into this mower over the winter and in the spring have something really nice.

Where I live in NY we have some mower salvage yards. If I was you I would see if I could pick up a good used front axle assemly. You might also be able to pick up a used one off the internet, I have gotten parts that way with good luck. Being a older mower it may be a little harder to fing new parts. Also if you can make a car battery fit there is nothing wrong with that also you know what you want.

Good luck Nick

I spent all afternoon tinkering on the mower. Got the deck off so I can fit it in my barn (probably half inch of clearance on either side now) and for better cleaning/access. I'm going to try & get in touch with a local "garage welder" to see about getting the pivot fixed up, if not, then I'll see about finding a used one or just cough up the $60 for a new one.

I was a little eager with the battery that came with the mower. Terminals were rusted (copper and lead rust...) so the screws wouldn't come out, ended up ripping the terminals while trying to unscrew the screws. Then I had the bright idea (after the fact) to test the battery & see what kind of voltage it had. Checked it and it had about 12.35v so I might be able to bring it back to life. I'll probably have to solder some copper wire onto what remains of the terminals and then re-wire it back into the system.

I'm concerned about the oil level, there was barely any on the tip of the dipstick and the guy said he ran it the night before like that :thumbdown: Before last night, it sat for 2 months so I'm hoping he didn't use it very long with that low oil level. I had to put about half a quart in (capacity is 1.5 quarts) to get it about where it should be. Ha, maybe it doesn't smoke oil because there wasn't any to smoke? :ashamed:

An update:
I got some new/used pivot bar parts coming. I'll have to take inventory of my bushings to figure out if I need to buy more or not.

About a little over a week ago I got in touch with a local small engine shop (more of a retail mower, chainsaw, 4x4 place) and I got lucky, they had a MTD machine out back with a blown engine. The pivot bar was shot on it but I got all 4 tires and rims for $30. One of the tires was brand new with a tube, one of the more aggressive 4 ply tires. I'll be buying another to match. 2 of the other tires had tubes in them. The left side ones had some minor sidewall cracks but they all hold air. I also snagged the seat & seatpan included in the $30. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Today I cleared junk away enough to start the engine and it's definitely clear that I've got some electrical gremlins to chase. Even with the original battery and a car battery hooked up via jumper cables, the starter still struggles for about 2 seconds then kicks over. After disconnecting the car battery with the engine running for a few minutes, I'm only seeing about 12.3v at the battery so I'm hoping that the alternator isn't fried and that it's the regulator. Either way, the engine runs decently and with the oil topped off, there's no visible smoking. It did die on my twice when I let it idle without choke so I'll have to go through and adjust the cables before I tear into the carb. I drained out the oil which was pitch black, I've got some fresh stuff sitting in it now and I'll run it again tomorrow and drain that out.

This is not a reply but a plea. Im a novice, having just acquired a Powrkraft 18/46 hydrostatic. After changing all 3 belts, and re-examing tensioners, my 80 yr old retired mechanic dad and I are left with heavy duty spring, 6-7 in long. We cannot figure out where it goes back on! Can anyone help? I do have a photo if i can upload.

Rbw said:

This is not a reply but a plea. Im a novice, having just acquired a Powrkraft 18/46 hydrostatic. After changing all 3 belts, and re-examing tensioners, my 80 yr old retired mechanic dad and I are left with heavy duty spring, 6-7 in long. We cannot figure out where it goes back on! Can anyone help? I do have a photo if i can upload.

Click to expand...

Blade engage spring. Attaches to handle down to idle pulley on deck

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