Howdy Doody
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2013
- Threads
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- 81
I just "upgraded" from a 38" Poulan mower to a 2008 used Ariens mower. The 38" Poulan was my first rider and never gave me any trouble. I did do some little things to it like add scalp wheels, add a factory cup holder, painted it... I wanted something a bit bigger and more powerful, so I found a local ad for a 2008 Ariens with a Kohler engine. I will list my pros and cons on the Ariens purchase and will also ask some questions and make comments:
Pro - Most of it is made of metal
Pro - Price was good
Pro - Kohler engines have a good reputation
Pro - Hydrostatic transmission
Con - Bare bones mower
Con - Engine backfires
Con - No hour meter
Con - Cup holder is on the discharge side
Con - Hydrostatic transmission seems tricky to get into neutral
Con - Top speed is super slow
Comments: Overall I thing the Ariens is a much better mower than the Poulan I had, but will need some "tweaking" on my part.
Questions:
1 - Anyone ever install one of those Briggs "Maintenance Minders" on any mower that did not have an hour meter? how did it work for you? If I do not get good comments
on this unit, I will by and install a factory meter.
2 - I have read a bunch of possible causes and cures for the backfiring which only seems to happen when it has been running a while. The fuel tank had some debris
on the bottom and I did not change the fuel filter this weekend, but will try this first.
3 - Any open drink will get full of grass and dirt since the cup holder is on the discharge side. Just going to have to use a water bottle for now.
4 - I have not tried to adjust the hydrostatic transmission, but this might make for easier use and stop the "creeping" too. I thought I did not like the gear shifter
on my old mower till I tried this one, hope I can fix it somehow.
5 - At full throttle at might be doing 3 mph at the most, my Poulan 5 speed was much faster. Any good fixes available? Change the drive pulley and use a smaller drive belt? I am sure if I change the pulley to make it faster the torque will be affected?
I will post some pictures after I do more work on her, any and all comments from current and past Ariens lawn tractors are appreciated.
Thanks
Pro - Most of it is made of metal
Pro - Price was good
Pro - Kohler engines have a good reputation
Pro - Hydrostatic transmission
Con - Bare bones mower
Con - Engine backfires
Con - No hour meter
Con - Cup holder is on the discharge side
Con - Hydrostatic transmission seems tricky to get into neutral
Con - Top speed is super slow
Comments: Overall I thing the Ariens is a much better mower than the Poulan I had, but will need some "tweaking" on my part.
Questions:
1 - Anyone ever install one of those Briggs "Maintenance Minders" on any mower that did not have an hour meter? how did it work for you? If I do not get good comments
on this unit, I will by and install a factory meter.
2 - I have read a bunch of possible causes and cures for the backfiring which only seems to happen when it has been running a while. The fuel tank had some debris
on the bottom and I did not change the fuel filter this weekend, but will try this first.
3 - Any open drink will get full of grass and dirt since the cup holder is on the discharge side. Just going to have to use a water bottle for now.
4 - I have not tried to adjust the hydrostatic transmission, but this might make for easier use and stop the "creeping" too. I thought I did not like the gear shifter
on my old mower till I tried this one, hope I can fix it somehow.
5 - At full throttle at might be doing 3 mph at the most, my Poulan 5 speed was much faster. Any good fixes available? Change the drive pulley and use a smaller drive belt? I am sure if I change the pulley to make it faster the torque will be affected?
I will post some pictures after I do more work on her, any and all comments from current and past Ariens lawn tractors are appreciated.
Thanks