Ok,so I just a complete mower education:
Hi, i am about to purchase a used 2000 White Outdoor lawn tractor
Like I mentioned earlier, I can tell that the White is built considerably better than my newer style JD. However, this article mentions the first thing MTD did was put in a cheap tranny. And that's my problem.
So now I have a tractor that has less than 100hrs, a 22hp tecumseh v-twin that starts right up and sounds great, and a trashed rear end.
Well, I don't really know it's trashed because I haven't talked to anyone yet.
I'm pretty sure the rear end is a 618-0319 and they are around $500 including shipping.
Added: My cheap box store JD is now 10 years old and has been ran pretty hard. However i've kept the oil changed. It has a BS twinv engine on it. I just rebuilt the entire mower deck and changed both belts. The motor is a bit hard to start but runs like a top and doesn't burn oil. Although cheaply made, I can see getting a few more seasons out of it, provided no rear end issues lol and I thought it was well worth the $200 worth of parts I put on it.
Question is, will I have this problem again? Did I get a lemon? If I spent $500 and thought I could get 10 years out of it I would do it.
Of course, not to say mine can't be fixed yet that's still to discuss.