I think 10 years might be possible, my last mower died at 9 years.....and it looked almost as new....it was a entry level Canadian Tire mower with 20 inch deck, it had a 3.5 hp Tecumseh engine and the only features it had was ajustable wheels and mulching capability. I would pressure wash it after every use and always stored it in my shed. I changed the oil at the start of every season and it worked great....up until it died last week. The oil plug was plastic (I would love to get a hold of the genius that came up with that idea)....anyway the last time I changed the oil I unknowingly cracked the pluigged and very slowly my oil leaked out and I cooked the engine!!! So I suspect if that plug had of been metal I would have gotten a few more years out of that little mower. Anyway.....I realize both of these machines, the Poulan Pro and Club Cadet are entry level....but they are both at the top of the budget that I was willing to spend for a clean up mower.....if you had the choice which would you buy? I figured if I got 9 years out of tecumseh, that a Honda engine should be good for at least that? I am not keen on the whole chinese engine thing......but the CC comes with a 3 year warranty and for $40 more I can put a further 2 years warranty on the mower through hOME DEPOT. Any suggestions would be helpful...thanks.

A few observations which may help in your decision. The Sears tiller is built by AYP, now owned by Husqvarna so the Craftsman is a rebadged Husky. It is a decent tiller for the money but only has one wheel speed, slow, which may not be an issue for you. The tines rotate backwards which is great for breaking ground but the downside is the machine gets stuck easily and needs frequent rasslin' to keep it moving. Poulan, also a Husqvarna company, is a light duty tiller and the chaincase is not serviceable, it fails you are buying a new one.

Yes. It is blown. Best thing to do is to price a service engine vs new equipment. If in doubt, price out the rod sets and gaskets. They tend to let go when the oil gets below the safe zone. So there is an oil consumption issue to deal with as well.

I don't mean to pee on your shoes, but if the brake disc is turning on the shaft, you also need to look at the shaft. As you can see in the illustration of the brake disc, it has an internal spline. The motor shaft (from the gearcase) has a corresponding external spline. Usually if one is stripped, the mating part is damaged as well. I would recommend that you remove the disc and look at both splines before ordering any parts. The disc is relatively easy to get at; on the other hand r&r of the shaft is a much more involved job, including removing the hydro from the tractor, splitting the cases, and then removing and reinstalling the shaft. I'n not sure of the part number. The Sears IPL shows it as Item 82, p/n 412046. Can't find it for sale on internet, although someone is selling a used one on Fleabay. Since he only wants $15.00 with free shipping, it might make sense to go ahead and purchase the shaft as a precaution.