Hi, guys. Thanks to every one of you for taking the time to give me your advice and explain some stuff in such detail, esp. Kompressor. And I appreciate James' advice on the Sears Craftsman. You didn't hear back from me because the day after my sister and I purchased a lawn tractor, my sister had a double heart bypass. She's coming home today and is in for a long recovery. I'm sure you're all wondering what I finally decided to do and if I took your advice to heart. Well, what you said about buying used ones made sense so I decided not to buy a used one. I felt more comfortable knowing it was new and didn't buy someone else's problem. Sears was having their Family and Friends sale and I was considering the Craftsman YT4000 (James really liked that one) but as it turned out, the YT3000 (Model 28822) had a lot of really good reviews and there was very little difference between it and the YT4000 (28928). YT3000 is 21hp, 4000 is 24 hp 3000 deck is 42", 4000 is 46" 3000 had 3-1/2 star rating, 4000 had 3 3000 was $300 cheaper (+tax) Both have hydrostatic B&S engines The oil can on the 3000 much more easily accessible than on the 4000. 3000 has only 1 cylinder, 4000 has 2 (don't know if that was important or what it means); no hour meter on the 3000 It was on sale from $1750 for $1299 and an additional $130 off - bottom line I paid $1169.00 and saved $600 w/tax so I think I got a really good deal. I've used it twice and so far I love it. Wish the deck were a little bigger, oh well. It cut some very high wet weeds very well (I know I should avoid wet but didn't have a choice unless I wanted to go out there with a scissors...NOT). Its got a lot of power. Now maybe I won't get fined or thrown out of the neighborhood! One of the cons that was mentioned was the position of the gas tank - very close to the engine. Very stupid design. rustyj14, my next project will be to get some fill dirt and remove the stumps (when I get some money) but in the meantime, I put out tons of bright flags from HD and didn't hit any stumps. James, I didn't get to ask about the fuel shutoff valve. What's involved in installing one? One last question - I have 2 weeks to decide whether to buy their $300 3-year warranty. It would start from day 1, not after the mfr's warranty, and it covers in-home service.

Everything rcbe said is unfortunately true in most cases. There is no guarantee that the hub will turn loose from the axle shaft. You did not mention any "obvious major damage" to the tire that is flat. If the tire is not gashed or otherwise "compromised", you may be just as well off to put a bottle of Slime tire sealant in that tire and use the tire "as is". Slime brand sealant is sold in various stores and comes in formulations for tubed and tubeless configurations. You just follow the simple instructions on the bottle and requires no special tools (but you must have a source of compressed air to fill the tire). If you can't use the Slime for some reason, read on. If the "spare" that came with the tractor is already mounted to a wheel, you may consider taking the tire off of that wheel. Then dismount the flat tire from the wheel on the tractor WHILE IT IS STILL ON THE TRACTOR and remount the spare tire the same way. That option has been used in some cases like your situation. There have been cases where people have hammered on the insides of the wheel trying to get the wheel off and caused the axle shaft retainer clips to let go of the axle inside the transaxle (requiring the trans case to be opened to replace clip). One of those cases was reported on this forum and the member took the axle shaft and wheel to a shop with a press to get the wheel off the axle shaft (since the trans was opened anyway). Even using a shop press to separate the wheel from the axle resulted in destroying the wheel (but it did come loose from the axle). Keeping that specific incident in mind.....if I was faced with your situation I would first try to deal with changing the tire with the wheel staying mounted to the tractor.

One problem with the preceding message. "Drill a hole in wall, insert nail, hang blade from nail--will be able to see which end is too long or too heavy! Oh yeah?? Hang the blade on a nail (how thick is a nail?) Then spin the blade! Or hang the blade from the nail! Won't the blade be off center, hanging on the nail? What is really needed is a round shaft that just fits the center hole, and allows the blade to spin freely, until it stops spinning, whereupon you would be able to determine which end is heavier than the other. I've sharpened a lot of my blades by using my bench grinder, and i get no vibration! Now, if i would grind off a half inch from one end--then yes i'd get vibration. One time, i didn't have a blade in my stock, to fit a mower, so i carefully measured the end that would allow it to clear, marked both ends, cut off the outer ends with an air grinder, file the edge a bit, hung it back on the machine, and felt on vibrations!

On mine (Craftsman LT2000, 18 hp, B&S 31C707 engine) the choke was stuck closed. Raising the choke control up closes the choke, but when the lever was moved down for mowing after warm up, the choke did not open. So it died, smoked, etc. Deciding not to push it open every time, and deciding adding a string control was silly, I added a 25 cent spring from Ace Hardware; there was already a hole in the top part of the choke butterfly shaft, so I drilled a small hole in the reddish plastic housing, and ran the spring to that, works great now. I had read about others shaving down the shaft to make its diameter slightly smaller, but I like my fix better.