I have a 20 year old JD LT155 with a Hydro static transmission that I have used to mow lawns between 0.5 and one acre. While the first 10 years of its life was mowing very flat lawns for the last 10 years it has been used to mow a lawn that has a general slope of about 20 feet in 100, with areas much steeper. . The tractor's transmission has never let me down. I use it for mowing, towing, and similar jobs. Many cars with automatic transmissions do not go that long without major transmission work. As for use, my yards have always had a lot of trees. The hydrostatic transmission makes it easy to mow in and out of the trees and around the flower beds. NO SHIFTING, just push down on the foot peddle to get the speed needed to mow that part of he lawn. To reverse move your foot from one peddle to the other. When mowing up a hill I do not have to change gears, no need to worry about rolling down hill when you have to stop on a hill.

OK. Listen up people. In the 60s oils were developed for Jet aircraft which operated in the extreme cold (like -50) at 35000 + feet and yet could handle the extreme operating temperatures ( 300 + degrees ) generated by the jet turbine engine, basically a giant blowtorch. These are what we now know as "Synthetic" oil or hydraulic fluid. I live in Northern Canada where in the winter I have experienced -55 degrees F. and summer temperatures of 120F. Cold Temperatures such as this cause oil not to flow where needed, to seals and bearings and bushings, and to seize or wear out or just break or don't function. Synthetic fluid continues to flow at these extremely low temperatures, therefore the components are lubricated, do not dry up, and do not break. As well the load on your starter is less, quick start without overheating your electricals. Very high temperatures (+80) have a similar effect on normal oil by causing it to break down from the engine/system heat into it's constitute parts and thereby lose lubricity. Synthetic oils do not break down inl heat, again all the parts are lubricated and can withstand the loads on them. I know it is much more money to run Synthetic fluids, but the savings in time, Repairs, and frustration is worth it. Synthetic fluid costs more, but your change intervals are longer, therefore it works out to about the same. When you first use Synthetic you will find everything starts to loosen up and work much easier. It is important to choose the right Synthetic for each load application. Here in Canada, Toyota now uses only their Synthetic at about $5.00/ quart on their vehicles since their research proved that it worked better, and they had fewer service recalls. I change my Synthetic every three months, my hydraulic fluid once a year. At -40 my Kubota starts every time and runs better than the day I bought it used. If you can't afford to use Synthetic all the time, just replacing one quart in your engine with Synthetic will cause wonders. All the best, lubricate and save on repairs.

I think that there are millions of people out there that don't have any trouble but also millions that end up scrapping their mowers because it is almost pointless to put them on Craigslist. Let's face it. There are a lot of people who should not be allowed anywhere tools or machinery. They never read Op Manuals, know how to use a grease gun or bother to change oil in their engine. They buy stuff, use it until it quits and then put it out at the curb for pick-up. They go back to the box store buy a new one and perpetuate the cycle. There are also people who think that a Deere lawn tractor is capable of the same work that a full-sized Deere Ag tractor is. They disregard the "lawn tractor" description and use it to jerk old shrubs and tree stumps out of the ground along with numerous other tasks that the tractor was never built to perform. The item that takes the most abuse is the trans-axle because that's what links the engine power to the ground. Someone figured out that average property owner puts 50 hours per year on their tractor. Ten years of average use equals 500 hours. The engines used in these tractors are supposed to give 1000 hours of use before needing rebuilding but that's based on the owner changing oil, filters and performing other routine maintenance diligently over that time-frame. The main problem with the low-end tractors these days is the hydro. The manufacturers decided to make the hydro's a sealed unit. Presumably, that was done to put an end to owners that put the wrong oil into the hydro's and also contaminated them with dirt and water out of sheer carelessness. Sounds like a plan but the only people it benefited were the hydro builders and the tractor manufacturers because of frivolous warranty claims. The problem with that idea is this. Thanks to time and heat, multi-grade oil begins to break down and change viscosity. When that happens, the hydro no longer performs as it should and if there are no drain and fill plugs, then life is not good for the tractor owner. The oil is critical because that's what transmits engine hp from the hydro's pump to the hydro's drive motor, just as the driveshaft in a car transmits engine HP from the transmission to the rear end and ultimately the rear tires. For the most part, these lawn tractors are pretty good machines providing the owners take proper care of them and use them as a lawn tractor was designed to be used. If I owned one, then it would have an hour meter on it for sure. After every two years of use, I would remove the trans-axle from the tractor, hang it upside down and let all the oil drain out of it for a couple of days. Then I would refill it with the correct oil and put it back into the tractor for another two years. When you do that, you are not only replacing the partially worn out oil but you are also removing contaminants that are in suspension in that oil due to the detergents the oil manufacturers add. High-end hydro's have oil filters to look after that problem. Low-end one's don't. No matter which brand of LT you choose, all you are truly buying is the name because 90 percent of the tractor's components are made by companies other than the one whose label adorns the hood. You are relying on them to select decent engines, trans-axles, tires, rims, electrical components, bearings, rod ends, springs, nuts, bolts, washers, drive belts and so on for your tractor. They just stamp out the chassis and some other metal bits and pieces before assembling everything. Find a dealer in your area that has an impeccable word-of-mouth reputation and buy your tractor from him. Get to know him because box store employees come and go and box stores do not perform warranty work on what they sell. They rely on the very dealer you should be doing business with so just cut out the middleman. Go and sit on all the tractor brands and if possible, test drive them if they have a used unit around or a demonstrator. Searching the internet is helpful but we all know that happy owners don't post on the internet but disgruntled ones do because they want to get even. Take your time, do your homework and then decide which brand you like, which deck width best suits your property and which dealer you feel really good about. It's your money and it's not chump change. You and that tractor will hopefully be married for at least ten years so this should be more than just an over-night fling. Think with the big head, not the small one. LOL

Same here-been driving a Craftsman 2003 with hand controlled hydrostatic drive and had to get a new mower this year 2021, and boy, it was a rude awakening to find no hand controls on anything. I suppose it's whatever you get used to, but I loved zipping around 3+ acres of lawn/hilly-bumpy field with that hand control-made me feel like I had "4 on the floor." ha ha. Does anybody make hand controlled anymore?