oliver2-44 9,929 #1 Posted March 11, 2022 So my son called me that there was a riding mower with a $50 sign on it in front of a house where he lives. Says its 7 yrs old, runs and drives but deck needs welding. You PATINA guys should love this one! it looks like its been parked up a tree all its like and never saw a roof or a bath. Its an Ariens with a 20 HP briggs Engine and 46" deck. While its definitely just a mower, he needs a mower for his 1/2 acre yard. I plan to restore a WH for him one of these days, but maybe this will tie him over for a few years. It does start good, no smoke and runs the deck at no load good. But its needs a bath and from the looks of the air filter a good general maintenance. It even has a tag that give the model numbers of all the general maintenance parts. I found the 2 belts, blades, spark plugs, oil and air filter and gas tubing on Amazon for about $120 The one rear deck lift bracket that is broken off looks like an easy weld repair. Definitely needs a set of blades, but the deck shell is sound and the spindles seem smooth! Before I spend any money on it, I've going to drain the filthy black oil and run a magnet through it to make sure their isn't any metal showing up. If the oil looks good my son and I will give it some love and put it to mowing grass. If theirs metal the oil -decision time! I don't need another project. But hopefully this $50 mower and $120 parts will give him a grass mower that has a few more years of life left in it for him. Its just a shame for someone to neglect a piece of equipment like this even if its just a box store mower. They got their 7 years out of it and threw it away. 6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 8,564 #2 Posted March 11, 2022 Agreed - that lower corner of the blade in the upper picture is downright scary - a very bad incident waiting to happen - some folks have no business owning outdoor equipment .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OutdoorEnvy 1,633 #3 Posted March 11, 2022 Yeah it's a shame. Safe assumption all original, and not in the good way. Original blades, oil. air filter, plugs, etc. I bet it cleans up well though and checking the oil is a good idea. I'm surprised it isn't terribly low. If it's even in the normal range I would say that's a good sign. Some of these are steals though. For under $200 you could have a great mower for grass duty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
953 nut 56,185 #4 Posted March 12, 2022 3 hours ago, oliver2-44 said: going to drain the filthy black oil and run a magnet through it to make sure their isn't any metal showing up. Better off to drain it through a coffee filter, most of the metal would be aluminum, not steel. Being a pressure lubricated system you'll probably be OK. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,929 #5 Posted March 12, 2022 45 minutes ago, 953 nut said: Better off to drain it through a coffee filter, most of the metal would be aluminum, not steel. Being a pressure lubricated system you'll probably be OK. Great point! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oliver2-44 9,929 #6 Posted May 9, 2023 Well after a good maintenance my son mowed all last summer with this thing, and it leaves a good cut one problem I haven’t figured out is the front wheels have way too much toe out. It kind of crabs around corners. There’s no adjustment point short of cutting and shortening the steering linkage. Nothing looks bent. So I wonder if the PO replaced something with the wrong or a generic part. Some day when it’s back at my house I suspect I give it the shortening-weld fix. My son said he just changed the oil, filter and greased it so it’s ready for another year. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
