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I saw this thread in another forum, and don't know how to help him out. Any suggestions?
Here is his post: "I bought the Landlord (w/18hp B&S twin engine) in 1999. It seemed well made. One of the features touted by Simplicity was its small turning radius. NOT. If the tractor has the mower deck raised off the ground (transport mode) the tractor will turn short. But drop the deck and it can't do it. Why? The deck has a row of rollers on the back that support the deck and maintain a constant height for mowing. But that roller design drags dramatically when turning. So much so that when attempting to turn sharply, the tractor's inside drive wheel spins and loses traction. You then have to straighten the steering to proceed.
Another problem this tractor has is it can't back itself up a hill. That's right. If you nose downhill into an area that requires you to backout (uphill) you'll be stuck.
Now the BIG problem. The manual says you should sometimes wash the tractor to maintain it. This shouldn't be a problem anyway since everyone wants clean equipment. Well, if you get the transmission wet, it quits. That's right. It quits. What's more, it'll cost you $300 to get it fixed. This is a MAJOR problem and Simplicity is aware of it and is doing nothing to help owners. This is a design flaw. I see this becoming a class action lawsuit against Simplicity over this. What's happening is there's a disengaging lever at the back of the tractor for transporting the tractor. The lever works a valve that disables the hydrostatic action. When the valve gets wet it sticks and permanently disengages the transmission. The valve itself isn't expensive but the tractor needs to be disassembled to get to it."
He admits to using a pressure washer to clean the tractor, but says he is careful, and his reverse problem is not traction related. That is to say that his tires do not spin, the tractor just does not have enough umpf to back up in reverse on a hill.
Here is his post: "I bought the Landlord (w/18hp B&S twin engine) in 1999. It seemed well made. One of the features touted by Simplicity was its small turning radius. NOT. If the tractor has the mower deck raised off the ground (transport mode) the tractor will turn short. But drop the deck and it can't do it. Why? The deck has a row of rollers on the back that support the deck and maintain a constant height for mowing. But that roller design drags dramatically when turning. So much so that when attempting to turn sharply, the tractor's inside drive wheel spins and loses traction. You then have to straighten the steering to proceed.
Another problem this tractor has is it can't back itself up a hill. That's right. If you nose downhill into an area that requires you to backout (uphill) you'll be stuck.
Now the BIG problem. The manual says you should sometimes wash the tractor to maintain it. This shouldn't be a problem anyway since everyone wants clean equipment. Well, if you get the transmission wet, it quits. That's right. It quits. What's more, it'll cost you $300 to get it fixed. This is a MAJOR problem and Simplicity is aware of it and is doing nothing to help owners. This is a design flaw. I see this becoming a class action lawsuit against Simplicity over this. What's happening is there's a disengaging lever at the back of the tractor for transporting the tractor. The lever works a valve that disables the hydrostatic action. When the valve gets wet it sticks and permanently disengages the transmission. The valve itself isn't expensive but the tractor needs to be disassembled to get to it."
He admits to using a pressure washer to clean the tractor, but says he is careful, and his reverse problem is not traction related. That is to say that his tires do not spin, the tractor just does not have enough umpf to back up in reverse on a hill.
I can't remember anyone that owns one ever complain. I figure his use of a pressure washer is causing his tranny problems, but he insists on using it even after the dealer told him not to, so that's on him. But the deck rollers actually causing the loss of traction on the rear wheels was definitely a new one on me. And not enough power to back up a hill seemed funny too. Don't know how steep he is trying to go. My original suggestion on that was based on assuming his tires were slipping due to the weight being transferred to the front axle, but he says there is no tire slip, just no power... could be he is still running the original plug and never did a tune up since 1999?...:truth:
