I’ve had a MTD-made Craftsman mower for a while, and while it works well I’ve been looking for something more interesting to use and tinker with. I’ve been specifically looking for either a Toro with a cast aluminum deck or a Honda mower. I was at a swap meet today and several sellers had mowers, including a decent number of Hondas and at least a few Toros.
The Hondas at the swap meet all looked well used, while this Toro looked pretty good. The seller wanted $70 for this Toro, but when he fired it up the self-propelling mechanism wasn’t working. He said it worked earlier that day, but I was skeptical. I decided it was worth a risk, so I offered him $50 and he accepted.
When I got home I quickly found out a cable had become kinked and popped out of place. I put it back and now the mower runs and drives great.
This is a Toro 26622 that according to the Toro website was made in 1990. A little googling makes me suspect this is one of the models that has an engine made by Suzuki, which supposedly are pretty good.
Here’s the Toro next to my current Craftsman. People like to knock the MTD-made Craftsman mowers, but this one has performed really well. I bought it used about 4 years ago and have used it a lot since then. It has always worked well for me, especially when you consider the $120 I paid for it. All I’ve done is change the oil twice in 4 years and make sure to run it out of gas before winter.
I didn’t know how much difference there would be between a homeowner-grade Craftsman and a high-end Toro. The Toro is built like a tank compared to the Craftsman. On the Craftsman, the self-propelling function may be getting weak. It may just need a new belt or something, but you have to do a little pushing to keep the Craftsman moving. The Toro’s drive works excellent and it will run away from you if you’re not careful.
I will say I like the Craftsman’s front wheel drive compared to the Toro’s rear wheel drive. The Craftsman is easier to maneuver. But, I’m still getting used to the Toro, so maybe I’ll change my mind after a while.
I removed a cover while looking for the problem with the drive mechanism. That’s why it’s missing in the pic.
The Hondas at the swap meet all looked well used, while this Toro looked pretty good. The seller wanted $70 for this Toro, but when he fired it up the self-propelling mechanism wasn’t working. He said it worked earlier that day, but I was skeptical. I decided it was worth a risk, so I offered him $50 and he accepted.
When I got home I quickly found out a cable had become kinked and popped out of place. I put it back and now the mower runs and drives great.
This is a Toro 26622 that according to the Toro website was made in 1990. A little googling makes me suspect this is one of the models that has an engine made by Suzuki, which supposedly are pretty good.
Here’s the Toro next to my current Craftsman. People like to knock the MTD-made Craftsman mowers, but this one has performed really well. I bought it used about 4 years ago and have used it a lot since then. It has always worked well for me, especially when you consider the $120 I paid for it. All I’ve done is change the oil twice in 4 years and make sure to run it out of gas before winter.
I didn’t know how much difference there would be between a homeowner-grade Craftsman and a high-end Toro. The Toro is built like a tank compared to the Craftsman. On the Craftsman, the self-propelling function may be getting weak. It may just need a new belt or something, but you have to do a little pushing to keep the Craftsman moving. The Toro’s drive works excellent and it will run away from you if you’re not careful.
I will say I like the Craftsman’s front wheel drive compared to the Toro’s rear wheel drive. The Craftsman is easier to maneuver. But, I’m still getting used to the Toro, so maybe I’ll change my mind after a while.
I removed a cover while looking for the problem with the drive mechanism. That’s why it’s missing in the pic.