What do you think of this Toro mower? -PICS-

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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.
Mower1_zpseb367c84.jpg



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.
Mower2_zpscc5d7316.jpg

Mower3_zps0bcd6251.jpg
 
The engine on the TOro is a Suzuki. I have a similar one I picked up 4 yrs from Craigslist free stuff. Best mower I have ever had. The MTD FWD is easier to handle, but loses traction with a full bag. The 3 speed RWD Toros are much more robust. Mowers are pretty much throwaway these days. But a little maintenance,they will run for yrs. I use the fuel shut off to run the carb dry after every use. Since I started doing this , I have had less carb trouble.
 
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The MTD mowers have a decent engine as MTD does not make the engine. Its all the other stuff that breaks or falls apart. But on a walk behind mower there is not a whole lot besides the self propelled mechanism to break. With a riding tractor or snow blower there are a lot more things to go wrong.

Even MTD ought to be able to figure out how to bolt the blade to the shaft of the engine.
 
It's a good thing I can never find Toros like that for $70. I'd have 10 of them!

That was probably a $600-800 mower 20yrs ago.
 
I love my Toro...had it for 7-8 years now. Had to replace one wheel and the drive gear on that side, but I think it was my own fault.

Tecumseh engine. RWD FTW. FWD is for tricycles.
 
You sure the Craftsman is MTD? I've got a similar model - same engine but with electric start, same deck style. Mine is a Husqvarna/AYP one. It too has been a great mower.
 
Lately I were in search of zero turn and heard that suzuki engines are the best. Is it true? I have Kohler 23 hp on cub cadet zero turn
 
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Originally Posted By: itguy08
You sure the Craftsman is MTD? I've got a similar model - same engine but with electric start, same deck style. Mine is a Husqvarna/AYP one. It too has been a great mower.


It may be Huskvarna. The point is that it is one of the much-maligned homeowner-grade Craftsmans that so many people rip on.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
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.


This is why people knock the MTD-made Craftsman mowers. "It runs fine," is relative, as you've found out. Put it next to a commercial-quality Toro or Honda and you may never use that Craftsman again.

That's exactly what happened to me. I had a FWD Craftsman mower I bought new in 2003. I bought a used 2001 Honda HR215SXA (quite similar to your commerical Toro) in 2004 or 2005. And then that Craftsman mower just sat there. I even took the engine off (a Honda GCV-160) and gave the deck to someone else when his FWD transmission went out.

It's like the difference between a Cadillac and a Cobalt, or a Maybach and a Merc C-class. Both will get you from point A to point B, but one is so much nicer to use than the other. The controls are nicer, the deck feels nicer over bumps, the wheels often turn easier (due to ball bearings), the heavy deck soaks up engine vibration better than the stamped steel deck, etc.

Welcome to the world of premium mowers!
 
Those were excellent mowers and they were quite expensive. The Suzuki engines (like the 4-cycle Suzuki on this mower) were one of the best (if not THE best) lawnmower engines ever produced! Toro called this particular mower the "Vacu-Power" and introduced it to compete with the Snapper HiVacs that were regarded as the best rear baggers at the time.
I hope you got the bag with it. This is an outstanding rear bagging mower but it doesn't mulch worth a darn, even with the mulching kit accessory that Toro offered for it later (which included a chute plug and a mulching blade). They also made a side discharge chute accessory for this mower but it didn't work well either. Both of them leave unsightly clumps of grass on the lawn.
 
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I have that exact same mower and still use it today (except mine is electric start). Most parts are still available, I have repaired some stuff a few times (cables, etc.) and it still runs great. The only thing I know of that you can't get is the muffler.

What wag123 said is correct. The mulching with the plug is worthless but the rear bag works fine.

Originally Posted By: wag123
Those were excellent mowers and they were quite expensive. The Suzuki engines (like the 4-cycle Suzuki on this mower) were one of the best (if not THE best) lawnmower engines ever produced! Toro called this particular mower the "Vacu-Power" and introduced it to compete with the Snapper HiVacs that were regarded as the best rear baggers at the time.
I hope you got the bag with it. This is an outstanding rear bagging mower but it doesn't mulch worth a darn, even with the mulching kit accessory that Toro offered for it later (which included a chute plug and a mulching blade). They also made a side discharge chute accessory for this mower but it didn't work well either. Both of them leave unsightly clumps of grass on the lawn.
 
I guess I'll offer a long-term update.

I ended up selling the Toro recently. It was very heavy duty, but the maneuverability sucked big time compared to the Craftsman mower, making it much more difficult to use in our yard.

The Toro would be good if you had wide expanses to mow. But I have to do a lot of turning and maneuvering in our yard, so it wasn't too great for the job.

I'm back to using my Craftsman. It's still performing quite well. It kicks out some smoke on startup now that it's nearing 10 years old, but it's still running great and cutting well. I do wish I could adjust the handle up higher, though. I'm pretty tall and it's a little too short for me.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
The engine on the TOro is a Suzuki. I have a similar one I picked up 4 yrs from Craigslist free stuff. Best mower I have ever had. The MTD FWD is easier to handle, but loses traction with a full bag. The 3 speed RWD Toros are much more robust. Mowers are pretty much throwaway these days. But a little maintenance,they will run for yrs. I use the fuel shut off to run the carb dry after every use. Since I started doing this , I have had less carb trouble.


How do you know if its a Suzuki Engine? I'm looking at one of these that has the exact same 5HP motor, but I think it might be a Briggs motor. How do you know if its a Suzuki?
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
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.
Mower1_zpseb367c84.jpg



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.
Mower2_zpscc5d7316.jpg

Mower3_zps0bcd6251.jpg



Thanks Stephen. This motor looks exactly like the one I'm looking at but its a 'recycler' unit. I looked it up on the Toro web-site and indeed it looks like a Suzuki engine. Thanks for posting the model # information. Much appreicated.
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
I guess I'll offer a long-term update.

I ended up selling the Toro recently. It was very heavy duty, but the maneuverability sucked big time compared to the Craftsman mower, making it much more difficult to use in our yard.


Just out of curiosity, what made the high dollar Toro unit less maneuverable? Is the rear axle live? (lack of differential) I know we've got an ancient aluminum decked Toro recycler with the 3spd gear drive in the family. To me, it's just as maneuverable as any self-propelled mower.

I know my Snapper commercial 21" actually has a rear diff, which is a good thing given the size/weight of the unit.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK


Just out of curiosity, what made the high dollar Toro unit less maneuverable? Is the rear axle live? (lack of differential) I know we've got an ancient aluminum decked Toro recycler with the 3spd gear drive in the family. To me, it's just as maneuverable as any self-propelled mower.


It may be just as maneuverable as any heavy, old rear-wheel drive mower.

It's somewhat easy to disengage the blade when you're just trying to disengage the drive, so there were times the blade would stop spinning when I didn't want it to. That would come into play during the many times I need to go forward and backward or make sharp turns.

It would grind through the grass to the dirt as I tried to do 180 degree turns at the end of the yard, or the blade would sometimes disengage when I was trying to stop the drive to turn.

The front-wheel drive Craftsman is just far superior for cutting in our yard that has a good number of obstacles and requires a lot of turning around.
 
Originally Posted By: Ope_Freak
How do you know if its a Suzuki Engine? I'm looking at one of these that has the exact same 5HP motor, but I think it might be a Briggs motor. How do you know if its a Suzuki?


The Toro mower pictured above, with the over head engine and large chrome muffler, is DEFINITELY a Suzuki 4 stroke engine. I used to own two of those units and I work on them from time to time.

This engine below, is a GTS 200 and is made by Briggs and Stratton. Pretty rare engine and hard to find parts for too. They were less expensive than the Suzuki engines, so Toro went to these engines in about 91 or 92 and used them for several years.

Toro-SRFinal004.jpg
 
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