"Chas Hurst" wrote in message
. ..

"Kyle Boatright" wrote in message
. ..
Before I found a great deal on a used Deere, I was looking hard at the
Craftsman mowers. The feature set I defined was a Kohler engine, 4 deck
wheels, cast axles, and a deck between 38 and 42".

I called Briggs & Stratton's tech support line to ask about the Intek
engines. If I recall correctly, the lube system only filtered and
pressurized the oil going to the bearing at the output shaft. This was a
disappointment to me, because the marketing literature might lead you to
believe that it was a full filter/lube oil system.

To answer your question, unless your current mower is dead, why not wait
until end of season close outs and get the same mower for several hundred
dollars or get one with a Kohler engine for roughly the price on the one
with the Briggs Intek engine?

KB

I bought a Craftsman mower and paid the xtra bucks for a Kohler engine.
After 2 years it developed an oil leak and a noisy hydraulic tappet.
I took the engine apart myself to find a warped cover on the oil pump that
leaked oil and allowed air into the lube system causing the noisey tappet.
Forget a Kohler engine in a Craftsman mower. It's a cheap mower, get a
cheap engine.

Depending on which Craftsman mower you buy, it may be built on the same
production line as a nearly identical Husqvarna mower, and Husqvarna makes
good products.

A leaky cover in your Kohler engine is one of *those things* that do happen.
However, one instance doesn't invalidate the overall concept that a Kohler
engine is better than a Briggs engine. Bigger bearings, full
pressure/filtered lubrication, etc. That doesn't mean that people don't get
10 and 20 years out of Briggs engines, but in general, a Kohler will be a
longer lasting, more robust engine.

My Deere has a Kawasaki engine, so I don't have a dog in this fight...

KB