Mower Questions to Toro or not?

cyclonewoes

Member
Dec 12, 2008
110
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Ankeny
Well I went to start my Husqvarna with a Honda motor Friday, and no luck, cleaned carb, changed plug, put in new gas. The mower is 5 years old, I have never been that satisfied with it, little underpowered, I borrowed a neighbors toro and I really liked it. Does anyone else have a toro? Do you like it? Do you like the personal pace? Any comments would be appreciated.
 

GoCy

Active Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Apr 11, 2006
252
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I have the personal pace model sold at Home Depot, and I love it. Had it for 3 years now, and have had no problems. The personal pace took a couple of weeks to get used to, but it was my first self-propelled so there was a learning curve for me. I have a steep hill in my back yard, and the engine has plenty of power to make it up the hill and not get bogged down.
 

bc1379

Member
Dec 13, 2008
62
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I have a personal pace that is 5-6 years old and am not overly happy with it. My dad has the same issue. On the model I have, the rear drive system is poorly designed and I have had to work on it at least twice a year. I don't think it cuts particularly well either. I have had goofy little things that have broken over time as well. I guess I think back to all the old mowers I used when I was younger and how well they held up and I just don't feel that my Toro has performed all that well. I have been considering getting a new mower due to the issues I have had and don't think I would go back to a Toro.

With all that said, I stopped and talked to a repair shop on Saturday and they said that Toro is aware of the issue with my model and may replace the rear components at no charge. I just have to take it in and find out.
 

isuvike

Member
Apr 10, 2006
60
4
8
I went through years of always having to take my mower(s) in each spring (even after using fuel stabilizer and/or running the tank dry). Then I got a the Toro that consumer reports listed as a best buy, haven't had an issue at all.
 

dmclone

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2006
21,541
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Just as an FYI, consumer reports list's it 2nd best propelled.


#1Honda HRX2172HXA

#2 Toro Super Recycler 20092


Out of the top 10, 4 are Honda's and 6 are Toro. Craftsman, JD, Snapper, etc all fall out of the top 10.
 

VeloClone

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
48,335
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Brooklyn Park, MN
I have a Toro self propelled (not personal pace) front wheel drive that I bought 4 years ago. I have had zero problems with it.

I also have a Toro single stage snow blower that I have had for six years. I just had to have fuel line work done on it. They said there were sediments in the fuel line - probably from contaminant in the gas. Other than that, I have had no problems with the snow blower either.

So far I am sold on Toros.
 

ruxCYtable

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2007
7,371
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Colorado
I have a Toro personal pace from Home Depot. It is a good mower and hasn't given me any problems.

The problem for me is, I have a yard that is borderline too big for a push/propelled mower and too small for a rider. Also it has some pretty rough terrain in the back. So my 5 year-old Toro is pretty beat to hell but I don't blame Toro, it's a case where I'm probably using it for a little more than was intended.

When my Toro goes I've got my eyes on one of those Cub Cadet commercial style mower with the 30+ inch swath. They are like $1200 at Home Depot.

To the person who mentioned sta-bil...I don't put it directly in the mower's gas tank, but everytime I fill up my five gallon gas can I treat the gas in there. Don't know if it really helps or not but I've never had a problem with gas going bad or anything.
 

2020cy

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2006
6,344
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Do you use Sta-Bil in the gas?
I always store the mower and the snow blower with a dry gas tank and have never had problems the next season. The neighbors think I'm a little nuts running the machine for no reason, but it's worked well for me.
 

tman24

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2008
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just bought a used toro super recycler. My dad has the exact one and he likes its. The only issue he has had is the self propel has blown out on one of the wheels, but it was fixed for free.
 

2020cy

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2006
6,344
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I also have had Toro's and happy with them. Just don't forget to check the oil and let the kids mow.
 

1100011CS

Well-Known Member
Oct 5, 2007
16,113
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Marshalltown
Do you use Sta-Bil in the gas?

I went through years of always having to take my mower(s) in each spring (even after using fuel stabilizer and/or running the tank dry). Then I got a the Toro that consumer reports listed as a best buy, haven't had an issue at all.

To the person who mentioned sta-bil...I don't put it directly in the mower's gas tank, but everytime I fill up my five gallon gas can I treat the gas in there. Don't know if it really helps or not but I've never had a problem with gas going bad or anything.

I was having problems with my snowblower every winter and after a few trips to the repair shop I was told to use Sea foam instead of Sta-bil. Haven't had any problems since.

Also, I had a Toro PP at my last house. It worked great the 5-6 years I lived there. When I moved to a place with a bigger yard I sold it to a buddy and he has been very happy with it after 3-4 years.
 

ISU_phoria

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2006
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Andover, MN
I have a Yardman (i think that's the brand) that I bought from Menards about 6 years ago. It has a Briggs & Stratton Engine. I never add anything to the tank at the end of the year (Sta-bil, etc) and every single spring, the mower still starts on the very first pull after having set in my garage all winter.

I am copmletely sold on Brigss & Stratton engines!

I also have a pressure washer that has a Honda engine on it. I've only had it for about 2 years now and the Honda engine is way more troublesome (especially to start) than my mower engine.
 
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cyclonewoes

Member
Dec 12, 2008
110
1
18
Ankeny
I have a Yardman (i think that's the brand) that I bought from Menards about 6 years ago. It has a Briggs & Stratton Engine. I never add anything to the tank at the end of the year (Sta-bil, etc) and every single spring, the mower still starts on the very first pull after having set in my garage all winter.

I am copmletely sold on Brigss & Stratton engines!

I also have a pressure washer that has a Honda engine on it. I've only had it for about 2 years now and the Honda engine is way more troublesome (especially to start) than my mower engine.

I have always been quite dissapointed in the honda motor, it is noisy and has always pulled hard compared to old briggs motor I had before. I am leaning toward the toro with the briggs.
 

CarpPar

New Member
Jan 18, 2009
7
0
1
Ankeny
I have had a Toro Self Propelled since 1993. About 3 years ago I had a tune-up on the engine. Other than that, all I have ever done to it is replace the drive belt and the pull rope. I am sold on Toro.
 

Cyclonesrule91

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2006
5,465
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Waukee
Pretty simple engineering in lawn mowers. It's all about the upkeep the owner does to the mower. If you're mechanically inclined, go to craigslist and look for somebody trying to sell their mower that won't run and fix it up. I bought a Snapper push mower for $35 from an idiot who said the engine wouldn't stay running and and the self propel part of the mower quit working. Took the carb off and cleaned the junk out of it and bought a $.79 tension spring that got the self propel part working and I have a perfectly good lawn mower for cheap. Briggs & Stratton are good engines as well as Tecumseh(if you look for used that is as they don't make these anymore).

I could make a living off craigslist fixing up mowers and reselling them but the wife would be ticked off at what my garage could become
 

cy8

Member
Apr 26, 2010
375
13
18
Go with Toro they are great mowers. Make sure you buy from a dealer and not a box store like Home Depot or Lowes.
 

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