Craftsman  54'' 26hp V-Twin Kohler Turn Tight™ Hydrostatic Garden Tractor CA Only

I bought the 54" 26hp craftsman riding mower to cut 3/4s of an acre, and to tell you the truth this mower does a nice job. I also shopped around before buying it and found other tractors to be very expensive . after reading some reviews on this mower I would like people know I also am satisfied with mine .(three years)

My mower is not quite 3 years old.  I have to replace several parts in the engine because I have a loss of power.  Spent over $4000 in lawn equipment almost $3000 for the tractor and it has power issues.  I take good care of my lawn equipment.  Oil changes, filters changes etc.  Still the engine is junk.  Will not buy another craftsman.

I am very pleased with this mower. It has cut my mowing time in half. Really like the turn radius. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a mower. The V-TWIN has plenty of power and it is very comfortable to ride. Really like the pto switch. Really like the deck wash. I really like the way it has alimites so you can grease the deck bearings.

Just bought & was using for the first time. I was about 90 minutes into my first cut w/ the GT600 and the belt came off the deck. I am done for the day & the next 18 days...until Sears can schedule someone to come fix it (yes...18 days). Customer service was poor... called the 800 number for help & the first guy I spoke with was grilling me about how I engaged the blades, how fast I was going, etc... implying it was operator error and there was no guarantee is would be covered. I then was transferred 3 more times through various departments. Sears was having a hard time deciding if it was the fault of the delivery guys not properly setting it up, my fault for cutting my grass or a legitimate issue... I guess the mystery will be solved on 3/28 Stay tuned. On the positive side... I was impressed with the turning radius and the power of the engine.... too early to tell on the rest... other than I was p*ssed it broke down 90 minutes into my first cut & then the CS guy tries to blame it on me & then it takes them 18 days to get someone to come fix it...

Craftsman 54 did more work in 2 hours than my other lawn tractor did in 4 hours. I have two acres of land and an easment of over a half mile that I mow regularly. This lawn tractor is a real work horse.

The design of the Kohler twin 26hp engine is not suitable for the YT4500 mower.  Oil circulation is the problem and allows oil to collect in the top of the engine and then somehow drain back into the exhaust system.  This happens when the mower tilts as little as 5 degrees.  Then a huge cloud of bluish-white smoke billows out of the exhaust as it burns.  The oil level drops between 1/4 and 1/2 quart per smoke event. 

The mower does cut grass and rapidly but the horrible clouds of burned oil pollute and contaminate the air, land, and water plus cause undue expense and engine wear.  This model of rider mower should be recalled and a full refund given to any one who purchased this faulty- badly-designed mower.

One very disappointed customer.  

The dozer bucket has a lot of parts - the assembly directions are pretty clear. Takes some time! The tractor does well with the dozer bucket! Need wheel weights for sure. Chains would help too. Chains weren't availible in store. The wheel weights they sold me didn't fit. need 5 lug spacing. All the wheel weights shown on line are for 4 lug wheels. Guess I could drill some holes. Had fun pushing the sand around. The tractor can handle a full bucket. Great Garden Tractor. Fun so far!

I bought this tractor to replace a Craftsman 10 1/2 HP Walk-Behind Self Propelled Mower to take care of my acre and a half property. I am really impressed with the Koehler V-Twin engine, as it does not "rattle" like the Briggs-Stratton engines on the other Craftsman tractors. Also, it doesn't burn oil when turning on a steep grade like the Briggs. Much better design and much quieter. I'm puzzled about the other reviewers complaint that agricultural tread (chevron) tires were not offered by Sears. I ordered a set of those tires (already mounted on rims!) from my local Sears store and got them in two weeks. I also ordered a set of 50 lb. wheel weights at the same time. If you have property that has slopes, or you plan to do any tilling, plowing or other heavy work, I highly recommend getting the ag tires and weights. The turf saver tires are nice if you have a manicured lawn or golf course to mow, in which case you should have bought a riding mower, not a garden tractor. But the turf saver tires are no good on hilly, rough and rocky, gopher ridden, weedy rural terrain. You'll be slipping and sliding like a kid on a snow disc.

I bought this tractor as a replacement to my 2003 GT5000 that started to burn oil.  I was happy with the old GT5000, but this one is an upgrade.  I was not sure how I would like the tight-turn feature, but after mowing once I don?t think I would want a tractor without it.  This thing literally turns tight enough to turn 180 degrees and be ready for the next pass without doing a multi-point turn.  Brilliant!  This feature cut my mow time by 30%.

The deck does a very good job with a nice even cut.  This 54? deck flows better than the 48? deck on my old GT5000, and seems to bag better too.  I really enjoy the spring assisted deck lift, and the 12 cut heights is much better than the old infinite adjust screw setting.  I have also been able to adjust the deck so it will raise the deck as high as 5?, which is better than the old deck design then only allowed 4? cutting height.  The mandrels are all greasable  with zerk fittings.  My only complaint about the deck is the gauge wheel design.  They are inboard a bit and don?t seem to do as good of a job lifting the deck over slopes at the edge, but this is a small gripe in an otherwise solid mowing deck.  I like the one-belt design of the deck, with a belt tension mechanism that is easy to set.  The mow quality is excellent with a bagger, with results rivaling the JD my neighbor has up the street.

The deck mounting system is easy to install and remove the deck, without requiring any real muscle to do so (until you try to move the massive deck, but I?m glad the thing is super heavy.

The tractor frame is 12 ga steel, which is thinner than the 9 ga on my old GT5000.  This tractor indeed flexes, which is not really a bad thing.  My old 9 ga GT5000 never flexed, ever.  This would often result in one of the drive wheels being unweighted and causing the open differential to spin that tire while the other rear tire simply does nothing.  The new flexible frame does a much better job of keeping the drive wheels planted on the ground with equal weighting and traction.  It feels odd at first to feel the tractor flex, but it works well enough.

The hood could use some rubber bumpers to rest on when closed.  This would keep it from bouncing some and deep the paint from rubbing off where the hood rests on the plastic of the dash.

So far the engine has worked well.  The oil filters are the same as on my 2003 GT5000, but the air filters have been redesigned to be easier to service.  You no longer have to know how to operate a wing-nut to change the air filter.  Unfortunately this filter is smaller, and is now specific to this engine.  It does not come with a pre-filter, though Kohler does offer one for the filter.  NAPA caries the oil filters (1348) and will soon carry the air filters (2444).

Kind of a bummer that ag-tires are not offered at Sears, but I didn?t have any trouble finding a set at my local tire store (who was also able to mount them).  The turf tires are pretty worthless on a tractor with this solid of a transmission.  My old GT5000 with 220 lbs of wheels weights (2 55 lb weights per wheel) and ag tires would blow the drive belt before the transmission would have any issues.  I have a feeling this transmission is even better.  I really enjoy the foot control of the transmission; though it does force you to be sitting in the seat to use the tractor (I would often stand to the side and push on the seat of the old tractor to mow down blackberry bushes that would swallow the tractor).  I will have to figure out a new blackberry bush mow method.

The seat is very comfortable and I actually enjoy the arm rests.  I don?t understand the tool cubby next to the cup-holder on the right side fender.  I understand it covers where the shift lever is on the manual transmission version of this tractor, but I feel like more could have been done to make it more useful.  Maybe add a door over it so tools don?t slip out while using the tractor?  I could store a set of gloves in there if it had a door.  I like the reserve feature on the fuel tank.  I miss the 5 gallon capacity of the old tractor, but 4 is enough for my needs.

Overall I?m really happy with this tractor.  I just wish my lawn would grow faster to I could use it more.

Received this lawn mower last year and when I took out this spring one of the pulleys came off. Sears fixed it right away and replaced the belt and cover. Machine has to cut 4 acres minimum and up to 8. It has a 54 inch cut with hydrostatic transmission that you can lock the speed you want. Cutting and the ride is excellent. Wheel base might be a tad small but hard to say for sure. I am comparing in to my 10 year old Sears 50 inch cut that still runs like new. I have to say that I paid less for the 54 inch cut hydrostatci then I did to the 22 hp Koholer 50 inch cut six speed tranmission I bought in 2000. I cant kill this lawn mower, so I use it to cut all the rough areas, and the new one for all the smooth areas. I have my 80 year old mother in Law drive around all day with and ice tea. I tell her just keep making the circle smaller, then start over again. After about six hours she gets most of it done. The nice part is she is suffering from a little dementia so I can have her do it in a couple of days and she never catches on. Who says getting old is not for sissys. Anyways the mowers work great, and if you live in Western Mass, I can probably cut you a good deal on getting your lawn done, just to keep Mom happy doing something besides peeling carrots and potatoes all day.

regards Loren Shaw

Stamford Vermont