I think you negotiated pretty well. The tractor is 10% off list price and I don't know about the rest of the stuff. Is he swapping the Gators for the stock blades? If so, ask for a credit for them or tell him to install a mulch kit (or whatever other accessory you might want) and call it even! Wouldn't hurt to ask! ;0)

yes it is an older unit and I dont want to jinx anything by going into details - but I believe the year is roughly '88 and unit has 490 hours on it. the seller states that while it runs well he thinks the carb could use a cleaning - as it doesn't idle well off choke until the block warms up a bit. After its warm it runs and starts well - ( he just recently used the machine to cut his lawn). that sounds logical to me - as if it were running lean that heavy cast iron motor would need a bit of choke to run for a bit ... So I think a good carb cleaning and new filter would turn this issue around... Would you agree ? It looks like this motor has a coil on it ... I assume this motor is a points/condenser driven system... Is there any electronic ignition conversion kits for these motors ? ( similar to the older briggs points/condenser setup which can be converted over to electronic ignition) can you also comment on what the "AS is in the K321AS " is any of this meaningful to any degree ? Thanks - Dave

I think that most of your problems stem from a lack of understanding of machinery. Whether you own a LT (lawn tractor), YT (yard tractor) or GT (garden tractor), they ALL come with a deck that is designed to cut manicured lawns. Part of your property is suitable to the design of this Husqvarna tractor but a large part is not. The area that is alfalfa, weeds and so forth should be cut with a Bush Hog style of mower or a flail style mower or even a sickle bar mower because those mowers are designed to cut fields that are overgrown with tall and very juicy vegetation. The first two mower types have blades that swing freely and will retract when they run into an obstruction. And they are built much stronger than a finishing mower, like the one on your tractor. Bottom line... You've been asking this Husky to do a job it was never designed to do and now you are blaming it for failing you. Either your dealer is unaware of what you have been asking this tractor do to or is woefully ignorant about the product he sells. This is a four-year old machine that has gone through four seasons of abuse. As such, parts do break and parts do wear out. That includes clutches. You must have snagged something that yanked on the wire leading to the clutch because those wires don't normally break off. As for the prices you quoted, I think that you were treated fairly by both the dealer and the local repair shop. Electric clutches are not inexpensive and the repair shop did a fair bit of work for the sixty odd bucks charged. Everybody has retirement dreams. The question is whether they can afford them or not. If you want to lessen the problems you are having with this tractor, then you need to do something about the wild area. Either get that farmer to take over that area too or have him plow, disc, harrow and plant grass seed in it for you so that you can have a true lawn that your Husky can handle. The alternative is to have someone else cut that area or to buy a small tractor with a Bush Hog mower on it. Continuing to subject your Husky to that type of mowing duty will hasten its demise and cause you big headaches and repair costs from now on. While Husky does refer to this tractor as a GT, it really doesn't come close to the quality that goes into an Ingersoll 4200 or a Deere X700 series but I know that you are not in the 10 to 15 thou bracket. I simply point that out so that you understand that the phrase "Garden Tractor" is a highly subjective term. Not all GT's are created equal and you get exactly what you pay for. A solution must be found because your Husky simply isn't going to cut it.

Buy whatever you want. Here is something to consider. The mower battery are available in 4 different power levels. 180 CCA 230 CCA 295 CCA 340 CCA The positive terminal is also available on the left or right side of the battery. Check your tractor before buying a new battery. Some batteries are the sealed design - meaning there are no battery caps to add water. Usually the battery terminals do not corrode on the sealed batteries. The other batterys are designed with removable battery caps - so water may be added. These batterys usually develop corrosion on the battery terminals. Periodic cleaning is needed to keep the battery healthy. A battery maintainer is a great tool to keep the battery charged. This charger automatically turns off when the battery is fully charged. If the battery loses a little charge, the maintainer turns back on. A trickle charger will boost a battery to peak power, but there is no turn off feature. If the charger is kept on the battery over the winter, chances the battery will live a short life. Some of the B&S batteries are made by East Penn. Sometimes they are made by the other manufacturer. Same is true with DieHard batteries. These are simply decals applied to the cheapest supplier. I use the East Penn batteries that are sealed as I don't want to fool around with the corrosion issues. When a battery maintainer is used, I see sealed batteries that survive 7-9 years. The water cap batteries will also last a long time if the battery is kept cleaned and charged. during winter storage.