Hustler Z 24/60 Mower, 926675 Review
(The dealer I purchased the mower from had dropped Hustler and would not service it, so I had to take the mower to another dealer who had recently picked Hustler up. That dealer has apparantly dropped Hustler also, as they had none in inventory and are no longer flying the Hustler sign. Since they were closed when I went by, I could not ask). The mower up to now has otherwise been VERY dependable. However; currently I have an issue with the engine which I am trying to resolve. This model uses the 24 hp Honda GXV670 engine. The ignition on this engine is dual transistorized magnetos (everything self contained). I have replaced both coils with new units at $65 each. If I set the magneto air gap to the specification (0.015 per the Honda service manual) the units will not spark, even with the new coils. (The kill diode is disconected from both coils, eliminating any possibility of some other issue such as a kill switch etc, per the Honda service manual). If I set the air gap way too close (0.004) then it will spark, but poorly. The magneto magnet on the flywheel has apparantly lost enough magnetism to cause no spark. I talked to mechanics at our local Honda motorcycle dealer, and they say that they have seen this happen on motorcycles, so it apparantly is not that far fetched an idea. The remaining Hustler dealer in my area (20 miles away) says that he services Hustler, BUT NOT THE HONDA ENGINE. He also says that he cannot get parts for the Honda engine, and generally disparged it. I consider that to be ridiculous due to the fact that he purports to be an authorized Hustler dealer. I have now at this point purchased: 1) two new coils (left and right are different), 2) two new plugs, although with only 130 hrs, the old ones do not look bad at all 2) Honda service manual - which I needed anyway 3) another set of coils - thinking it is possible but not likely that I got bad units, and finally, 4) A new flywheel which has not yet arrived $300. (The magnet is not available seperately. (Briggs and Stratton had a good idea on that point). The mower has been down for 2 weeks now. Total investment thus far on this ongoing repair: $600.00 The mower overall is a very good mower and very rugged, but here in central Ky, service is quite lacking. I have to honestly say that due to the lack of support resources in my area, I would not buy another Hustler mower. The mower is well designed and well built, very rugged, but when a breakdown occurs, and ultimately it will, you are pretty much on your own. Click here to read or post comments. |