NEW Chopper a LEMON??:( :( :( :(

[scapes4u]

WE have had a lawncare business for 12 years & have mostly dealt with JD.Less than a month ago we purchased a Dixie Chopper,XW2500-60,it has blowed a head gasket already,they fixed that & yesterday it started acting up again ( clicking).My husband took it back to the dealer & they were telling him it probably needed the oil changed & etc... He got HOT!!!! The owner came out & told him he wanted to make him happy.Anyway he came back with a diesel,I forgot which series.The dealer told him to try it this weekend & if he liked it he could work out something with him.My question is : are any of you guys familiar with this mower? We have not even made the first payment on this mower( the 2500)& we are just SICK !! WE have a new contract for 2 huge ballparks & we cannot have much downtime.We have other mowers but was really excited about the chopper.We have never had a diesel,what do you think???<p>----------<br>scaper4u<br>

[Charles]

I would have went with the deisel to begin with. More power and longer lasting and runs cooler.

[southside]

I know nothing about Dixie Choppers,but<br>if I had the option,I would have gone the <br>diesel option first too. <br>What diesel do they run?<p>Karl<br>

[John DiMartino]

I demo'd the 60&quot; diesel before I bought my 2500 XW,I dont like the diesel at all,it is no good on any incline,its way to rear heavy and bogs down easier than the 25HP command.I dont like the belt setup either,if you are mowing flatland only,it would be OK,but I have some hilly areas that it couldnt climb up without dragging the rear bumper,my 25 Hp goes up them without even getting light in front.Also on the engine,its a 23.8 HP,so it wont have the power in deep grass,but it should outlast 3 Commands easy.<p>----------<br>John D<br>

[nlminc]

I just bought 2 26hp diesel 72&quot; cut DC's and so far we love them. We cut some ball fields 2 days ago and they performed excellent. We got in a little late and the turf was very high in some areas 7-8&quot; and the choppers cut right thru without a problem. The guy I work with asked me how much he owed me for the ride when we were done with the job, because he had so much fun riding. They have Yanmar diesels engins on them. I paid 11,500 for each one. Good luck with your dealer, you should get your money back if you call Dixie Direct and tell them your problems. Definitly give the diesel a run over the gas. It's worth the extra cash. Put home heating oil in the tanks all season and right there you will make up the difference in diesel and gas engin price! Plus you get a better longer lasting engin.<p><br>Chris

[Eric ELM]

First of all, the 25HP Kohler has had head gasket problems since it came out. From talking to other owners, once it's replaced, they haven't had any more problems with the head gasket. This is an engine problem and it has a 2 year warranty. The clicking sounds to me like they have a bit to much oil in it. If you have a Kohler engine just a fuz to full, it makes the oil get bubblely. I think it is because the crank hits it when it's over full and this causes the hydraulic lifters not to pump up right. I have had this happen too and I just let out a bit of oil and the clicking goes away.<p>From what I've heard, the Yanmar diesel engine is supposed to last an average of 12,000 hours. I have one in a JD 430 and it's 10 years old and still runs fine. What year is this diesel Chopper. The 2000's have a solid steel bumper now to hold down the front end better. If the serial number starts with 99, it most likely has the hollow bumper. If it starts with 00, it will have a solid steel bumper. <p>I have had 3 Choppers, but I have never gotten a 25HP Kohler engine. They came out after I bought my machines. The one I run turned the hour meter to 2,700 hours yesterday and it still runs and operates like new. I had to have an intake manifold gasket replaced, because it didn't idle right and it cost me $40. If you aren't completely satisfied with your Chopper and don't get support from your dealer, call the main office and they will do everything possible to make it right for you. <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[scapes4u]

Karl,<br>The chopper has the yanmar diesel engine.And all you other guys,thanks for the input,very interesting.<br>scapes4u

[southside]

Yanmar make an excellent diesel.12000 hours<br>is definately not out of the question.Cheap<br>to run too.<p>Karl<br>

[John DiMartino]

what size is the one you are demoing,if seems like the 72 can handle the heavy Yanmar a lot better than the 60&quot; can.In looking at specs I notice a 48&quot;wb for the 72&quot; and a 44&quot; for the 60&quot;.Those 4&quot; and the bigger heavier deck make the 72&quot; a better platform for this motor it seems.My input from `Chris's comment on running home heating oil is,you can do it,but it is illegal,just keep that in mind.Ive used it for years on my private property.You are supposed (haha) to run off-road diesel,fuel tax only,no road tax.Homeheating oil has no tax at all if it was purchased for residential use.It might come up at tax time when you try to claim for fuel useage,you cant claim it,and the IRS will check if your audited,it happened to a friend,they wanted to know where he was buying all his fuel for his business,being he wsasnt claiming any on deductions,then they checked his personal account with the oil company,and his 2000sq ft home burned 2600 gallons that year!Busted,so if you do it,pay COD and John Doe is your name.<p>----------<br>John D<br>

[nlminc]

John, thanks for the advice on the fuel. I did not know that, I was informed that it would be legal to run the home heating oil in the Choppers. I will stick with the off-road diesel from here on in. <br>Another note. The Yanmar diesel is said to use 3/4 gallon of fuel per hour. This is a positive selling point with the increasing cost of gas.<p>Chris

[weve]

I have my first Dixie Chopper diesel this year. It's a 2000 year model XWD2600-60 Flatlander. So far it runs great (46 hrs.) and is outperforming the 25 HP Kohler I had the past two years. It goes through heavy grass faster and the rpm's don't drop as much. It's using about .8 gal./hr of fuel.<br>I cut a road bank that was about 50 degrees incline mowing sideways with the chute down today. It did okay but I wouldn't want to be on anything much steeper. <p>----------<br>Larry<br>

[mowerconsultant]

50 degrees ??<br>not quite possible....<br>machines built for hillside mowing would have a hard time hanging that hill..<br>people tend to over guess inclines, if you were to measure the incline i would say it is not so steep..

[Lazer]

You tell the dealer to fix the *&@^% Kohler and forget about &quot;working something out.&quot; That's dealer lingo for &quot;working cash out of your pocket.&quot;<p>Get the 25hp Kohler fixed and done right. <br>Them telling you ANYTHING about how to service that engine with the history that engine has is PERPOSTEROUS!

[scapes4u]

Well guys it's me again,he came in tonight & said he wasn't going to have the 25hp chopper back because he will never trust it again,so I guess we will be getting the diesel,which by the way is a 2600. We had a really bad experience with John Deere about a motor on one of our riders,we are on the 3rd motor at their expense now,which is ridiculous.He said he doesn't feel like going through this again.He said he is tired of arguing with dealers & is about ready to throw up his hands and quit.I have heard this before & this too will pass.All of you guys work really hard at this profession, I respect all of you & this is the BEST lawn site I have found !

[DMC300]

ONCE THE HEAD GASKET IS FIXED PROPERLY,YOU'LL HAVE AN EXCELLENT MOWER THAT WILL GIVE YOU YEARS OF GREAT SERVICE.<p>----------<br>DON<br>LIANNES' MOWING

[bdemir]

To everyone out there i have one question. When is kohler going to learn how to make an engine that does not brake before you break it in? Cant they just copy the japs. They might learn something. And the dealer should be kissing your behind if hes not already giving you a very good good deal on that diesel. My last comment is try to get a good deal on the diesel to compensate for your trouble. Good luck.<br>

[HOMER]

I have been fortunate so far with the 25 on my 72 City Slicker, not one problem and it's approaching 300 hrs. At what point is a Kohler considered &quot;broke in&quot;? My 22 on the other hand is on the verge of being &quot;worn out&quot;!<p>Homer

[MOW ED]

I have a Kohler 25hp that was built in 98. It was either built on friday afternoon at 4:45pm or the Monday after a big Packer victory. I read lots of encouraging words after the head gasket rebuild, my direct experience is very much otherwise. My 25hp had shot rings at 100 hours. The head gasket problem was not discovered at that time so no bulletins were out. At 400 hours the head gasket blew. This year at 520 hours the coils were bad. For some of you this could have happened in 1 season and it would have been considered a lemon. I just got done writing the check for $266.00 for the out of warranty repair. <br>My experience with this engine is that its a gas eating unreliable piece of ****. Sorry for the french but I am a solo operator that is trying to get one step ahead but the 25 keeps me behind. <br>Yes even though they cost big bucks, I'm going diesel next time. Good Luck.

[bdemir]

Homer im glad to hear that your kohler has been reliable fo you. Not what i hear from ohters and i just replaced a set of coils on mine and the dealer told me they were made bad back then. Mine is a 94 w/900hrs and i paid 300.00 out of pocket. Sorry to target kohler but how hard is it to build a lawnmower engine that is reliable. They cost from 6 to 10K they should be built a little better dont you agree?

[ZYAL8R]

i had a 20hp kohler magnum on my SCAG stz, the pre superZ.i had to replce the coils on it. it was about $200 if i remember right.<br>just sold it last fall 700hrs, $2500