mar10 wrote:
Have a 3 year old Craftsman 25hp Kohler engine riding mower. My dad
ran it dry on oil - didn't notice that the oil filter came loose
and ran it without oil till it died (unfortunately he has vision
problems and was unable to notice this)

Anyways- Sears has diagnosed that the engine seized and wants $2200
to fix - for $100 more I can get a brand new mower.

Has anyone run into this or have thoughts as to if this could be done
more reasonably by a small engine repair guy? Or do I bite the bullet
and buy new?

Thanks

dang.... sorry for you and your dad......

I had the dip stick pop out on two craftman mowers of mine...one a push
mower and the other my rider....didnt lose all the oil though but I
lost quite a bit in both......and neither were hurt by the
experience...... the push mower died because of just being old and
abused...10 or 11 years old.... of course my old monkey wards 3.5 hp
POS mower is abused on a weekly basic but is still kicking it after 25
years.....~: rough yard...some places I have to jam the old monkey
wards under brush etc.... and lots of hilly uneven spaces...mower is on
a 30 degree incline sideways during most of its use...and I use it as
my trim mower....25 years....one of monkey wards bottom dollar
mowers....that says a lot. When that mower finally dies Im still gonna
keep it. 26 actually...bought it in 80 ..used it that summer.

getting all misty eyed...sorry.......~:

I'd probably just get the new mower.....and I'd try to do a check on it
every so often for your dad so this doesnt occur again. Maybe you could
sell the old mower and possibly make at least a few bucks for some
gasoline.