Older Toro Groundsmaster

Any of you tractor guys have a Toro Groundsmaster mower with the water cooled 4 cylinder gas engine--72 inch cut Continental engine.

Are they any good????????????????//

We never had one with that engine, but we had a diesel model that had three lives it lasted so long. Mower to spraying machine to plowing snow. I spent a lot of time on that dude in mower mode.

They're an outstanding machine but the early ones used a Continental R series engine. The R in R-series stands for Renault, they weren't a bad engine but weren't a good one either. The major issue will be parts, there a a few around schlepping R series parts but it can still be a challenge. The engine was quite similar to what they used in the R-5 Renaults (LeCar in US speak) and share some commonality with the engines in the Alliance & Encore models AMC made while they were tied up With Renault. I had one in the fleet while I wrenched at a golf course but it was only a few years old and had less than 2,000 hours on it when I left that job, but I heard rumors form folks over Detroit way the engines weren't that long lived. I don't know how difficult it would be to swap a different engine in, I hear in later years they used a Dahisutu engine (sold in the US as a Briggs & Stratton), a Ford gasoline engine and numerous Yanmar and Kubota diesel engines. It might not be that hard to adapt a car engine as the Groundmasters had a neat belt driven governor on the R series powered units but you'll have to watch speed as I think it was driven off the camshaft as was the alternator.

I had one, parts are VERY EXPENSIVE for that engine. I paid $118 for head-gasket and manifold gasket, but that was nothing compared to a replacement starter, priced at $618.58. I sold that one and now have Groundmaster 345 with a Ford engine with a 48" snow-blower with cab and heat. Groundmaster 3280D with 72" mower-deck, that has Kubota diesel engine. Replacement parts are all kind of expensive for those machines. Take care of them and they will give you great service.