Troy Bilt 830 Self Propelled Mower


Built for life? HAH!


My Troy Bilt 830 was the biggest piece of junk I ever owned. I bought it in 2005 to mow an average size suburban yard. Within two years I had to have the drive wheels replaced. The gears on the drive wheels are made of plastic!

This year it wouldn't self-propel. I replaced the belt as the owner's manual directed... still no help. It turns out that there is a service bulletin that requires change out of the crankshaft pulley. Hard to do yourself. So... off the to the service center. They, ordered the belt kit (belt and pulley). No luck. It turns out that the transmission is shot. Cost of repair: almost as much as I paid for the mower originally.

Today I bought a Lawn Boy (built by Toro), with heavy duty metal geared drive wheels and an oversized drive belt.

My advice, avoid stuff built by MTD.

Pros
- none

Cons
- had to replace most of the mower

Rating
1 out of 5

Comments for Troy Bilt 830 Self Propelled Mower

Average Rating starstar

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Jul 02, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Starts good, cuts good, drives intermitently
by: BeltEaterBob

Struggled with MTD plastic gear drive mower (bad idea, eats wheel gearing rapidly). Troy Built guy was at local Farm and Fleet and sold me on an 830 for it's "reliable drive".
In first year, in shop 4 times and many days for drive repair. Repair guy said, "bad design, destroys belts". Every year since then, I have to replace belt a few times to keep the drive working. Huge pain in arse. Mower always starts and cuts well, so it is hard to dump it though.
I have a rough lawn with some hills and it likely stresses drives. Anyone know a truly robust drive system mower?
Jul 15, 2012
Rating
star 		Sits behind the old mower
by: Anonymous

Bought this one to replace the old mower. Worked like a dream for the first year. Could not have been happier. Then the self propelled drive would not work. Bought new belt. No easy task to replace. Still did not work. Broke it down and put it back together again. Still did not work. What I believe is the problem is the transmission. Talked to friend that worked at Lowes about it. She told me that the Troy Built product comes back all the time. Do not buy any of their stuff. Spend the money and get something like a John Deer. I looked on the shelf for the one I bought and it was already replaced. Did not even stay ont the shelf for a year. Will not buy a Troy Built product again. Just poorly designed.... The good side. Motor works great.
Jul 11, 2012
Rating
star 		paper weight
by: Anonymous

This piece of junk ran one %$&#* season and when mowing you can't empty the bag without waiting 0.5 hrs to restart. BS engine, wont start at all now I know what BS stands for.
Oct 04, 2011
Rating
star 		bad design
by: Anonymous

1 no power drive on the level ground not mention drive up to the small slope.
2 the drive handle hurts fingers (image hold it for 1.5 hours,just to mow 7000 square ft)

3 the bag is not good , the top of edge is bend and the dust and debris just flew out.
4 It took 2 weeks for us to find and get the drive cable (finally order it at troybilt.com and this series can't be found and this part also changed number) the small part cost $20.78 plus $9.99 shipping ,put in a big box 14'x12'x6.5', why they do that? I feel it totally waste our money . now we got this part but it is impossible to fix it if you own one you will know what I mean (check your mower)this part is bury inside , still can't find the way reach it .
Jul 09, 2011
Rating
star 		Junk
by: Anonymous

Transmission went out in 2nd season!
Mar 06, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Troy-Bilt Mowers Are The Best!
by: Anonymous

I don't know what everyone is talking about. I have owned Troy-Bilt walk behind mowers for years they are fantastic products.I Have Troy-Bilt mowers from 1994 when Garden-Way Inc. owned the company plus I have Troy-Bilt mowers from 2003, 2008, and 2010 all years that MTD have owned the company.I use my Troy-Bilt mowers constantly for commercial lawn service use and I have never had any problems with any of them. I will continue to use nothing but Troy-Bilt products since they are the only products that have never let me down. All I can say to everyone else is read the manual and learn how to use them properly.
Oct 06, 2010
Rating
star 		Add me to the list!!
by: Anonymous

I was half way into cutting the grass today, when all of a sudden my 830 stopped going by itself!
After a couple hours of checking this and that, it seems that my tranny has crapped as well!! OH, and the best part, this mower is just 2 months out of warranty!!! F - MTD !!
Oct 06, 2010
Rating
star 		Piece of Crap
by: Anonymous

Troy-Bilt 830 is a piece of crap.
Oct 06, 2010
Rating
star 		Ditto on TroyBilt is JUNK!!!
by: Jerry

I purchased a series 830 self-propelled mower from Lowes in fall of 2008. In the spring of 2009, I replaced the transmission ( my fault that I did't realize the mower had a 2 year warrenty, but was not told when I purchased the mower) It had a Honda engine, so I ASSUMED it was quality. In the spring of 2010, the transmission failed again, and I checked on warrenty--was told the origonal transmission had a 2 year warrenty, but the replacement had no warrenty. NEVER AGAIN will I buy MTD procuct.
Sep 09, 2010
Rating
star 		Warranty Service is a Scam
by: Anonymous

They charge you to bring in the mower then decide if you get warranty service. If you get warranty service you get your money back. If not you pay for they service and they keep your money. The worst customer service rip off every. This is after my mower failed at less than a year.

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