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I bought a Toro push mower with a two-stroke Suzuki 47PG6 engine. According so some online research I did, it was manufactured in 1987.

I don't have a model number for the mower because it was labeled with a decal at the back of the deck but the decal is gone.

It took quite a bit of messing with the fuel system (the crud in the carb was hardened ) but it now runs great. It's the most powerful push mower I've ever come across. Wet, tall grass is no problem.

It's on the heavy side -- heavier than my 1970s vintage Lawn-boy mowers. I've been using it for rugged, uneven areas. It seems to be built to take a lot of abuse.

Here's a photo (without the air filter):



If anybody else has one of these I'd like to hear from you. Does anybody know the model number (it's not self-propelled)?

I think that this engine wanted to be on a motorcycle. :cool2:

When it found itself mounted on a mower it was angry but resolved to be the most powerful lawnmower engine.

When it sees tall grass that would frighten any four-stroke mower, it tears into it with zeal.

Here's another photo with Go-Go in the background:

Update:

I've had El Toro about six weeks now. When I got it the carb was about the worst I've seen: clogged with some hardened gunk that was tough to remove. The fuel filter was clogged and I didn't have one handy so I just replaced the fuel line (no filter) and cleaned out the tank.

It ran fine for a few weeks then started surging. I cleaned the carb again and installed a fuel filter (and a fuel valve, which it didn't have for some reason).

It's running just fine again. This mower can often substitute for my walk-behind brush mower (pictured below) -- which is really nice because that thing is a 300 pound behemoth.

Love those old mowers, you have a keeper.

jamesslcx said:

Love those old mowers, you have a keeper.

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Have you had one? I'm hoping that someone else on LMF has experience with one of these.

Another Update:

I've grown to really appreciate a feature that didn't seem like much when I first got the mower. The handle has a brace (on both sides) where it attaches to the deck. This creates a "triangle" which is much stronger than a single-point attachment. So when I'm mowing on rough, uneven terrain, the mower handles much better since there's no flex between the handle and the deck. It's also much less likely to bend or break in that area.

Notice the metal brace (silver in color) connecting the handle and the deck below:

Hi Two -Stroke, the one I have is a little newer than yours with a Briggs four stroke, very similar though. These old mowers mow great and last forever! I have several newer push mowers , low end and high end and I seem to enjoy the Toro the best. Take care.

That is a cool old Toro. I may have to keep an eye out for one.

The model of your mower I believe is a 22025, with that specified engine. You may want to hold onto that in case you need parts, it will make it easier to look up. The suzuki's were the best out there, too bad the EPA doesn't like them. The engine parts for that are higher just because they don't sell the mowers with them anymore.

lakeviewpe said:

The model of your mower I believe is a 22025, with that specified engine. You may want to hold onto that in case you need parts, it will make it easier to look up. The suzuki's were the best out there, too bad the EPA doesn't like them. The engine parts for that are higher just because they don't sell the mowers with them anymore.

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Thanks for the model number, lakeviewpe. I have been able to order some basic parts (air & fuel filters) by using the engine model number.

It came up in another thread that Toro made a side-discharge mower with the Suzuki engine. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for one of those.

I also found a photo of a commercial Jacobsen with this series Suzuki engine. Do you know if any other manufacturers used these? I think the good news is that, if the engines aren't all that rare, it won't be too hard to get parts in the future.

For the last couple weekends I've used the Toro primarily for leaf pickup. It's the first time I've used the bag.

Here's what it looks like with the bag mounted.



The bagging system is very well designed. It's easy to empty -- two choices: (1) You can roll the mower to a spot where you're willing to dump the stuff and just lift the lower part of the bag. It all falls out and it a very quick operation. (2) Dismount the bag (not quite as easy as #1), then you can dump the stuff into a container.

Lucky me! I found one of these Suzuki-Toros on my local CraigsList for only $20. The only obvious problem is a broken rear wheel.

My plan is to use this one for parts but I haven't ruled out fixing it. It's a 1983 model 20581.

Here's a picture:



The bag is in great shape. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the bagging system on these mowers is excellent. Other than the broken wheel and that it's been sitting for over a year, it seems to be in pretty nice condition. It doesn't look like it's been out in the weather as much as my other one.

WOW! I would fix it!

jamesslcx said:

WOW! I would fix it!

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I may end up doing that. The wheel (really two wheels need to be replaced) is expensive if I go with matching, original equipment -- but if I'm willing to settle for something that just fits and works but looks a little different, I can do it for about a third of the cost. I'm not sure about that yet, however.

Another thing that was great about this find is that the seller was only about 15 minutes from my house. The usual scenario is driving all the way to outer-suburbia.

Here's another photo of my newest El Toro.

Fix it! A bit of TLC and she'd be a great mower :smile:

Remember - We want Before & After pictures! :wink:

That mower looks in great shape for its age( wish I could say the same for me)! Either way you go it was a great deal. Fixing mowers is a enjoyable and relatively inexpensive hobby, I think it is good stress relief for me.

I am a huge Toro fan. The mower you have looks like a 20581. If you go to toro.com, you can look up parts and identify mowers. I have 2 Suzuki 4 cycle, self propelled w/blade brake. They are better than my Super Recycler I bought new.

podor said:

I am a huge Toro fan. The mower you have looks like a 20581. If you go to toro.com, you can look up parts and identify mowers. I have 2 Suzuki 4 cycle, self propelled w/blade brake. They are better than my Super Recycler I bought new.

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The mower shown in posts #11 and #13 is a 1983 model 20581. The other mower that I have is similar but newer (1987) -- I have the engine model number but not the model number for the mower.

I'm curious about the four-cycle Suzuki-Toro. Is it overhead valve? Could you post some pictures?

Never mind about the question about the four-cycle Suzuki -- I just read the "swapping decks" thread and that answered my question. :biggrin:

Here's a pic of one of my toro commercial two strokes w/o air filter. Very dirty. Has been sitting outside in limbo til I brought it in today and got her running.

Parkmower said:

Here's a pic of one of my toro commercial two strokes w/o air filter. Very dirty. Has been sitting outside in limbo til I brought it in today and got her running.

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I like the deck -- I've been keeping my eye out for one like that -- with a side discharge. The two I have are both rear-baggers.

What is that shiny metal thing over the spark plug? Is it meant to protect the plug?

I responded to your PM regarding who made the engine - I'm pretty sure it's Suzuki.

Two-Stroke said:

I like the deck -- I've been keeping my eye out for one like that -- with a side discharge. The two I have are both rear-baggers.

What is that shiny metal thing over the spark plug? Is it meant to protect the plug?

I responded to your PM regarding who made the engine - I'm pretty sure it's Suzuki.

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Yeah it protects the plug, the lower end bolts to the head. Kinda makes it a pain when taking the plug out.

here are a pair of 4 strokes i have been working on, run like a champ. also a 824 snow thrower that i acquired. Snow blower must have come from Canada (it has both French & English labels)

I found this astonishing ad on CraigsList. It's the commercial version of the Suzuki-Toros that I have. It's in like-new condition but here's the kicker... asking price: $1200. I didn't add a zero by mistake.

Of course, an asking price can be anything that the seller cares to make up and it doesn't mean anything until a real buyer with real cash comes along.

Here's a photo. Notice the huge air filter box and gas tank.

It looks to be in fantastic shape. But still over priced. Those air filter boxes are like $80. I need two.

Parkmower said:

It looks to be in fantastic shape. But still over priced. Those air filter boxes are like $80. I need two.

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Do you know what this $1200 mower sold for new?

Do the air filter boxes crack where they mount to the carb and the engine? I can imagine how that might happen. The box on my consumer version of the mower seems large but it's nowhere near the size of the commercial.

No idea of mower cost new. It looks to have the bad gas tank set up too. The tank sits on a piece of steel flat stock that mounts to the deck. The prob is the bolt threads into molded plastic threads on the bottom of the tank. Very easy to break these molded threads with a few bumps. New gas tanks are also in the $50 plus range.

My dad got his 1990 model like yours for like $650. and if i remember right the commercial was $750. its been a long time though. The one like yours is tough as a boot! A lot of fun to run!

turfboy1997 said:

My dad got his 1990 model like yours for like $650. and if i remember right the commercial was $750. its been a long time though. The one like yours is tough as a boot! A lot of fun to run!

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Thanks for your input. Those numbers are higher than I would have thought.

They are very powerful, tough machines and a real bargain if you can pick up a fixable used one for under $50.

i'm pretty sure that was the right price because my grandpa had the 4 stroke version and his was $550. the 4 strokes were always $100 or so cheaper. Both were great machines and performed the exact same except i love the suzuki! It can only be described as raw power! mowed wet grass mowed extremely tall grass and never bogged once!