OT---Walker Mower

Thinking about purchasing a used Walker Mower. Been considering a Walker for quite some time, but concerned about one thing.
A larger then normal percentage of used Walker mowers I have looked at, or seen advertised, have had engine problems. Many are advertised as having a rebuilt or replaced engine.
Do these mowers have a design flaw, like maybe overheating?
Yes I know there are many different brand mowers that have been repaired, mainly due to lack of maintenance, but Walker seems to have more.

I've spent many many hours on Walker Mowers when I was at my first job out of high school. My opinion on them is this. They are GREAT machines BUT if I were going to buy one for my own use at home I wouldnt buy used. They are crazy expencive new,BUT they arn't cheap to fix either. Kind of one of those things where you either pay now or pay later. The engines that were in them when I was using them were Kohlar twins. Once they would get past 1,500 hours on them their days were numberd. They eat A LOT of dust because of their location on the machine. That can't be good. Another thing you need to watch is the hydro drive pumps. When one or more gets weak they are hard to keep going in a strait line. They arnt cheap to replace. Gear boxes on the mower take a heck of a beating as well. When they start to growel they normally give out soon.. I've seen them on Craigslist and such and if they were used for commercial use I'd stay clear. There is a reason why they are getting rid of them. Probably starting to nickel and dime them and just isnt reliable anymore for their business. If a private person owned it then maybe,but all depends how picky they were with it

I have used a Walker for over 10 years with no major issues. It was purchased used and had been traded in on a Grasshopper diesel. It has the Kohler Command 20 with the side discharge deck. It does not have the bagging system.

I understand what you are finding with the well used up Walkers. They are a commercial mower and most are used hard, all day, every day, often by entry level operators. I looked for three years before I found this one. It may well outlast me. It takes an hour and forty minutes to do my mowing and it gets a leaf blower bath mostly to keep the engine fins cleaned off before it goes back in the barn.

My only design complaint is being messy to use. I'm covered with grass clippings when finished. The leaf blower takes care of that too. Probably would not be an issue with the bagging system. Parts have not been an issue and I would buy a Walker again.

I live about six miles from the factory. Never been in it.

It is the Kohler Command engines. They are not the best in the world when used hard.

I have personally bought 4 Zero turn mowers that had bad motors. They all had the Kohler Command motors on them. None of them had over 750 hours on them.

Two where broken piston rings and the other two where valve issues, one had a bad lifter the other lose valve seat in the head.

They all where sold when repaired. The only small gas engine I will keep for my own use are Kawasaki or Honda. ZERO Kohler or B&S, both are just a repair bill waiting to happen.