I purchased the tiller at Lowe's and on the third use the nuts to three of the four bolts holding the motor on the frame vibrated loose. The tiller motor literally spun off the frame and was held by one bolt when making a turn at the end of a row. Subsequent inspection of other tillers at Lowe's proved the nuts did not have lock washers to properly secure the motor to the frame.

The motor spinning off the frame also damaged the carburetor and caused the belt to jump the drive pulley. I replaced the bolts and used nuts with nylon inserts to lock the motor back to the frame. The carburetor will required repair and the belt will not fit back on the drive pulley since it will not fit between the pulley wheel and frame of the tiller. Further disassembly will be required. Hence, I returned the machine to Lowe's for warranty repair.

The design of the machine does not allow for easy servicing of the drive belt, and the assembly hardware was cheap due to the lack of proper motor fasteners.

Another design flaw is the tiller will not free-wheel unless you pull the pins and keys on the axles, remove the wheel, and reverse the wheels. Not particularly a handy design at all.

The machine will till fine in sandy soil, but is difficult to control in hard or rocky soil. The counter-rotation is not necessarily a good feature on a small tiller that should be used for a very small garden or for cultivating.

Overall satisfaction with this product is poor at best. I have an 8 HP Troy-Bilt (built before MTD bought out Troy-Bilt and changed quality) that is over 18 years old and it is one fine machine. I'm very disappointed in the features, performance, servicability, and design of the small 4.0 HP Tuffy that I purchased at Lowe's. The only positive is that Lowe's has stood behind the product and is performing the warranty work.

Please inspect the quality of assembly and all hardware prior to taking one of these machines home. I wish I'd have conducted a more thorough inspection.

I'll be looking for an alternative to this tiller and will purchase something different whenever I identify a quality product. The Troy-bilt will be for sale soon!

Recommended: No