How much should a solenoid cost?

Looking at an MTD yard machine, a few years old, red, 15.5 hp IC engine. Evidently solenoid is shot..has to jump from battery to starter. Looks good, even the seat.
Supposed to run and mow good. Does $200 sound OK ? How much should a solenoid cost ?
I want to set it up for road & woods..so what size pulley should I get (that will fit)..and about what should be the road speed if I put that pulley on ? Here's a pic.. hope the addy comes through.

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/grd/3153807893.html

Try lowering him down for fuel cost, and a solenoid is probably $20-$30, A friend got one for his riding lawn tractor(solenoid and key ignition for $40). And for pulley swap I would do a 1:1 Ratio(maybe a little more if you are doing road riding), If you are planning on changing the engine pulley try to get a large pulley(do the same for the trans pulley) because it will get more grip and cause the belts to not slip as much.

Thanks muich, Wildy;
Justthe information I needed..much appreciated.... Ironart

I have a couple MTD's - one stock, one i tried to mod - the stock one goes way faster then the mod one did after i put a 6" on the motor, 4" on the trans and didnt really go any faster.

The thing with the stocker is the PO fiddled with the high speed linkage to make it faster ( hooks to the shift lever) , they also messed with the neutral linkage( hooks to the clutch) - it runs about 10mph with stock pulleys BUT the brakes didnt work ( crawled instead of stopping) .

The mod i was building on the cheep - from stuff i had around - i bolted the front axle solid as high up as it would go , put some lower profile tires on the stock rear rims, bolted the seat directly to the chassis - the thing handled like a go kart , no loose steering, was stable - lower seating didnt make it top heavy.

The mod kept eating belts , due to the trans pulley being a tad higher . Eventually i needed the chassis for another tractor- so its no longer around. I suppose if i had messed with the high speed linkage i mightve gotten more out of it.

The trans pulley is knurled - a standard type pulley wont work.

MTD's transmission is in the variable pulley, not the actual trans - its a single speed ( forward, neutral, reverse) only - youll also want to clean out the old bennonite grease in the transaxle, fill it with new grease, i drilled and tapped mine for zerk fittings.

I got my solinoid for 10$ at a randome chainsaw and mower place  

go to Home depot and they have solinoids for $12

You're best off going to a napa or other parts supplier and getting one for a 70 something ford... just tell them you need a ford solenoid and it shouldnt be more than 10 bucks... and last a heck of a lot longer under load than a mower one...

Maybe re-name this topic, since its about much more than solenoids.

Bmikarts has special price now on solenoids $3.50!! Tho shipping is offcourse extra.

www.bmikarts.com/12V-Starter-Relay-Solenoid-_p_2279.html