John Deere Owner Check-In --- Read This First!

[ted k]

New member, own a G110 2005, 25 kohler 54'' deck. i cut approx 2.5 acres. 380 hrs on machine, so far its been very reliable. 1 pulley replaced 2 yrs ago, came flying out of the upper deck, got lucky belt didnt get trashed, scared the crap out of me!

 

[Howdy Doody]

Hi everyone, I am not new to this forum, but I am about to be the new owner of a D125 rider. I wish I had more property to mow, but only have a 1/2 acre so this is all I really need. This is my first brand new rider and I have also owned a Poulan and an Ariens before buying this one. I am looking forward to lots of hours on this mower and will upload some pictures and details on how I like the mower.

 

[Hammerdown]

Hi everyone, I am not new to this forum, but I am about to be the new owner of a D125 rider. I wish I had more property to mow, but only have a 1/2 acre so this is all I really need. This is my first brand new rider and I have also owned a Poulan and an Ariens before buying this one. I am looking forward to lots of hours on this mower and will upload some pictures and details on how I like the mower.

Hello Howdy Doody
That Model and some other close to it have been Having issues of the Transaxle going out of them. I am Not sure if John Deere has corrected the Ill Transaxle issues but I would question a John Deere dealership before Purchasing one. If you are buying it from one of the Big Box stores as Home Depot or Lowes they will not have a clue about this issue Nor do they do any of the warranty or service work on the John Deere's that they sell, it all Subed out to local repair shops. I am Not trying to rain on your parade here as eveyone should get a new Tractor in their life time, But I am trying to make you aware of Issue they have had with that Tractor. The John Deere dealer ship Tractors that they sell are NOT The same as the One offered at Home Depot ot Lowes. The One sold through a John Deere dealer are more heavy duty than the Lowes or Home Depot Tractors. Both Lowes and Home Depot buy in volume so they take a Much Less heavy duty machine to set out in front of their stores. Don't let the John Deere Green & Yellow paint fool you as you can get BIT buying from Home Depot Or Lowes. I work on lawn & garden Tractor's all of the time and my Buddy who has a Lawn & Garden Tractor scrap Yard has at least 15 of those Lowes or Home Depot tractor's in his Yard all with Transmissions that Have Exploded and no one seems to have a good Transmission for these Tractors as they have had so many issues with them. If it was me, spending my Hard earned money on a John Deere Tractor I would go to a John Deere dealership and ask what they would suggest that you buy. They have a credit line like Home Depot or Lowes and I would be willing to bet that their Interest Rate is lower and you will get a Much High quality Tractor. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

 

[PJ]

Hello all; Not usually a poster to forums, just a lurker trying to glean from knowledgeable users in hopes of getting repair info. I work in television but my hobby is lawn equipment repair and use. I also cut several yards in my neighborhood for extra spending cash. Started working on my own Snapper RER. After getting comfortable with working on it I started flipping mowers found on CL. Then a couple of weeks ago this JD X300 shows up on CL for $100; sold as parts machine. When I inquired why parts he told me he parked it last year when he couldn't get the mower's pto to work with the switch. The mower has been out in the elements since new in 2008 so I expected there would be issues with it since I couldn't get it started at the sellers house. But I now have it running after MUCH studying of the Tech manual and trouble shooting wiring issues. I'm on a quest to get this machine 100% operational while trying to keep the spend on the down low. Therefore I don't like to throw shotgun purchases of parts trying to get things fixed. So I'll be posting a question regarding the PTO issue I'm having shortly. Thanks for a great forum and for everyone willing to help others with the passion to make things work as they should. Randy

Hi

You will find this refurbishment project like a walk in the park provided you have a reputable parts supplier. You can get all the Maintenance manuals and owners manuals from your dealer or they can order it for you. Have you seen the operating hours on the machine?

Good luck with your project


Warm regards

PJ

 

[Howdy Doody]

Hello Howdy Doody
That Model and some other close to it have been Having issues of the Transaxle going out of them. I am Not sure if John Deere has corrected the Ill Transaxle issues but I would question a John Deere dealership before Purchasing one. If you are buying it from one of the Big Box stores as Home Depot or Lowes they will not have a clue about this issue Nor do they do any of the warranty or service work on the John Deere's that they sell, it all Subed out to local repair shops. I am Not trying to rain on your parade here as eveyone should get a new Tractor in their life time, But I am trying to make you aware of Issue they have had with that Tractor. The John Deere dealer ship Tractors that they sell are NOT The same as the One offered at Home Depot ot Lowes. The One sold through a John Deere dealer are more heavy duty than the Lowes or Home Depot Tractors. Both Lowes and Home Depot buy in volume so they take a Much Less heavy duty machine to set out in front of their stores. Don't let the John Deere Green & Yellow paint fool you as you can get BIT buying from Home Depot Or Lowes. I work on lawn & garden Tractor's all of the time and my Buddy who has a Lawn & Garden Tractor scrap Yard has at least 15 of those Lowes or Home Depot tractor's in his Yard all with Transmissions that Have Exploded and no one seems to have a good Transmission for these Tractors as they have had so many issues with them. If it was me, spending my Hard earned money on a John Deere Tractor I would go to a John Deere dealership and ask what they would suggest that you buy. They have a credit line like Home Depot or Lowes and I would be willing to bet that their Interest Rate is lower and you will get a Much High quality Tractor. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

Hammer - First of all let me preface by saying that I am buying this D125 from a dealer and not a big box store. I also know for a fact that the D125 I am buying from the dealer is exactly the same one that you can buy at a big box store and neither is more heavy duty than the other. The reason I purchased from the dealer versus a big box store is after the sale service. I have not heard of any issues with the Tuff Torque transmission, where did you get this information? Now, if you told that your buddies mower "grave yard" of mowers had lots of D105's or past entry level "price-point" units I would believe that. I asked my dealer if the rumor was true that the entry level D100 and now the D105's had transmissions made out of plastic and that even the gears in these low end units and he said yes, it was true. He was not happy about it, but not much he could do about it except to steer people away from these units. Another thing my dealer has done that I think is admirable is he has never pressured me into buying a more expensive dealer only X300. He asked me how much I was going to mow (1/2 acre flat residential) and he felt that what I was buying was adequate. He was also up front and told me that with proper PM, this mower would last me 7-10 years, maybe more. I know people locally that are diligent with their PM and they have almost 1000 hours of pasture mowing with these line of mowers. If we are going to be honest here, all mowers regardless of brand will need some type of repairs sooner or later.

 

[PJ]

I do not and have not come across any transaxle problems all I can say look after your JD mower and it will look after you

Warm regards

PJ

 

[Howdy Doody]

I do not and have not come across any transaxle problems all I can say look after your JD mower and it will look after you

Warm regards

PJ

I could not agree more!

 

[BobBad]

Hi, I am the owner of John Deere 14SB walk behind mower. I purchased this mower in 1992 when my family moved from a two acre yard to a subdivision. I sold my Cub Cadet and bought the John Deere. I think I paid about $700 for it. I've had few problems over the years with the 14SB. Last year I replaced the wheels and the rear bag. The deck is starting to corrode but, I can't seem to part with her. I hope to keep the mower going with a little help from the forum.

Bob

 

[MickG]

Hi, Have a JD 318 1988, with its original P218 Onan, strong ferocious beast, and a trusty R72, that I bought for scrap, the 318 nobody wanted, "too much work!" it was sitting neglected and forlorn, with its deck and a type 49 snow thrower, I could not pass up such a fine machine, work always rewards. Now they say I "got a good deal", its always that way! they just gawk at the 318 now!, the R72 was a non runner and headed to the recycler I payed the scrap value and had it up and running that day! a little more attention to few problems and now its a good little machine

 

[ridesno4llfe]

Hey picked up my first JD last week. Just a little d105 but it works great for my .5 acres.