Repairs John Deere LTR180 - Maintenance Nightmare

I had an LTR180 too & never had any drama with it for c. 800hrs+ - until my son seized the motor, by running it without oil after he forgot to refill post oil draining/"change" - I reckon it would have lasted to least 2000-2500hrs before any major component change out/repair & the tranny is still giving great service behind a 25hp motor in a much abused home built self propelled tipper/spray rig/water pump.

As for your belt consumption, labour & pricing it seems way over the top, sounds to me like:-
1. The dealer is charging a premium professional rate for a sub standard service which has failed to rectify a unique preexisting condtion on you mower (like maladjusted deck or pulley alignment)
or
2. You may be cutting extremely tall grass at too low a setting with a big deck & the torque of the motor is chewing the belts out rather than stalling

My advice would be to invest in a technical workshop manual & do the work yourself (no maintenance on a rider is by any stretch of the imagination hard & given your dealer experience to date at best you'll fix it, at worst your mower will be no worse off) what you'll save in downtime, transporting the machine to the dealer, dealer labour costs & exhorbitant parts pricing you can put towards a new rider if its required .

In GT's & conventional riders JD's are the weapon of choice in my area & all of us do our own maintenance repairs as the dealers are too distant- though interesting none of us choose to run JD tractors on our farms so we can't be considered "green" biased . As for zero turns the jury is still out on the best residential brands & personnally I wouldn't considered any ZT below a commercial grade machine.

As a comparative, I purchased s/h a LT155 38" cut with c.150hours on the clock 4 years ago & it now has just over 1050hrs so it gets used quite a bit !!! Predominately on cutting 3acres of lawn (my lawn = tamed naturally paddock grass & cut dry, wet or frosty ) & occasionally hauling a lightly loaded JD trailer with filled with mulch, or plants & garden tools) - after these hours no rust anywhere, engine has never been touched (apart from prescribed valve adjustment) & runs as new, the tuff torque tranny runs as new, belts & spindles are original, in fact no component has needed to be replaced through wear - all in what can best be described as a mostly harsh hot dusty & highly mineralised salty environment - though I am fairly meticulous in maintenance ( refer my post on best JD mower for details)

bpjw64 said:

Hey Jhon thanks for your reply, I may have not made myself very clear when I put together this post. When I list the belts replaced by year, I mean to say that the costs by year includes not only the belt price but also the installation costs the JD dealer charged me to replace the belts.

Why so many belts? I am as baffled as you as to why the belts need replacing so often with mine, I made the assumption that my experience was normal maintenance for a riding mower up to about 2009. This JD was my first experience with a rider. In earlier homes we've owned we always had smaller yards, where just a push mower was satisfactory. So when we bought this home in the country and with it a larger yard I'm thinking we'll these maintenance costs are bit high but without any previous experience with any riding mower I assumed "welcome to the big leagues" .

So what I am getting from some of you is that my maintenance costs are excessive compared to your experience.

Around 2009 I began to get a clue something wasn't right, my neighbor has a Dixon ZTR, which I understand is a Husqvarna re-branded. And he said Brad, I know your proud of your John Deere but, your costs to maintain this thing seems out of control. :confused2: By this time I fully concurred with him. My neighbor has had a mere fraction of the belt replacements that I have had and his mower was a year older than mine, and he has a larger yard to mow 3 acres vs. my 1.5. He's only had it into the shop twice for deck belts. Perhaps though comparing the ZTR's against my traditional rider is comparing Apples to Oranges. But at this point I'm pretty envious of his Dixon ZTR. :licking:

Have any other John Deere owners experienced the problems I've had. I really don't know, or was my situation just due to a horribly bad mower design.

I had even wondered whether my frame on my JD was somehow out of square at the factory, or racked in some fashion so that when fully assembled that the tolerances are way out of whack, and could this be responsible for excessive maintenance costs, along with excessive belt wear. It's not just one belt but all three belts on this LTR180 have been replaced way to often in my way of thinking.

I'd really like to hear from some John Deere folks, although I do appreciate any insightful posts regarding your maintenance experiences with your riders.

Thanks, Brad

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I own a JD X140 with no belt problems. What important is regular tension checks. Then blade overloading causing belt slip and overheating will shorten belt life tremendously. It will be worth your while to check it

Regards PJ

ham said:

This seems like a thread created to damage John Deere....or sadly...the thread is headed by a very mentally challenged individual. The belt drive runs 67$ and takes make about 5 minutes to change, and unless you are doing a great deal of mowing should last over 3 years. Having John Deere do these repairs is just plain dumb.....unless you have money to burn....and some people do. If I had money to burn I would do it that way. Then you can stand there and hob nob with the John Deere boys and feel part of the team. I think this is a planted thread.

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Wow, thanks for your post Ham. I am not sure why you felt the need to challenge my integrity but you are entitled to your opinion. This is not a conspiracy against John Deere, and it is not a planted thread, it is just one mans experience with a 10 year old John Deere LTR-180 mower. Man lighten up. I'm thinking you failed to read my post entirely if you had you would have noted that the cost for running the mower by year was for both Labor and Parts. So I'm not sure what your point was by stating the drive belt runs $67. The drive belt on this LTR-180 mower does not take 5 minutes to change.

But I do cede to what I am assuming is your overall point in your post that perhaps I should have been doing repairs myself. But alas, I chose to take it to the local John Deere dealer and I paid the price. Besides how could I do the repairs myself since I am mentally challenged. :laughing:

Still the John Deere shop time to change the drive belt otherwise known as the Primary Belt is 1.75 hours, the drive belt is the belt which goes back to the transmission. The 42-inch Freedom deck must be dropped in order to replace the drive belt, in addition the entire grass catcher mounting frame apparatus must be removed in order to complete the installation of the drive belt as one of the belt spindles is attached to the back of the mounting frame itself. Perhaps you meant the deck belt when you replied to this post, but even that does not take 5 minutes in any universe. There are 3 belts on this mower, the Primary Belt otherwise referred to as a drive belt and it goes back to the Hydro-Static transmission. The secondary belt otherwise noted as the deck belt, and finally the Blade Timing belt. But I think your point to your post was I could have saved myself a ton of money doing the repairs myself, and I would definitely agree.

It does not change the fact this mower is a design nightmare. I have spoken with the mechanics at the local John Deere dealer in Chico, CA which is part of a chain of dealers in Northern California, called Valley Tractor and their opinion is this mower was flawed from the start.

But, I did retire this mower due to the cost of repairs. I am very certain that not all John Deere mowers are design nightmares. I am also sure there are many John Deere mowers which are gems of machines. So bottom line I had a bad experience and thus my subjective opinion due to my negative experiences with this mower. Is this an indictment of all John Deere products, hardly. In any event it was my experience whether you believe it or not that is for you to decide. Is my experience typical, probably not could I have saved money doing the repairs myself, no doubt. Oh well, I've moved on.

On the bright side, I did get my Zero-Turn mower, I settled on an American made Hustler FasTrak with a 48-inch deck and I love it. It has cut my mowing time down to half what the traditional JD rider took me, and the best part it's fun.

I did order a Service Repair Manual and I am determined to not rely on the local Hustler dealer for any repairs and maintenance. Even mentally challenged people can learn from their mistakes. :licking:

This mower is a breeze to maintain, access is so simple to get to the belts and I am certain I have made a good choice. Ease of maintenance and is one of the primary reasons I chose to go with this American Made Mower, The Hustler FasTrak

Have a great day, Brad

bpjw64 said:

Hi all, I am new to this forum.

I have had a John Deere LTR180, I bought it new in Fall of 2002. I bought the name John Deere as I felt they were legendary equipment. I paid $4,000 and this mower seemed a good performer until around 2006 when things started getting out of control. So let me provide the maintenance by year.

From 2002 - 2005 I spent $555 less the Mulching, as this is an accessory item.

2003 - Mulching Kit & Blades - $135
2004 - Deck Belt - $185
2005 - Drive Belt - $325

From 2007 - 2011 I spent $1700.

2007 - Drive Belt, Deck Belt - $390
2008 - Deck Timing Belt (syncro) - $220
2009 - Drive Belt, Deck Belt - $390
2011 - Deck Timing Belt (syncro) plus all grooved spindles. - $355
2012 - Drive Belt - $325

I have had no issues with the 17 HP Kawasaki engine nor the transmission. I realize that maintenance is going to cost especially if you have the dealer do it. I have always done the other maintenance, oil & filter changes yearly, lubed the Zerk points every season, new spark plug & air filter annually, I blow off the dust and debris with air from the compressor after nearly every use, so I feel it has had good care.

I mow my 1.5 acre grass parcel from about May to Sept each season. I bought a mulch kit after the 1st season because the through the center grass throwing/bagging system was pretty much non-functional due to constant shoot clogging problems.

So here I am at the start of the 2012 season and I don't know what to do with this machine. My wife tells me to just give the LTR180 away and go get anything else but not a John Deere this time around. The parts cost and maintenance service problems I have experienced seem excessive. For instance a set of two mulching blades for this machine are $65 from the local Deere dealer.

I understand belts are going to wear out, spindles need replacing etc;, but it seems to me that I have had some excessive repairs on this machine over the last 5 years.

The local John Deere dealer service people tell me that this machine was one of the worst designed messes they have ever seen and thus the excessive labor costs in doing these repairs. They have been unable to tell me though why I have had to replace the drive belt 3 times in 5 years. Sorry I am probably ranting but what I would like to know. Did I just get a lemon of a mower, or is my experience not all that uncommon. Perhaps I am complaining for nothing are these maintenance intervals and their associated costs normal for the load I am placing on this machine. I mow my 1.5 acres about every 10 days in the summer. Unfortunately I do not have an hour meter on this machine. But at the beginning of the 2012 mowing season I have been through 9 full seasons, 2012 beginning the 10th. At this point I am debating about whether or not I should spend another dime on this machine.

Should I just cut my losses and get a new machine, any insight would be appreciated. Perhaps my 1.5 acres flat lawn is too much load for this machine I don't know.

If the advice is to dump this machine, what John Deere mower has a good track record. The dealer here bad mouths most of the Home Depot John Deere machines, so I am assuming I ought to look to the local JD dealer.

Thanks in advance for your advice. I hesitated to post my experience in this forum as I am assuming most here are really pleased with the John Deere name and quality, but here I am looking for your guidance.

Brad

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Hi
Reading all the mails on your problem you made a step in the correct direction by adding a 2nd mower to your current set-up. Making a comparrison between your 1.5 acres my lawn is about 35% of that. I would like to see what the recomended acres would be for the LTR. I personaly say that heat is the cause of belt failure. OK best of luck with your problem. Maybe the two mowers would be the solution of the problem
Regards
PJ

PJ said:

Hi
Reading all the mails on your problem you made a step in the correct direction by adding a 2nd mower to your current set-up. Making a comparrison between your 1.5 acres my lawn is about 35% of that. I would like to see what the recomended acres would be for the LTR. I personaly say that heat is the cause of belt failure. OK best of luck with your problem. Maybe the two mowers would be the solution of the problem
Regards
PJ

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Hi PJ,

Thanks for your reply, you could be right about the heat. It's hot here in NorCal, June - August temps are well over a hundred and several times during these months it will often hit 108 - 114.

In any event I have decided to turn the JD into utility tractor leaving my small 5 foot yard trailer hooked up all the time. I will then take the mowing deck off completely. This will effectively eliminate two belts right there, the blade timing belt and the deck belt, leaving only the Primary belt that goes to the tranny.

With this plan I hope to stretch many more years of utility out of this JD since I paid $4,000 for this mower in 2002. The Kawasaki engine runs strong and the Hydro-Static tranny seems to be rock solid.

In any event thanks to everyone who responded to my post.

Brad

bpjw64 said:

Hi PJ,

Thanks for your reply, you could be right about the heat. It's hot here in NorCal, June - August temps are well over a hundred and several times during these months it will often hit 108 - 114.

In any event I have decided to turn the JD into utility tractor leaving my small 5 foot yard trailer hooked up all the time. I will then take the mowing deck off completely. This will effectively eliminate two belts right there, the blade timing belt and the deck belt, leaving only the Primary belt that goes to the tranny.

With this plan I hope to stretch many more years of utility out of this JD since I paid $4,000 for this mower in 2002. The Kawasaki engine runs strong and the Hydro-Static tranny seems to be rock solid.

In any event thanks to everyone who responded to my post.

Brad

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OK Brad keep well and keep in contact. In our area we are now heading mid winter I want to remove my x140's deck for service. Got a bit of rust to remove and repaint. All the leaves are now of the trees and leaf succing now done now servicing and prepairing for spring is now next steps

Regards
PJ

Brad good luck with the ZTR, I think you will be amazed at the time savings, My 1st ZTR (Snapper)went 12 years on the deck belt before I replaced it, and even then I was not sure I needed to! I have a brother in law that tells similiar stories to yours regarding every lawn tractor he buys... a year or so ago while over for a family get together, I noticed how tall his grass was, he said yeah he had not gotten around to replace the belts yet... I said, wait I thought you just bought it!! he said yes but can't seem to find one that does not eat belts!! So I helped him replace his belts, I dont remember the mower brand but it had a vtwin and hydro and a 50 inch deck... So he fired it up and started mowing and I immediately understood why he had so many belt issues!! He had the deck at the lowest it could go and proceeded to try and mow grass that was 12 inches or higher!

Needless to say I stopped him and explained things to him!! I dont know how well he has done since due to the fact he has proven highly resistant to training!!

By the way until I had seen him mow with his mower... I was convinced I was never going to buy a 2 bladed mower due the fact I had met so many people with such poor experiences with the belts. I was convinced the number of blades had something to do with it... my snapper only had a 33 inch deck, and only 1 blade... so I thought the lonegevity of the belts was related... I now believe short of a bad deck design, trying to force the deck to cut grass that is way too tall for it has to be the number 1 culprit much like others have stated. (which by the way does not explain why you went through so many drive belts...)

I registered with this site just to urgently respond to the this thread in the defence of the great john deere LTR180.
i have a John Deere LTR180 for the past 6 years with hardly no trouble at all. Timing belt was changed once as kids left a long chain on the grass and I drove over it and as the timimg belt is designed to snap under high pressure, this was my own fault. the main drive belt I changed last year as it was getting worn but had not snapped.
I have had other ride ons before but this is by far the best machine I have ever had.
I can't believe you are having so much trouble with belts, but here are a few things that damage belts.
1. Grass very high putting all belts under pressure.
2. Bumpy / rough ground
3. Stone's / rocks
4. Cornering at full speed while machine is under pressure cutting.

Also as for not being able to bag the grass, I bag my grass all the time. As with most machines over time the revs do drop and this nees to be adjusted giving you enough power to blow the grass up the shoot. My engine revs have been adjusted twice in 6 years.

don't buy a different machine, find out what is wrong

Hope this helps

Padraig

Brad totally agree with your experience. Good to know that it's not me........
Do about 2acres and have to bag otherwise the grandchildren, dogs, cats etc bring the cuttings into house. Bought mine in 2001 and in all replaced 6 deck belts, 3 timing belts one drive belt (so I am not that hard on it!) and rebuild the hydraulics once(thank you the lotsofgrass postings). All in all very heavy maintenance and prices here are higher then where you are: new deck belt last friday €95 (about $130!!!).
What is dramatic with JD not only do they make sure you keep coming back but when looking for a new machine they proposed their new X300R with turbine technology to stop clogging. Quick look around for second X300R and they are reasonable (too) at halve of new price with 100 to 200hrs on their clocks.....curious. So a visit to Deere.com: customer comments best summed up by "$4000 mistake". They clog on any damp cuttings and their turbine that "blowing "the cutting up the shoot is made of plastic; so after a few sticks not much left of it. Does your "lemon law" legislation work for mowers?
Any case Brad your comments solved for me one problem: wear of the toothed wheels of the timing belt.
For sometime (3years) my blades loose their timing once to twice a year. Had noticed that the tensioner bottomed out before the needed tension was achieved. Put this down belt stretch. Now with a new belt same problem, conclusion the toothed wheel are worn to the point of needing a 1" shorter belt to get the required tension!!! Of to my favourite shop to buy 6 toothed wheels. I don't whether to take out a second mortgage before or after..........

Roel

Hellem said:

Brad totally agree with your experience. Good to know that it's not me........
Do about 2acres and have to bag otherwise the grandchildren, dogs, cats etc bring the cuttings into house. Bought mine in 2001 and in all replaced 6 deck belts, 3 timing belts one drive belt (so I am not that hard on it!) and rebuild the hydraulics once(thank you the lotsofgrass postings). All in all very heavy maintenance and prices here are higher then where you are: new deck belt last friday €95 (about $130!!!).
What is dramatic with JD not only do they make sure you keep coming back but when looking for a new machine they proposed their new X300R with turbine technology to stop clogging. Quick look around for second X300R and they are reasonable (too) at halve of new price with 100 to 200hrs on their clocks.....curious. So a visit to Deere.com: customer comments best summed up by "$4000 mistake". They clog on any damp cuttings and their turbine that "blowing "the cutting up the shoot is made of plastic; so after a few sticks not much left of it. Does your "lemon law" legislation work for mowers?
Any case Brad your comments solved for me one problem: wear of the toothed wheels of the timing belt.
For sometime (3years) my blades loose their timing once to twice a year. Had noticed that the tensioner bottomed out before the needed tension was achieved. Put this down belt stretch. Now with a new belt same problem, conclusion the toothed wheel are worn to the point of needing a 1" shorter belt to get the required tension!!! Of to my favourite shop to buy 6 toothed wheels. I don't whether to take out a second mortgage before or after..........

Roel

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Hi Roel,

Thanks for your reply...I knew my experience was not atypical. I spent a lot of money on this JD mower and even the dealers Service Manager had nothing positive to say about the LTR-180. What could he say, I saw him so often well I was like family. :laughing:

That was an interesting post about the X300R, and I am not sure about the Lemon law for mowers, I do know most State Lemon laws do not cover Riding Mowers, I think the intent towards the law was geared more toward automobiles. However I think, the federal lemon law cover virtually all consumer products although I have never really looked into it, and I certainly do not have the expertise in this area.

Your absolutely right regarding the Deck Blade timing belt, otherwise known as the syncro belt, I experienced the same problem with the belt jumping.

Seriously and unfortunately, it did sour my view of JD. I'm not knocking the company, it is what it is. Besides my wife would have not been happy with me, after all the moaning and complaining I did about this JD mower. So when I went to look for replacement mower I didn't even consider a JD, despite the fact that there are no doubt many good JD mowers I might have considered. The Green and Yellow were not going to be mowing my yard again.

On the upside, I found my dream mower a 2011 Hustler Fastrak with a 48" Deck and a Honda motor. I'm into my second season with 52 hours so far. The design is simple, rugged, and durable. I've sharpened the blades twice, changed the oil twice, lubed the zirk fittings, I use my leaf blower to clean off all the dust each mowing. I also keep the grass build up from the underneath side of the mower deck, this is the only criticism I have for this particular mower is grass builds up on the underneath side and reduces the efficiency of the mow, but I guess this is a problem with many mowers and it is more of a maintenance issue. One thing I did start since this was a brand new machine is to use a good gas additive. In the states we must endure the adding of a horrible corn based product called Ethanol, which many, many, service people who work on small engines feel Ethanol is damaging small engines. To offset this I have chosen to use a product called Mix-I-Go Small Engine Formula, made by Bell Performance, the people here really believe in the product. You mix it with your gas at prescribed levels and it counters this junk gas being delivered to California gas stations today. Hustler Mowers are built in the states by a company called Excel Industries in Hesston, Kansas. I really feel the company takes real pride in their products and their innovation and design in the Zero-turn mower is well known here.

All I know is that it is totally fun to mow again, and I truly anticipate having lower maintenance and service costs. Much of this reduction will be attributed to my doing the repairs and maintenance myself. It's not rocket science working on a mower, so if you can follow directions and have a willing spirit then I think most people can do it.

Bottom line JD service is not getting any more of my hard earned dollars. If you are ever in the market for another mower take a gander at them, I think you might be impressed, of course there is so much completion in the industry that I feel, because of that many companies are stepping up there game to compete for shrinking dollars, or Euros in your case .

In France to see Hustlers you might start here:

Hustler, tondeuses à gazon et tondeuses autoportées.

Thanks again Roel for posting.

Take care, Brad