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

[BillyP]

Welcome!

 

[Magnafique]

Howdy,

My name is Tom and I am helping a widow that goes to our church with her mower. It is a John Deere F725 with 722 hours on it. It has been maintained by a local John Deere dealer but recently they haven't be able to repair it and won't return her calls. This elderly lady lives on 5 acres, raises chickens, chops wood and mows a lot.

Here are the symptoms. After warming up the mower and mowing for a few minutes, occasionally a blast of blue smoke is emitted from the exhaust. It then disappears and then intermittently emits blue smoke quickly. The mower continues to run great and cut great? The NGK BMR6A plugs looked pretty carboned up. I clean them and checked the gap and them mowed for about one hour. Any one have an idea on this?

Thanks much, Tom

 

[ridesno4llfe]

Howdy,

My name is Tom and I am helping a widow that goes to our church with her mower. It is a John Deere F725 with 722 hours on it. It has been maintained by a local John Deere dealer but recently they haven't be able to repair it and won't return her calls. This elderly lady lives on 5 acres, raises chickens, chops wood and mows a lot.

Here are the symptoms. After warming up the mower and mowing for a few minutes, occasionally a blast of blue smoke is emitted from the exhaust. It then disappears and then intermittently emits blue smoke quickly. The mower continues to run great and cut great? The NGK BMR6A plugs looked pretty carboned up. I clean them and checked the gap and them mowed for about one hour. Any one have an idea on this?

Thanks much, Tom

Blue smoke means you have some oil getting into the combustion chamber. It could be making past the piston rings which usually requires a rebuild or the crank case breather is letting too much oil into the intake. This usually is caused by a damaged or missing filter or check valve. Id start by checking the carb and intake for oil residue.

 

[Magnafique]

Blue smoke means you have some oil getting into the combustion chamber. It could be making past the piston rings which usually requires a rebuild or the crank case breather is letting too much oil into the intake. This usually is caused by a damaged or missing filter or check valve. Id start by checking the carb and intake for oil residue.

Thanks much I will locate the crank case breather and remove the filter or check valve and replace or clean. Thanks for a good place to start. Where can I locate the crankcase breather on this engine? Thanks much

Tom

 

[garbhead]

Hello Everyone...love Forums..usually hands-on info lots more valuable than trying to read a manual.
Have always owned cheap-brand mowers and usually spend a lot more time working on them than using them. Recently took a chance bought a LX172 cheap w/38" deck 5-speed(wouldn't start and had bad tires & typical broken hood)...replaced anti-backfire valve and started right up. Bought new tires (pricey) and mows better than any other mower I've had. Need help de-coding the build date...serial #MOL172x075482...thanks in advance

 

[Howdy Doody]

Hello Everyone...love Forums..usually hands-on info lots more valuable than trying to read a manual.
Have always owned cheap-brand mowers and usually spend a lot more time working on them than using them. Recently took a chance bought a LX172 cheap w/38" deck 5-speed(wouldn't start and had bad tires & typical broken hood)...replaced anti-backfire valve and started right up. Bought new tires (pricey) and mows better than any other mower I've had. Need help de-coding the build date...serial #MOL172x075482...thanks in advance

According to my dealer it is a 1993 model.

 

[gdavid1949]

I've had an LT155 purchased used for 8 or 9 yrs. Put a Freedom Mulch 42 on it 5 yrs ago. I loved that Freedom mulch. Had to replace timing belt twice cause I wasn't paying attention. First time I replaced it I asked parts guy at dealership how to do it. He copied pages out of manual and gave to me. As the LT155 was wearing thin I started looking for a new mower. I had decided on a Cub LTX1040 KW, same engine and transaxle as an X300. Drove by the JD dealer so I thought I'd look at what they had. Salesman showed me a 2013 new X310, gave me the keys to try it. I love that power steering. Called the salesman back and bought it. Got it for a good price and 0% finance. That eased the pain of passing on the much lesser priced Cub. JD bagger works very well. Only time I've plugged it was not paying attention to the bagger full indicator. I had a Craftsman with a bagger before the LT155 and it always plugged and the bagger full indicator just never worked well. I don't like things that don't work like they're supposed to. One neighbor has had his X310 for 3 years and he's happy, other neighbor has D110 for a year and he's still happy. All of us have had contact with the local JD dealer and are satisfied with the level of service. I just did my 8hr break-in oil change. Went to local big box store that sells JD oil for over $8 a quart. Dealer sells for $3.72. Filter sells for $13 at big box, dealer for $8. It's hard to find any good conventional oil for less than $3. Big reason I got the X310 is the serviceable transaxle. Most of what I learned in research is the fluid in these transaxles goes first.

 

[y112]

Howdy!

Hello All. I live on 5 acres of what used to be our 188 acre farm. Grateful to still have it. I have a 317 that I use as a workhorse and a 318 for mowing. I also have our 1958 620 gas (narrow front) that I use for snow plowing, wood splitting, and just destroying stuff with a 6ft offset Bush Hog mower. Do a lot of my own work, but haven't done a lot on small engines and old 2 cylinders. Currently looking into re-powering the 318 (Onan) and curious to see if anyone has upgraded to a Honda engine.

 

[y112]

Any possibly that the crankcase is overfull, creating windage and excess pressure that could be getting past the rings?

 

[danoinmn]

Hey, I'm new here, but have participated on other forums in the past. I live in the suburbs and don't really need the John Deere x495 I own, but it's in my blood having grown up mowing on the 140 and 300 of my youth.