John Deere Diesel Mowers... Opinions??? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

777funk · #1 05-21-2008, 11:09 PM

I am looking at a Diesel J.D. Mower, I know nothing about J.D. other than that they have a good reputation as a company obviously.

How are their Mower diesels? Who makes the engines? Are the older ones decent?

I'm looking at one with a thrown rod, does this most likely mean time for a new engine or is anything rebuildable?

Also, anyone know a good forum for J.D. Diesels?

catmandoo62 · #2 05-21-2008, 11:29 PM

first they rock,i have 2 of em.a 332 and a 430.they use yanmar engines.very reliable,both of mine are at 1500 hrs and run fantastic,i wouldn't trade em for anything.the 332 is the same size as the 318 but burns about 1/3 the fuel.i will say that they can get very spendy to rebuild.a great site for all jd stuff is weekendfreedommachines.org.go to forums,then hydrostatic tractors.

Peter Kraft · #3 05-21-2008, 11:37 PM

I would run away from anything with a thrown rod.

Your not going to be happy if you later find out the tranmission, hydraulics, and brakes are worn out after you spend big $$$ to fix the motor.

The tractor will have to be split, in order to pull the crankshaft, and that is no fun/not possible without the right equipment.

Chances are, the parts have to come from Japan. Having owned a few diesel tractors with engines made in Japan(Iseki,Kubota,Ford 1715), I know parts are big $$$.

catmandoo62 · #4 05-22-2008, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Kraft

I would run away from anything with a thrown rod.

Your not going to be happy if you later find out the tranmission, hydraulics, and brakes are worn out after you spend big $$$ to fix the motor.

The tractor will have to be split, in order to pull the crankshaft, and that is no fun/not possible without the right equipment.

.

what the hell!!!you must be thinking of a big tractor.i've had the engine out of my 430 because of a broken bolt on the timing cover.took me a whole hour and a half to pull the engine.and most of that was pulling the radiator,hood and sidecovers. it uses a coupler on the front of the crankshaft to drive the hydro,2 motormount bolts.and 2 drivebelts,and a few wires.very easy to do.i will say that if it's a 330.332 or 430 if you can get it cheap.you can part it out for some big bucks.for instance if say its a 430 the grille alone used is worth about 200,hood 200,deck 4-500 bucks.plus the engine parts.

Peter Kraft · #5 05-22-2008, 12:15 AM

Yep, I was thinking about a regular tractor, though some of the small diesel garden tractors are built like the larger tractors. My 17hp diesel Bolens G174 is a small garden machine, but you would have to split the tractor to remove the motor.

catmandoo62 · #6 05-22-2008, 12:18 AM

really whats it use for an engine??

vstech · #7 05-22-2008, 07:40 AM

Bolens is a real tractor. JD is not... JD uses the steel frame channel and just bolts the yanmar stuff to it. Bolens has a real three cyl diesel and tranny assembly with accessories bolted to it. the older Kubota's are the same way. I don't know much about the newer Kubotas... but all the JD's I have worked on except the 20HP + models are motor on frame style...

777funk · #8 05-22-2008, 09:12 AM

Ok well thanks to my MB diesel friends for the response. Glad to hear some of you guys have experience with JD diesels. I'd just like to have a diesel. I like diesel anything. I wish my push mower was diesel for crying out loud. Just better technology in my opinion. I was at the GM dealership yesterday and overheard the Service Manager telling a customer that they couldn't diagnose an electrical timing retard problem in a newer GM truck because it wouldn't act up when they had it plugged into the scan tool.

Aren't we all so glad we don't have this kind of garbage with our old diesels! I know it's something I really have grown to love. Either it works or it doesn't and with proper service and maintenance you usually don't experience the latter!

I really have learned a LOT from buying an MB diesel and reading here. But I'm still not the brightest on all terms (especially ones we don't see here). So...
What's a thrown rod? Again not something we see on this forum.

Sorry for the dumb question. I've heard it my whole life. My guess is that a piston connecting rod breaks and is flopping around. Is that right? Can't be a good thing I'm guessing. Is it usually rebuildable or mean time for a new engine?

vstech · #9 05-22-2008, 09:29 AM

a thrown rod can be anything from a spun bearing on the rod making a knock to a large chunk of metal from the rod exiting the block. sometimes the piston seizes in the block causing a break, sometimes a spun bearing gets driven until the big end shatters, spitting chunks into the oil pan or out the side of the block... it can and does happen to our beloved MB diesels... just not very often.

equipmentjunkie · #10 05-22-2008, 09:53 AM

My father had a 332 Deere. The whole family hated that tractor due to a lousy cut, general creaks and rattles, its appetite for belts, and the clumsy ergonomics. My father (and my brother and I) was clouded by diesel envy and prior success with Deere products. We were extremely disappointed with it.

My father now has a 455 Deere with all-wheel-steer. What a difference in tractors! The 400-series is fantastic. It mower cuts much better, is considerably quieter, the seat is easier to adjust and it doesn't eat belts like his 332 did.

What are your needs for the mower? How much lawn? Will you need ground-engaging equipment to be used by the machine? Do you need a front-end loader?

Yanmar has been Deere's diesel supplier for engines under 30-hp for about 30 years now. Yanmar makes good products. I would take their engines over most anything else in its class. Die-hard Kubota fans won't like that statement, but I stand by it.

TractorByNet.com is a good forum to research. The amount of technical knowledge will be somewhat limited on that forum, however. There are many are compact tractors users, but not as many garden tractor guys. Good info, nevertheless.

TX76513 · #11 05-22-2008, 09:56 AM

Remember the JD Garden tractors are assembled in the US - not made in the US

Peter Kraft · #12 05-22-2008, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

really whats it use for an engine??

It has a three cylinder Mitsubishi diesel, 17hp. I can mow an acre with about 1/2 a gallon of diesel.

equipmentjunkie · #13 05-22-2008, 10:24 AM

I look at the direction that Deere has been heading on the Lawn & Garden front in the past 15 years, and I am concerned. This direction of Deere parallels American products in general: Initial cost trumps quality and longevity.

I get especially concerned when I enter a Deere dealership and see that Deere has created a point-of-purchase display giving figures like, "23% Longer Life" when stepping up to a higher-priced lawn mower. Those specific percentages tells me that Deere has spent lots of time engineering cost (longevity) out of their machines. Deere is not alone in this. What price is Deere (or any other company) prepared to pay for tarnishing their reputation of quality?

Thankfully, the 400-series and current X700-series diesel-powered mowers seem to be immune from that downward quality spiral.

Ken300D · #14 05-22-2008, 01:08 PM

How large a place do you need to mow?

That is a large factor in what we would recommend.

At some point in size it may be efficient to buy a real tractor and finish mower to pull behind it. You could buy a grey-market Yanmar and finish mower and still be ahead of a JD unit on price. Parts are available through certain sources (but not Yanmar dealers) for grey tractors.

There was a series of Yanmar tractors that exactly matched the JD tractors, engine and frame. Later, Yanmar made the engines to go in JD frames.

When you buy JD, you pay more for green paint.

Ken300D

Peter Kraft · #15 05-22-2008, 02:50 PM

I had a gray market Kubota. Trust me, you don't want a gray market tractor of any make for two reasons.

1. Parts are a nighmare, dealers can't sell you parts, by law. They can't even talk about gray market models.

2. See # 1, resale value is horrible.