John Deere Mower info needed

Sometimes the little wall plug chargers take a crap and people who own these types of mowers can't figure out why the mower won't start. Most of the time there is no other way to start them (no pull cord) and those same people won't pay the high prices to get a small mower repaired, so dumpster time and shopping time, maybe in the same trip. Ken.

On Wed, 12 May 2004 05:48:18 GMT, Gunner shouted from the rooftop:
Both Briggs and Tecumseh stamp the engine number on the fan housing.
The battery is a sealed lead-acid type.
-Carl "An honest man doesn't need a long memory"- Jesse Ventura

Whatever you do, don't buy the parts direct from John Deere. They paint their stuff green from all the extra green ink they get from high part prices.
Don't get me wrong, John Deere makes the best products, but part prices are ridiculous. The windshield wiper broke on my 5310 - the replacement wiper motor is $365. The replacement wiper arm is $115, and I still need to buy the blade.
Back to your mower... I've never had a new mower, always dumpster dived. First check compression - if you got 100 psi or more - it will still run. If very low - toss it - look at the next dumpster. This one probably has broken rings, valves etc.
Most people have NO CLUE about maintenance and there's almost nothing wrong with them. Way high on the list is a minor electrical problem - fouled plug, the AL timing key on the flywheel sheared off, or starter motor connection problem, etc.
Good luck
Karl

First, post this on a mower board like the one on Gardenweb. Lots of folks know JD mowers there. Without seeing it I can't say exactly what it is, but I don't think they've been selling mowers very long. Lawn-Boy custom made some of them in the '80s, and from then on JD seems to have produced their own. The mowers are expensive (about $750 for a high-end new one) so it's worth messing with. Only problem is that parts are big bucks. Engine parts can be had from the supplier's dealer at much lower cost.
If it's an Lawn-Boy model the engine's likely either an LB 2-stroke or a Briggs, if it's a later Deer it's probably a Kawasaki or something like that.
GTP(John)

There's a JD mower group on yahoo... /mark
Gunner wrote:

Greetings and salutations.
Hear! Hear! They make great stuff, even these days, but, they are REALLY proud of it. As I have posted here before, I needed a new deck for my model 111 lawn tractor. After many years of use, rust and fatigue had caused a support bracket to break off, and, I thought it would be nice to start with new steel. Well, JUST for the metal deck, and with the best discount that the dealer was willing to give, I would have had to fork over $500 (and that was WITH free shipping). needless to say, I did not buy it. Instead, I went out and picked up a welder, compressor and some other tools at a local yard sale (for about $400 all told) and fixed it myself. It had been a few years since I did any welding, and, frankly, I was more comfortable with OA than arc, but, I did a passable job. Actually, I should take time to say that I really regret having spent all those years without a welder. That ability to put metal together in useful configurations has proved to be VERY useful in the past few years. Of course, I would like a nice TIG unit, instead of the cheap Lincoln stick welder I have, but, it still works pretty well.
yea...that is one of the benefits of the drop in "commonsense"
education these days. We, who are good at that sort of thing, can often find great deals on dead tools and such. With a little fix-up it becomes useful again. Regards Dave Mundt

snip I have always managed to salvage and get running again many mowers and typical L & G type powered equipment that I obtain in dumpsters etc. Last year I did 11 lawnmowers that ranged from top end machines to economy units, all free, and none cost more than a few bucks to fix and a small amount of time. I them put them up along the front fence and place a for sale sign by them, and most are gone within a week at most.
Latest salvaged item I got was a Sabre L & G tractor that supposedly had a busted piston / rings.........it ran fine but blew out lots of blue smoke. It cost me about 30 minutes of my time and all I did was replace the breather assembly...no more smoke and it ran great. Sold it for $450 on Monday.
Exactly.lots of perfectly good items are trashed, as repair stations and dealers would rather sell new and not have to stock up on all the parts or have to get dirty anymore. They may pay more attention to high end items but stuff like is sold everyday at Wally World usually goes to the dumpster unrepaired due to high costs of labor and a simple part. Collect enough of these thngs and your bound to have the necessary parts to make em work again. Simple things like a broken cord on a recoil starter is often cause for some folks to trash an item before they spend what a dealer wants to repair it.
What I can;'t fix or what is not economical for me to fool with gets stripped and the aluminum melted dowonin my foundry and what I can't use again is sold for scrap afterall I have time on my hands so its not like I have to fit it in between a regualr job and home have to do's Visit my website: expressed are those of my wifes, I had no input whatsoever. Remove "nospam" from email addy.

Where are you located? I have a deck that is yours for pickup. DFW

Greetings and Salutations....
Wow...that is awefully generous! I am in East Tennessee, which probably means YOU are in Texas or Oregon *smile*. While the current deck is nicely re-enforced with about 30 lbs of welding rod, I would NOT mind having a new one. The rest of the mower is in amazing good shape. I did have to fix the kind of cheesy height adjustment mechanism on the deck, though. As I think I posted before, it was a metal "comb" or ratchet with teeth that caught on a slot in the body of the mower. Over the years, between the wear on the teeth (rounding them off) and curling down of the edge where they caught, it would bounce loose constantly, dropping the mower deck all the way down to the ground. I dealt with the problem by taking one of the cheap, HF "C" clamps and cutting loose the screw section. I welded the "nut" part to the arm that supports the deck, and, an extension on the threaded section, so it would reach up through the dashboard of the mower. Now...all I have to do to adjust the height is twist the rod (got to put a handle on that sometime) and, best of all, it does NOT change height any longer. Regards Dave Mundt

Yep, Dallas-Fort Worth

That you could still order a part for a 30+ year old lawn tractor is one of the reasons I will pay more for a real Deere. Other reasons are good local dealer that does not rip people off
I recently inheritated my grandfather's 1960's JD 110 garden tractor and major & minor parts are still available at what I think are reasonable prices. It will be stripped down and restored as soon as possible. It has been in continous service since he bought it when JD first introduced them. It needs some TLC and a few geniune JD parts.. Has worn out two engines.
Grandfather was employed at the WaterLoo Boy Tractor Co, Waterloo IA about 1904 - 1906 (IIRC) just before Deere bought the company. He poured and scraped babbitt bearings in the engines while there. He farmed the rest of his life and never owned anything but John Deere equipment. his son, my father, a farmer, continued the John Deere tradition as well with lots of big green machines as myself (Idon't farm) owning a 318 and a 110 as well as the one mentioned above.
I have the front mounted snowblower for the 318 and it's the envy of the neighborhood when it snows.
When I am gone the Deere's I own will still be in good condition for my children & grandchildren.
Hugh
Much snipping

Followup
I took a few minutes this afternoon to look over the mower I found in the dumpster. It is in marvelous shape. The battery pack consists of 6 2.5vt nicads D size stacks, and it was dead. A quick test using a 12vt nicad charger showed that there is at least one dead cell.
So I jumpstarted the mower using my battery charger..and the damned thing started right up and ran fine! After mowing the back yard, the alley and the neighbors back yard (love the self propell feature) I checked the air cleaner and found a small bit of oil on the paper filter element. I suspect that there may be a bit of blow by, but never did see any smoke from the exhaust and I ran it hard. Its unknown how old the gas in it is, but it smells a bit skunky. I think the thottle cable needs to be adjusted as I couldnt get it to go what I think should be full rpm, but thats a minor thingy. The bag has no holes or big abrasions and the snaps that open and close it when you dump it are perfect.
Now..since my front yard is largely devoted to desert plants and cactus and my back yard is easily mowed with a weed wacker..I really dont have any need for this mower.
Anyone want to make me an offer? I can deliver just about anywhere in So. Cal. Want to own a John Deer lawn mower? Make me a decent offer and it could be yours. You will have to replace the dead battery and adjust a few bits and pieces. Or I do it and increase what Ill take for it.
I can take a picture or three if you are interested. If not..it goes to the Pennysaver in a couple weeks. I need the money more than I need a lawn mower, when Ive been doing my mowing with a weed eater for years.
Gunner
That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there. - George Orwell