Older Deere F725

[BlackRaptor]

Hey guys i'm looking for a lower cost big trim mower.
I do most of the open stuff with the 3320 but need something to zip under bushes and around trees. I like the front mount off set deck on the F725 style mowers. I wanted to get some feedback on the machines. things to watch out for also how many hours is too many?
wanting to keep sub 3K on the trim mower and see F725's all over for 2-3K
Thanks.

 

[ctlguy]

The older front mount units like the f500's and f700's where imao some of the finest cutting machines that Deere produced. They did have their downsides however, they are a very slow mower in terms of how fast they travel as well as how fast they can cut, working on them was for the most part a pia,for the single rear caster wheel units (500's) you needed 3 ramps to load them, they had a tendancy to get stuck when using in adverse terrain. But I still believe they did the best job of a wonderful appearence of cut well above the current front mount units. As with anything hours may or may not play a part but if used commercially they usually started to nickle and diming you to death at around 2000-2500 hours for the 700's from what I have saw.

 

[BlackRaptor]

Thanks. Looking for an f725 with about 1000 hours on it. Everything I hear about this mower is all good.

 

[zzvyb6]

I bought a used F-935 for $1200 that seems to be bullit proof. 72" deck. I can even run my house pto generator off of it when necessary. I am the third owner. It uses 1/3 the volume of fuel that my F-525 does (diesel vs. gas). But, I still pull out the 525 once in a while. The offset front mower is really handy around lots of pine trees. I pull a leaf vac trailer behind each one. Just need a different snorkle. These are noted for their fast ground speed.

 

[BlackRaptor]

I have about 500 pines to mow around to that offset deck sounds really nice.

 

[TCowner]

I've owned two different F725s over the past 20 years. I bought one of the first ones built when they were first introduced. I was always quite impressed with the handling and turning of the F700 mowers but I did not like the quality of the cut with the 54" deck. The left front gauge wheel was positioned about a foot inward which left a huge piece of the mower with no wheel to lift the mower if avoid scalping. I traded the mower after one season. A few years ago I found a nice used F725 but this time with a 48" mower. The smaller mower has less exposed area for scalping. There is a huge difference in the cut quality in my opinion. However, the older F725 uses the Kawasaki engine that was notorious for the plastic camshaft gear failure. Mine failed at just over a 1000 hours. The repair bill was just under a grand although we replaced the water pump at the same time.

I believe Kawasaki changed over to a steel camshaft gear around year 2000. I would want to make certain the camshaft was replaced before I purchased the mower or at least budget for the repair if it hasn't.

 

[BlackRaptor]

Thanks TCowner I did not know that about the cam.
If i get an older one say in the mid 90's with that plastic cam are they expensive to swap or the reason yours cost 1000 to fix was because it did valve damage when the cam teeth broke.
If its a cheap part or even a couple hundred to buy and you just need to pop the valve cover and replace the cam gear that sounds like an easy weekend project.
Thanks

 

[TCowner]

I think the $1000 repair bill at the JD dealer is pretty normal but $150 was probably the new water pump with gaskets and labor. My dealer charges $90.00 per hour in the shop so it doesn't take long to run up bill. The pump wasn't leaking but the dealer said there had been some of the vertical shaft Kawasaki engines that leaked so it made sense to me to replace it then. There was no valve damage. The engine just stopped. It ran perfectly after the repair. I believe the new camshaft was around $250 with gaskets so if you have some decent mechanical skills there is a lot of money to be saved. I've never had an engine apart short of a 5 horse briggs in a high school shop class so this kind of a repair is too much for me.

I'm not certain but I believe the engine has to be removed from the 725. That was the main reason the dealer recommended the water pump replacement at the same time. On the Horizontal shaft kawasaki like in the 425 and 445, which also had the plastic camshaft gear failure, the repair could be done with the engine still in the tractor

 

[TCSavage]

I have a F725 w/54" deck - currently 625 hrs. It has been a great machine and I would buy another - if they were still made. The cut quality is good if the deck is set up correctly. My yard is mostly level but never a problem getting stuck, especially with the differential lock and weight transfer. As far as speed, bumps in the yard limit the speed more than the capabilities of the unit.