Looking at a F925 with 3100 hours

[Ck27]

Hi everyone.

I'll give some back ground on my yard first.

I have a 14 acre yard with 3 acres of lawn that is mostly flat and smooth.

The front of my property has 1000 feet that must be mowed parellel to a ditch. My driveway is is in the middle of the ditch line and is 8 feet higher then the ditch so there's and abrupt slope at that point on both sides.

I have about 20 large spruce trees that are hard to mow around so I'm thinking a front deck to get right under is just the ticket.

I have another 6-7 acres in the back of pasture thats bumpy in spots but once again flat.

I mow the back currently with a 30 horse tractor and a 60" bush hog. It does the job nicely but it's slow to turn so it takes a bit of time.

I'd like to mow everything with a single mower if possible and being that my tractor is slow to turn around a front deck zero turn seems like it would be a good unit for my needs.

Anyhow I've been looking at John deere f900 series mowers.

I found a 925 with a 60" deck and a yanmar diesel in it.

The good: it runs nice, it's in good overall shape except for the seat. Everything works as it should.

The engine is a new yanmar that was installed a couple years ago. So it has a couple hundred hours on it.

It has had extensive work done on the front end so any steering issues shouldn't be a problem .

There's a JD dealership about 15 miles from me, my buddy is a manager there so that's another reason for looking at a JD.

Here's the bad, it has 3100 hours on it.

My brother is a diesel mechanic and he's been working on 3 cylinder yanmars for over a decade. He said they are very reliable and if I did need parts he can get them.

So my question is, how many hours should an f925 last for? The hydrostatic system is original but I have no idea how long the pumps should last.

The price is Canadian dollars but it translates to roughly to $2800 US.

Gas Onan powered f series mowers seem to go for about 1k less around these parts.

Any help or experience with F series JD mowers would be great.

Thanks

 

[beenthere]

Two things that would help you...
One, add some culverts to each side of the drive and fill in the steep slope for easier mowing.
Two, trim up the spruce limbs so you can mow around them easily.


And maybe a third, work up the old pasture and replant to get a smooth lawn for easier mowing with the F925.

Looks like you have your ducks in line to give the ZT a good trial run.

 

[Ck27]

Beenthere, thanks for the input.

My main concern is the hours on this machine as I'm not super familiar with John deere F series mowers or more spacifically their longevity.

As for my slopes here I'm hoping they won't be a huge issue as I've mowed them for years with a couple different tractor type mowers.

I prune my evergreens but I leave them fairly low to thw ground for the cold and windy Manitoba winters where we can get 50 mph winds with a foot of snow. They create an awesome wind break.

So I don't mind mowing around then even if it is a bit of a chore.

 

[zzvyb6]

The hour meter quit on my F935 at 3654 hours. There's probably 350+ on the new meter. Was a golf course mower. All I've done is new glow plugs, blades and a battery. I added the head lights, parts off of ebay. Mine has the dual tanks and had the internal tank hoses crack (and leak, thus causing it to stall). The tank selector is manual while and the tank gauge is not connected to it. So, you can think you have a full tank and then run out. I carry a 17mm open end in the toolbox to bleed out the injectors to restart the thing.

Only drawback for me (and maybe you) is that short pine needles get sucked into the radiator screen and can cause it to get an overheat warning. I use ear muffs and generally don't hear the warning or see the flashing light. Quick fix is an occasional hand wipe across the screen while mowing. I bought a new seat for it, too, so I don't get that wet crotch look or feel.

 

[Ck27]

The hour meter quit on my F935 at 3654 hours. There's probably 350+ on the new meter. Was a golf course mower. All I've done is new glow plugs, blades and a battery. I added the head lights, parts off of ebay. Mine has the dual tanks and had the internal tank hoses crack (and leak, thus causing it to stall). The tank selector is manual while and the tank gauge is not connected to it. So, you can think you have a full tank and then run out. I carry a 17mm open end in the toolbox to bleed out the injectors to restart the thing.

Only drawback for me (and maybe you) is that short pine needles get sucked into the radiator screen and can cause it to get an overheat warning. I use ear muffs and generally don't hear the warning or see the flashing light. Quick fix is an occasional hand wipe across the screen while mowing. I bought a new seat for it, too, so I don't get that wet crotch look or feel.

If the radiator is the biggest issue I'd be happy with that!! My kioti ck27 tractor has a similar issue when I'm mowing the back area of my yard. The fluff off the dandelions tends to get sucked into the radiator so I have to get off after a couple hours and clean off the radiator screen or my engine temp gets a little high for my liking.

So it sounds like from here and the research I've done online that the f series John deeres were built like tanks and seem to be reliable machines even as hours get up there.

I like the design of them, the power steering is good as my wife would like to mow as well so anything to help her be more comfy would be a good thing.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

That is a good price, the F series mower still get a good dollar even with the high hours and being older. looked at them long and hard have similar issues with trees. Went with a ZT just does not get under the trees like I had hoped. Side slopes are do able. Thing that ticks me off the most is if your not careful, and don't do a k turn the rear wheels will dig up the lawn. F series for under the trees perfect. Good luck.

 

[Ck27]

I'm also looking a zero turns, as Ive run a skid steer so the 2 stick system is normal to me.

My 2 biggest issues with a zero turn are the front Castors are great but I'm not sure if mowing next to my ditch with those is a good idea as I know it's quite possible during a moment of inclarity to have a a wheel go over the edge and perhaps end up in the ditch. I'm not sure if that could happen but I'm guessing it could.

Second is my wife really wants to help with the mowing and the 2 sticks scare the crap out of her so she's made up her mind that she doesn't like them.

That leaves me looking at cub cadet z force commercial 60" zeros with the steering wheel.

An old f925 in my though pattern would probably out last a never cub z force. I may be wrong. I tend to like older things as I find they are built tougher. They may not be as pretty or have all the creature comforts of a new mower but they do the job they were intended for well.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

The cub your looking at is a mid mount mower, I don't think it will get under the trees like the f series you are looking at, it will solve the side slop issues. Side slopes on a ZT can be scary. I have thought about putting an electric solenoid, that would pop up locking the caster wheels straight. So far it has worked without it, as long as grass is not wet. Doesn't help with getting under the trees. I wrestled with it like you, liked the f series, but you just can't find them with lower hours where they don't want an arm and leg for them. I never did check can you even buy them new?

 

[Ck27]

The cub your looking at is a mid mount mower, I don't think it will get under the trees like the f series you are looking at, it will solve the side slop issues. Side slopes on a ZT can be scary. I have thought about putting an electric solenoid, that would pop up locking the caster wheels straight. So far it has worked without it, as long as grass is not wet. Doesn't help with getting under the trees. I wrestled with it like you, liked the f series, but you just can't find them with lower hours where they don't want an arm and leg for them. I never did check can you even buy them new?

Sounds like I am indeed wrestling with the same issues.

I love a true zero but a front mount would be so handy. There's also a clean grasshopper 616 at a local dealer. That one interests me as its a front mount zero so it's the best of both worlds. It's also a grand less, has a flip up front deck for servicing. Only issue is it only has an 18 hp engine and the deck is a 50" iirc.

I guess I'm in deep thought, I'm no hurry to get a new mower as I want to get one that suites my needs. I've looked at several zero turns from Toro, cub, hustler, husky, grasshopper and deere.

I'm pretty sold on the benifits of a front deck. Only issue I'm poking around is I'm not sure how many hours is too many. I'm all for pulling wrenches and can fix **** near anything but I have a busy work life in the summer so I like to get my chores around our acreage done in timely fashion so I can relax on my time off.

I spent months looking at tractors and ended up buying my kioti ck27 new. That was 300 hours and 4 plus years ago. To this day I'm 100% happy with my tractor.

As for new f series, they make a 4x4 f series now. I've looked at them but the price tag is way up there. I could but about 10 used f925s for the price of 1 new one!!

 

[truckdiagnostics]

yup, I looked at the grass hooper and gravely used to make something close. I bought a used gravely ZT, I am having to use the push mower to get under the trees. If I had to do over, I would look long and hard at a true front mount mower! The ZT still saves time and I am ahead, but, I compromised and I kind of wished i would not have. Looks like we have the same cub cadet also, the zt doesn't get under the trees any better. Whole bunch faster, it however has twice the ground speed the cub does. Yes, you can force yourself to get under the trees with it, but you end up tearing the ground up all around them.