I am green when it comes to the big green

   / I am green when it comes to the big green #1  

my1stjdwasa455

New member
Joined
Mar 24, 2004
Messages
3
Location
SC
Tractor
John Deere 455
I paid for and will pick up on Saturday my first JD. It is a '95 455 with about 600 hours. A friend has a 4510 JD and he took me to the place where he spends all his money, I mean buys his equipment. The 455 seems to be in good shape and my friend speaks highly of the dealer. I have about 1.5 acres to mow and I was hoping to use the cat O-3 point hitch for tilling my wifes garden (this gives me some cover for making the purchase), plugging, seeding, etc. I typically do not buy used but I did not want to spend the $$ on a new machine. My friend tells me that I should be OK because of the 3 cyl. diesel engine, which once I heard it crank I was sold. I have ordered a owners manual because I am obsessive about maintenance which is another reason my friend thinks I will be OK with the used 455. My problem is that I have been searching around the internet for some implements for the 455 and have not been very successful in finding any. Am I just looking in the wrong place or are they scarce? I hope to pick up a tiller, 3 point plug aerator (so I can lift it when going over the driveway and such), spreader, and maybe a front blade for some light duty work. Based on this website, which is great by the way, I understand the FEL is inadequate and costly but I might still be interested in one depending on the cost. Additionally, I paid $2,500 for the 455 and although the deal is done I was wondering if that was a reasonable price.
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green #2  
Sounds like a fair price for a very decent GT assuming it is as solid as you think. Finding cat 0 "manual" implements can be a challenge (I have a JD 318) and anything powered from a PTO doubles the challenge. I'm not sure what the PTO speed is for the 455 - could be 540, 800-something, or 2000, based on what JD has used over the years. Woods now has an "estate" series of smaller implements, Brinly-Hardy is out there and there are some other makers as well. If the 455 uses a 540-rpm PTO you'll have plenty of nice, if occasionally expensive, choices.
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks a bunch! I will confirm the PTO RPM and give those folks a try.
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green #4  
Good for you - sounds like a nice machine... I know what you mean by the diesel cranking over. I was out showing my father-inlaw the 4310 Monday night... try cranking it over inside your own garage... it just reverberates with the sonorous sound of diesel clatter within the 1 car garage. Not easy to talk over though

As far as implements - Keep an eye on ebay, I do some creative searches and I've found items from "real" people... also, watch out for fakes. There have been a few posts on that - if it's too good to be true, well you know.

Hopefully some of the other members will have some more online sources.

Again, Best of Luck with it.
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green #5  
Couple of other thoughts came to mind... while it seems silly if you have a legit 3-pt hitch - there are adapters that will convert a 3-pt cat 0 mount to a more typical garden tractor "sleeve hitch" arrangement. This will give you some more choices in implements.

Also - some small-end technically "cat I" implements can be converted to "cat 0" and used by a robust garden tractor. I think the smallest box blade that TSC sells falls into that category. If I recall correctly - it has the right (cat 0) lateral spacing on the attachment points - it just uses cat I pins and those can be replaced by cat 0 pins. Other implements allow you to turn the pins inward or outward to shift between cat 0 and I - so if your hitch lift is high enough - that can open up a couple of other possibilities.

Tim
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green
  • Thread Starter
#6  
I have been reading up on the sleeve hitches and I am not exactly sure how they work so I need to keep at it. I wil try the cat 1 switchout route per your suggestion as well. Thanks!
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green #8  
I was at a M.F. dealer this weekend, he selling Woods Cat# 0
attachments. Take a look at their web site
 
   / I am green when it comes to the big green #9  
Congrats on the new tractor. I too picked up a used 455 recently for my first JD. I am busting at the seams to get on it. I got mine for $7500.00. Same number of hours as yours but mine came with a snow blower, front hitch, wheel wts & new chains and it's not quite as old as your '91. From everything I could gather, it was a decent deal. This girl is as clean as something off the showroom floor. Gotta agree about the diesel...it gives me chiils when I fire it up.

Thought I'd let you know...I went over to my local JD dealer to ask a few questions. (I bought mine at a Kubota dealer who had taken it in on trade for a larger machine.) These guys at the JD dealer couldn't have cared less that I didn't buy it there...they went out of their way to answer the questions I had regarding upkeep. The service tech told me that this 455 is a tank. He strongly recomended, as many did here, keeping the air vents (sides) and behind (b/t your knees) clean and free of debris. He echoed the sentiments of many here, keep them clean!!! He also said to be sure to stay up on the air filter, so I picked one up over there. (20 bucks)

The only bad thing about my trip to the JD dealer was that I forgot my DARN certificate for a free Deere chair. Boy was I ticked when i realized I'd left it on the counter. Hopefully I can get back over there my the end of the month. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
 
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