strantor
Platinum Member
Hello, I'm strantor. First post here.
I'm a professional electronics nerd and a hobbyist mechanic & welder. First time tractor owner.
I bought an LS XR4140 two days ago and told the dealer I wanted every piece of technical documentation they had for it. They they told me that the owners manual should have all the info in it. It didn't. No electrical or hydraulic schematics, no exploded parts views with part numbers, nothing that satisfied my technical craving.
I got more specific. I said "I don't know what you guys would call it, but I'm looking for a 'shop manual' or 'service manual' or 'technical manual.' I want the book that YOUR technicians use to troubleshoot MY tractor when I bring it in with an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical issue." They said that they use a computer system that only dealers have access to, but they would contact LS and get a service manual on order for me. 30+ minutes the service manager comes out and says he's made multiple calls to his LS contacts, and there is no such thing as a service manual for this tractor. It doesn't exist. ("Yet")
So I take my new tractor home, after I'm done playing with it I go inside and Google "XR4140 service manual" and this is the very first result:
'LS' Repair Manual, Shop/Service Manual for All 'XR' 3100 & 4100 Series Tractors
$300. I choked on that for a bit, searched around for a better deal or a downloadable PDF, couldn't find anything, so I went back and paid $300 for the manual.
This morning I left a 4/5 star Google review for the tractor dealership, praising their sales staff who were good to work with, but docked one star because the very first request I ever made of the service department they didn't come through, which makes me question the level of post-sales support and service I'm going to be getting on this machine in the future.
Couple of hours ago I get a call from the owner of the dealership, who had read my review, and followed up with the LS tractor company on my behalf. He said that LS confirms there exists no technical manual for this machine and the one for sale on the internet is not published or endorsed by them, and they have never heard of it. He said that the tech manuals that they do sell for other models, cost nowhere near $300, and I should be advised that this manual I have purchased could be a scam. He suggested I consider cancelling my order.
Now I don't know what to think. Has anyone on here ordered that manual, or anything from that company? It looked like a legitimate website to me. Would a dealership really go to such lengths to prevent me owning a service manual (keep me dependent on their service department)? That seems like a bit of a stretch that the whole sales team and half the service team would be united in a big tractorgate cover up of a tech manual. I'm inclined to believe that they are just relaying what LS is telling them.
So where does this manual come from? Is it a 3rd party publication like Haynes or Chilton's manual? Is it worth paying for?
I'm a professional electronics nerd and a hobbyist mechanic & welder. First time tractor owner.
I bought an LS XR4140 two days ago and told the dealer I wanted every piece of technical documentation they had for it. They they told me that the owners manual should have all the info in it. It didn't. No electrical or hydraulic schematics, no exploded parts views with part numbers, nothing that satisfied my technical craving.
I got more specific. I said "I don't know what you guys would call it, but I'm looking for a 'shop manual' or 'service manual' or 'technical manual.' I want the book that YOUR technicians use to troubleshoot MY tractor when I bring it in with an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical issue." They said that they use a computer system that only dealers have access to, but they would contact LS and get a service manual on order for me. 30+ minutes the service manager comes out and says he's made multiple calls to his LS contacts, and there is no such thing as a service manual for this tractor. It doesn't exist. ("Yet")
So I take my new tractor home, after I'm done playing with it I go inside and Google "XR4140 service manual" and this is the very first result:
'LS' Repair Manual, Shop/Service Manual for All 'XR' 3100 & 4100 Series Tractors
$300. I choked on that for a bit, searched around for a better deal or a downloadable PDF, couldn't find anything, so I went back and paid $300 for the manual.
This morning I left a 4/5 star Google review for the tractor dealership, praising their sales staff who were good to work with, but docked one star because the very first request I ever made of the service department they didn't come through, which makes me question the level of post-sales support and service I'm going to be getting on this machine in the future.
Couple of hours ago I get a call from the owner of the dealership, who had read my review, and followed up with the LS tractor company on my behalf. He said that LS confirms there exists no technical manual for this machine and the one for sale on the internet is not published or endorsed by them, and they have never heard of it. He said that the tech manuals that they do sell for other models, cost nowhere near $300, and I should be advised that this manual I have purchased could be a scam. He suggested I consider cancelling my order.
Now I don't know what to think. Has anyone on here ordered that manual, or anything from that company? It looked like a legitimate website to me. Would a dealership really go to such lengths to prevent me owning a service manual (keep me dependent on their service department)? That seems like a bit of a stretch that the whole sales team and half the service team would be united in a big tractorgate cover up of a tech manual. I'm inclined to believe that they are just relaying what LS is telling them.
So where does this manual come from? Is it a 3rd party publication like Haynes or Chilton's manual? Is it worth paying for?