Engine changes to Diesel x7xx series.

[Brimstone10x]

These x700s are nothing but over grown lawn tractors , sorry to say. I had to replace the main frame in one a wile back. x748 guy broke the thing in half. Yes it had a loader and He beat the crap out of it. Frame cracked and split wear it necks down kind of between the engine and the radiator .the hole wear the control valve mounts was the real weak point. Also the flange wear the transaxle bolts to the frame was cracked all around . the whole frame weighs maybe 90 lbs ,very thin metal, nothing like an old 445/455 or 318/420 or430. They are nice to drive and to mow or snow blow with, but far from being HD garden tractors and to think one would last 30 years or 5000 hrs is , well I wont say it.

 

[JDTank]

These x700s are nothing but over grown lawn tractors , sorry to say. I had to replace the main frame in one a wile back. x748 guy broke the thing in half. Yes it had a loader and He beat the crap out of it. Frame cracked and split wear it necks down kind of between the engine and the radiator .the hole wear the control valve mounts was the real weak point. Also the flange wear the transaxle bolts to the frame was cracked all around . the whole frame weighs maybe 90 lbs ,very thin metal, nothing like an old 445/455 or 318/420 or430. They are nice to drive and to mow or snow blow with, but far from being HD garden tractors and to think one would last 30 years or 5000 hrs is , well I wont say it.

You said it yourself, he beat the crap out of it.

I have always said, a front end loader on a machine like this, just does not belong. You will never see me putting a front end loader on a 1,300 pound machine, and then expect it to lift half of it's own weight. In my personal opinion, John Deere shouldn't even offer a front end loader on a X7xx series.

I plan to push manure, dirt, very small amounts of snow, and mow grass. I have no doubts it will last 30 years. The old machines may have been built thicker, but welds were worse, and tolerances created in moving parts were nowhere near as precise as they are today.

 

[8086bruce]

These x700s are nothing but over grown lawn tractors , sorry to say. I had to replace the main frame in one a wile back. x748 guy broke the thing in half. Yes it had a loader and He beat the crap out of it. Frame cracked and split wear it necks down kind of between the engine and the radiator .the hole wear the control valve mounts was the real weak point. Also the flange wear the transaxle bolts to the frame was cracked all around . the whole frame weighs maybe 90 lbs ,very thin metal, nothing like an old 445/455 or 318/420 or430. They are nice to drive and to mow or snow blow with, but far from being HD garden tractors and to think one would last 30 years or 5000 hrs is , well I wont say it.

Here's on that's close to 5000 hours that looks darn good still to me.
2002 John Deere X595 Lawn & Garden and Commercial Mowing - John Deere MachineFinder

 

[JDTank]

Here's on that's close to 5000 hours that looks darn good still to me.
2002 John Deere X595 Lawn & Garden and Commercial Mowing - John Deere MachineFinder

Shows you how much these things really hold there value, all that wear and tear and they still want $8,000 for it.

 

[JB2]

Here's on that's close to 5000 hours that looks darn good still to me.
2002 John Deere X595 Lawn & Garden and Commercial Mowing - John Deere MachineFinder

Your Right! That X595 looks really good for nearly 5,000 hrs! It all comes down to maintance, and how the machine was operated. I have 874 hrs on my 2007 Deere X744, and seeing this X595 with nearly 5,000 hrs, gives me confidence that my X744 will last that long. They are a good mower, and anything can break if its abused or an issue at the factory. Some may not be happy with the Deeres today, but I am pretty pleased with my X744.

Jason B

 

[JDTank]

**** even at 5,000 hours, if something goes wrong just order another diesel from Yanmar, re-power the machine and your good to go until the hydrostatic pump gives out.

 

[Gonerafting]

I doubt, I'll ever wear out my X744, and will probably decide I want a newer one before that. I sure wish I'd gotten the X749, but it would have been real over kill. Jim

 

[JDTank]

That is the definite upside to this series of machine. It holds value so well that when you do finally go to trade it in, IF you do, you have a really nice down payment for your next machine.

If I can't convince the misses to go for the X748SE, I will have to settle for a X540 and use it as a trade in in a few years.

 

[jenkinsph]

I doubt, I'll ever wear out my X744, and will probably decide I want a newer one before that. I sure wish I'd gotten the X749, but it would have been real over kill. Jim

One reason I went with the x749 is because of reading posts on TBN, didn't want to find that I should have moved up a model or two. So far have been very satisfied with my choice.

When deciding between the x748 and x749 one has to figure out which is more important, having the 7iron deck or 45 loader or without those going with the all wheel steer. For what I needed the aws was more important but I would have preferred to have both aws and the 7 iron deck.

 

[JDTank]

If they could find a way to make the 7-Iron work with the AWS X749, I think John Deere would have the ultimate garden tractor on there hands.

I have seen threads where people have used the 7-Iron for an entire season, and there is literally nothing stuck to the underside of that deck, besides the paint being worn off, it looks brand new under there. A deck that doesn't need regular cleaning, is well worth the $500 difference. I am completely shocked more people don't go for the 7-Iron deck. Combine what I just said with the fact that it's a drive over deck, and why on earth would you not buy it??

I wouldn't be surprised if John Deere will find a way to make the 7-Iron work on the X749 relatively soon. When they first came out you could not get a 7-Iron on any X7xx machine, now you can on all of them except for AWS models. The front fenders had to be removed years back with a 7-Iron, not anymore since they found a solution. Maybe stuffing the X749's underside with a 7-Iron is next on the list?

All I can say is if you buy a machine like this, your going to have it for a long time, spend the extra $500, it works out to mere cents per day over all the years you will own it, and your deck maintenance will be cut down by 75%