John Deere 420 Garden tractor question

[barretreasures]

So you have decided to invest $1,299.00 for a new engine for a 25 year old lawn tractor. Ops let me correct that, it's $1,750.00 for the kit.

I wish you the best of luck with this.

Richard

YES I DID!!!! Thanks for your input into this matter and all advice was considered carefully. By the time I found and purchased the parts to do the job of a basic rebuild / repair with the crank cleaned and checked I would be on the high side of $800 and that's with some of the parts being used. The tractor is 28 years old and the engine was $1,879.00 with shipping. Cost in 1992 was $7,700 + attachments I purchased mine 2 years ago with 60" mower, 54" blade, 48" box blade and 49" snowthrower for $3,800 even with the new engine I feel I got a good deal with less than $6,000 total in it. Replacement cost today $15,000 to $25,000 depending on what color you choose. The rest of the tractor I would call very good in that everything works as meant to with no issues at all.

 

[barretreasures]

UPDATE: THANKS to all who helped New engine is in and working great. Runs really smooth and quite. Seems to have plenty of power. Install was mostly smooth and easy. Had a minor issue with the throttle cable in that the mount for the control lever did not match the bolts on the underside of the dash, I took the cable off the new mount and reused the original bracket. The cable is way to long. The original choke cable was reusable. The mount for the front PTO clutch causes the top of the PTO clutch to be turned 90 degrees to the right (sitting on the Tractor) which almost makes the wiring to short. The three wire connector that plugs in near the fuel pump does not plug in securely so I used a cable tie front to back and put a couple wraps of tape around it. It has four bolts that drop through the engine mounts and tractor engine frame for mounting the engine, unlike the P220 that had threaded holes in the rear, but you can reach the bolt heads easily enough. I needed to turn the battery around and reroute the battery cables as the starter is on the right side of the engine and the positive cable would not reach. The oil dipstick is hard to get in and out with the side panels in place so I will have to cut a small section out of the top of the right side panel, this will not show with the hood down. The hood and side panels fit the way they are meant to. All said and done I'm happy with the engine and install.

 

[Spanner]

Glad you're mobile. Stick around won't you?...
Change your oil after 8 hours.

 

[barretreasures]

Thanks will do

 

[Amvcane]

Great news, let's see some pics.

 

[barretreasures]

Great news, let's see some pics.

 

[4get gto]

Looks like it fit in really good. Now you gotta keep it for another 20 years !:thumbsup: ( and probably last longer)

 

[barretreasures]

Yes it was a good fit with some minor modifications. Seems to be a good working engine plenty of power, quieter than the Onan, runs smoother, and use's a lot less gas

 

[Amvcane]

Excellent, glad to see you got the old girl back on the job.
One thing I would try to do, is to seal up the gap between the firewall and engine shroud. This will do two things. It will stop hot air in the engine compartment from being drawn into the flywheel fan to cool the engine which also decreases the flow across the transmission coolers. Sealing up this gap will ensure proper cooling flow, cold air drawn through the belly screen and steering tower, across the transmission coolers, through the engine over the cylinders out the front grill.
How critical this is all depends how hard you work the machine, but a cool running machine will outlast one that is always running a little hot.
Good job.