New to me JD 430, 60” deck…

[dieselbob69]

Welp, that was why I saw smoke coming out right side of tractor on start up. I’ll have to look to see if bracket still on tractor. Not gonna pay over $400 for new if any are left, so looks like either side panel or hood is getting a hole…at least my manifold pipe is in nice shape… part # for muffler is AM108237…

 

[dieselbob69]

Ahhh nuts. Looking for muffler and saw this. Said $359.10 or make offer, also had free shipping. I typed in $300 for offer figuring it’d be declined immediately or wait for counter offer. Well, it was accepted immediately . Is this a decent aftermarket one?

 

[BravoXray]

I have found that one of the biggest factors in extending muffler life on my 430 is to keep the engine above an idle or point where the engine vibrates. Those little three cylinder Yanmars are good engines but vibrate a lot at low RPMs. After I figured that out, the present muffler on my 430 has over 500 hours on it and no signs of any cracks.
It is a piss poor design though.
My BX had the same problem with the air filter mount, bad design and mounting location, but after I welded it up the last time, and remember to keep the RPMs up where it doesn't vibrate so bad, it's gone over 150 hours and hasn't broken. If you let it idle at a low RPM, it shakes the snot out of it.

 

[dieselbob69]

Took the rear fenders off. Found reason why my left rear tailight wasn’t working, the wire was broken. Got that fixed up. Gonna roll it outside next day or two and blow it off, and degrease it some more…

 

[dieselbob69]

Drained the old diesel fuel out. Got a little over 3.5 gallons out, even though the fuel cap gauge was near the last mark - I put that in my diesel VW Jetta(no sense of wasting it, and I'll get 45mpg off it). Rolled it outside, more air cleaning. I'll degrease and power wash again this week. Heard something rolling around in fuel tank after I took it off, so I tipped it and got the items out. It was a metal screen with some brittle tube on end, and another piece of brittle tube. I ended up taking the pickup/return line holder off tank. The end of return line looks like the screen has been off quite awhile, the pickup line was quite rusty, so I scraped it off, will clean it better with a wire brush later on. Looks like that sensor wire is real thin in 1 spot, thinking it's for the fuel level? The fuel cap gauge metal rails were also coated with rust, why would that form inside the tank with diesel? Gonna look for a sensor, but I think they are NLA from dealer. I'll probably get a new gauge cap, even though they don't read properly on the 430... the rabbit hole continues...

 

[dieselbob69]

welp, this is where I ended up. Respraying panels/wheels/frame with the spray cans from dealer. Their paint seems to gloss up and harden pretty decently, just that if you don’t have a paint booth, it’s not perfect. So far, I have replaced left axle seal and bearing (old bearing still seemed good, but new bearing only about 9 bucks, so why not?)- replaced the leaking steering gearbox with a used one. Replaced tie rods with ones from Mcmaster Carr. Fixed the low level fuel in tank wire and re-attached screen with new tubing. New transmission sight tubing. New alternator belt. New engine oil and filter. New hydraulic oil and filter. New fuel filter. Mounted up the new V61 5 rib tires to the rims. Painted the Kubota rear rims with ag tires I bought for this tractor. I want to get this buttoned up within next few weeks and get the blower mounted back up….

 

[dieselbob69]

here’s a pic of it, tractor part finished. JD dealer spray paint. I added my NOS adjustable flip seat today, took the spring base one in picture off.Still haven’t decided if I’m gonna touch up snowthrower or mower deck yet Sent the 3 point hitch back.

 

[LukeL]

Looking good!

 

[rmrufener]

What seat did you use? I looked on my JD dealer's website and an alternate seat was listed (a A & I Products A-TY15863, which I bought on Amazon. Unfortunately, it's enough thicker that there was only 2" between the seat and steering wheel. I couldn't get on the seat without swinging my leg over top of the steering wheel, and I'm much too old for that. So it went back. Yours looks like it fits well. Where did you get it, and are you happy with it so far?

Thanks

 

[dieselbob69]

What seat did you use? I looked on my JD dealer's website and an alternate seat was listed (a A & I Products A-TY15863, which I bought on Amazon. Unfortunately, it's enough thicker that there was only 2" between the seat and steering wheel. I couldn't get on the seat without swinging my leg over top of the steering wheel, and I'm much too old for that. So it went back. Yours looks like it fits well. Where did you get it, and are you happy with it so far?

Thanks

I bought it from Hartville Hardware, same # as yours- TY15863, my packing slip says genuine JD OEM seat. It was a metal pan and had the proper Deere emblem embossed in the vinyl( landing one). I think it was $107.... this seat is close to steering wheel like the one I took off. I have to swing my leg high to clear, and steering wheel is still close to stomach, even with seat all the way back in slots. I'm looking at doing the Superstrut mod to get the seat back farther. These tractors were not made for comfort or convenience. I don't know how people can operate the loaders on these, they must have an extra arm or two.... if someone came up with a foot pedal conversion for the 430 that would be awesome....

 

[LukeL]

The foot pedal is a fun little project. I’ve done it on a 430 as well.

John Deere 300 series conversion to foot pedal controled...

Hi everyone- first time poster here but long time reader. I posted this over on MTF but I thought the readers over here might be interested in this as well. I did this project a couple months ago, just as an experiment and for fun. I'm actually quite happy with the way it turned out. The pedal...

www.wfmachines.com

 

[rmrufener]

I bought it from Hartville Hardware, same # as yours- TY15863, my packing slip says genuine JD OEM seat. It was a metal pan and had the proper Deere emblem embossed in the vinyl( landing one). I think it was $107.... this seat is close to steering wheel like the one I took off. I have to swing my leg high to clear, and steering wheel is still close to stomach, even with seat all the way back in slots. I'm looking at doing the Superstrut mod to get the seat back farther. These tractors were not made for comfort or convenience. I don't know how people can operate the loaders on these, they must have an extra arm or two.... if someone came up with a foot pedal conversion for the 430 that would be awesome....

Interesting. The TY15863 I got was a plastic pan. I saw an OEM advertised for $208, but was hoping to get by for less. My old one is tight to get a leg through, but I can do it. With the new one I had no chance. Maybe I'll check with Hartville and see what they have.
Thanks for responding, and I don't think I mentioned in my other post, but your restore looks fantastic. When do you want to start on mine?

 

[jaydee325]

A buddy of mine bought one of these brand new in the mid to late 80's. He was the envy of the shop!

Tractordata shows this tractor produced 1984 - 1992. Listed for $9500 in 1992. That inflates to a little over $20,000 today!

One thing that bugged him though was that the mower deck would leave a stripe down the middle because the center blade didn't provide a complete cut in heavier grass. Must have been a common complaint as Deere came out with a kit that replaced the center blade pully that sped the center blade up. So, if you see the same issue, check that out.

 

[dieselbob69]

Did this mod today. Makes it MUCH easier to get on/off the tractor. 2’ strut section from Lowes for $9, cut in half, and a 5 pack of 1/2” spring nuts for under $5. I used 1/2” x 1” long bolts with flat washers to fasten seat base to struts…View attachment 781356

 

[dieselbob69]

Also put these tie rod covers on. Saw a video on YouTube from Foxcan Farms about using Mcmaster Carr tie rod ends, and his son designed and 3D printed the covers. I bought a set when he listed them on eBay, but install didn’t go well. They made them better and install went smooth today

 

[Richard001]

View attachment 781347Did this mod today. Makes it MUCH easier to get on/off the tractor. 2’ strut section from Lowes for $9, cut in half, and a 5 pack of 1/2” spring nuts for under $5. I used 1/2” x 1” long bolts with flat washers to fasten seat base to struts…View attachment 781356

Did adding the extra height to the seat make it uncomfortable when reaching for the steering wheel ?

 

[dieselbob69]

Did adding the extra height to the seat make it uncomfortable when reaching for the steering wheel ?

No, just the brake pedals. Might switch it back to normal because some people are saying it’ll crack the fender pan around bolt holes. Almost got the deck done, need to get a set of blades with correct center bore.Think I’m gonna sell it anyway

 

[dieselbob69]

Finished the deck up last week, got some Gator blades with correct bore, but were a little thinner than blades that were on there. I added a washer so I could tighten blades up. I ordered a 2” chrome muffler that was 12” long, so I took 24” straight pipe off. I’d post video, but can’t figure it out. Guess I’ll order the correct seat for it that’s around $208 plus tax- the AM102953 for the non-flip adjustable seat base. The TY15863 isn’t correct, as the front bolt holes are 7” from front, not 5” like original. Once I get new seat I’ll see if I still need to keep the strut risers on that I added to get clearance….

 

[dieselbob69]

well, here it all finished except for putting a new neutral switch in. Got the correct seat on, took the strut risers off. Put the deck on pallet and put tarp on it for now. Probably should put it on tractor, don’t think we’ll be getting any measurable snow…

 

[two_bit_score]

Nice!