Price Check 318 pricing help

[cmkh3]

Found a 318 all original from 1990 showing 450 hours, a 46" deck, hydraulic blade (tractor has 4 ports on the front), a tiller and wheel weights with bar tires on the rear and turf tires on the front. The tires don't look bad but the tractor and everything has been left outside and is rough, as in rusty. The engine started right up but didn't try to run it for long or drive it at all. What would you think is a reasonable price for this setup?

 

[timb]

318's of otherwise equal condition will vary in price depending on location and who's selling (dealer or private). Around here (western PA) at a dealer that setup would likely run about $2000 (and up) for the tractor and deck. Cleaner and shinier examples can fetch as much as $3500 for the tractor alone. I've noticed that prices in the midwest seem to be about 2/3 of what they are here.

Maybe $500 for the blade. If that's a hydraulic tiller maybe $500-$1000 here. If it's a PTO-driven design and the tractor has the 3-point hitch and the rear PTO - same price on the tiller but add another $500 to the tractor value.

Be careful on the engine. Run it awhile and under load if possible. Look for startup smoke - or under load once warm. Look for oil leaks around/below the filter (right side) and see if there is any oil being pulled in to the air cleaner box - especially through the breather. The Onan was a solid and powerful engine albeit thirsty - but if that one's got serious issues there are no longer any direct replacement Onans (or "Linamars") available. You'd have to resort to another brand motor using an 'adapter' kit. (Figure about $1300-$1500 for that.) Pay attention to how well the electric PTO clutch engages (and stays engaged for more than a few minutes). Replaceable but a common point of trouble.

Check out the hydrostatic steering - it's usually a strong and reliable system but the hydraulic cylinder can develop leaks (easily replaced but not cheap) and the actual steering valve can develop internal leaks (very expensive).

Last but not least check how smoothly the tranny varies from forward - stop - and reverse. Make sure it actually holds the tractor when in neutral without drift or inching. Usually takes just linkage adjustments and/or cleaning of bypass valves and a fluid/filter change to correct, but could point to more issues if acting up. If it's working correctly now - it will probably outlast you.

Good luck. 318's are great little tractors but IMO due to dwindling parts availability (especially the engine) are just starting to get more into the collector/hobbiest category than a more ordinary 'runner'.

 

[EquipmentJunkie]

A friend of mine is a Lawn & Garden service tech at a local JD dealership (southeast PA). He bought a late-80s 318 with the intention of reselling it for a little extra cash.
His 318 included a mower deck and a blade. It had about 1000 hours on it, but was in decent shape. He went over it mechanically and repainted it. It looked good & ran well.
He had it advertised for $3,500. He sold it this week, for what price...I don't know. But, he had mentioned that he'd be happy with $3,200. Hope that this helps.