455 Diesel vs. X485

[jcmseven]

Our family friend has a 455, and I would say his machine cuts as well as the convertible decks on any of my previous three X series machines. My father has a 757 with a 60" 7 iron deck on it. It cuts quite well and has nice vacuum. It does cut ever so slightly better than our friend's 60" deck, but certainly not enough to merit the marked additional cost. Also, I am not sure his 455 would not cut as well if it did not have 1500+ hours on it and blades that might never have been sharpened. I know that comparing a ZTR machine to a GT is like an apple and an orange, but the point is that all the higher-end JD decks cut really well and quite closely to one another. As for the purchase itself, go for the diesel. I have never heard anyone say, "Gosh I wish I wouldn't have gotten that more-powerful, longer-lasting and more fuel-efficient diesel."

John M

 

[Fordlords]

Another vote from me for the 455. If you like smooth, quiet, efficient power, and lots of it, get the diesel. I just got my old Cub Cadet 782D Kubota 3 banger running again after a rebuild. (Similar to the Yanmar in the Deere 455.) Tasty! These things just bring a smile to the face like no air cooled gasoline engine can- it's a "real" engine.

-Fordlords-

 

[vincent721]

Thanks again to all who provided input on my questions. Well... on Saturday, I made the purchase of the 455. The 455 was a better bargain than I thought. I was trying to decide between the X485 from a local JD dealer or the 455 from a JD dealer about 9 hours away driving distance. I located the 455 on machine finder.. it just came up for sale 3 days before I contacted the dealer that I might be interested and if he could hold it until I made the inspection of it. I rented a trailer just in case I liked it and drove over there and looked at it Saturday morning. It had 650 hours on it like it was advertised and it was a 1996 model. I could not believe how good a shape it was in. Up to that point, I had just seen pictures of it on the machinefinder website and sometimes pictures can be deceiving. Well... in this case, the pictures did not do it justice. If I did not know that it was a 10 year old tractor, I would of thought that it was only 3 months old. It looks like the previous owner took meticulous care of it. And even better, while I was at inspecting the tractor, I noticed a 54" blade next to it and asked if it was for sale. The blade looked even new newer.... it did look brand new and not even 3 months old. I asked if it went with the tractor and the salesman looked at the tag and it said it was off a 455 (must of been off the same tractor). I asked the sales person what he would do for the combined purchase (tractor and blade). He said..... $4,800. I said ... I'll take it. I drove it back and boy does it run smoothly. Everyone that advised me to go for the 455... now I can see why. I am now a proud new JD tractor owner. In fact, this is my first l&g tractor purchase as I never had a need for one until now. Again... thanks for the advice given by everyone. I have alot of questions about the operations of it but I am hopeful that the owners manual will be able to help me out. The tractor did not come with owners manual so I guess I will have to buy one. I plan on going to the local dealership tomorrow and ordering one.

 

[vincent721]

In my previous post, I mentioned I drove it back. I meant to say that I loaded it on the trailer and got it back home where I drove it around in the yard... smooooooooooooooooooth running machine

By the way, I strapped that machine so well on that trailer it was not going to move an inch. I didn't want anything to ruin that almost brand new shape of the tractor.

 

[TimberXX]

congrats... post up some pics

 

[BarryinMN]

Congrats on the buy.

Get the manual on the deck as well, it has tips on setup for best cutting quality - in a nutshell tire air pressure, deck level side to side, slight tilt forward.

The price of parts & service manuals will give you a heart attack welcome to JD .

 

[TCowner]

I have a five year old X595 with the 62C deck. I think it does a pretty good job of cutting but one thing I don't like is the amount of "sludge" that builds up under the deck. If I mow when it is dry like in the middle of the day the build up is not bad. But if I mow mow grass/weeds with any amount of moisture I sometimes have to stop mowing and clean out the discharge side before I can continue.

Six years ago I had a JD 4300 compact with the 60" seven iron deck which I'm guessing is pretty close to what is being offered on the new X700 tractors. That mower was designed much better in my opinon. THere were no rivet heads, carriage bolt heads or other obstructions to start the sludge accumulation affect. It is a wide open design. There is no comparison on the build up between the two decks. As far as quality of cut I think its just as good.

I've asked my dealer to get me a price on a new 7 Iron for my X595 as it should fit nicely. I realize that my used 62C won't have a lot a value but I may find someone who wants to go to a bigger deck.

 

[TCowner]

I spoke with a JD Dealer today who told me the new 60" 7 Iron deck won't fit my X595. He said he was told that it would only fit the new 700 series tractors that were less than a year old. He claims that is has to do with a new mounting system and wasn't sure if a "kit" would be available later on.

He wants $6500 to trade the X595 with the 62C for a X748 with the new 7 iron deck. I have 475 hours on my 595 and its in top condition. The trade price seems too high so I suspect I will keep my current equipment.