455 Questions

bigpete · Mar 10, 2004

You know, Glen hit a key issue with the air intake design. With the air intake between your knees, you can routinely brush away the chaff. There is a secondary screen in front of the radiator that you should remove and blow out after each use. Don't stop there, though. The openings in the radiator can become restricted and clogged over time causing the crucial over-heating problem. Every couple of weeks during mowing season I took off the side panels and blew out the entire engine compartment--including the radiator openings-- with my compressor set above 100 PSI to ensure good air circulation and cooling. I now remember being advised by a JD mechanic that he had seen a couple of older 400 series tractors with wear and failure becasue of over-heating. In almost all cases, it was because the radiator passages were plugged with fine dust.

gsxr1100 · Mar 10, 2004

bigpete - I agree. You should always clean from the dirty side out. Never clean from the clean sidesince it will push the dirt etc MORE into the item being cleaned (bad bad ).

gsxr1100 · Mar 10, 2004

coachgrd ---If you have any other question post them. I had a 455 for about 3 years with FEL and it worked great! Valves were afdjusted at 500 hours and took about 40 minutes. It cost me about $12 to do the job (for seal and shipping)

BarryinMN · Mar 11, 2004

I have a 455 Q as well.. I bought a 54" blade & front hydraulic mount for it. Still in the box. Can I mount the front hitch assy wothout taking the 60" deck off?
thanks,

gsxr1100 · Mar 11, 2004

I do not think you can. The mowers front metal piece has two "pins" that go into these holes. The front hitch also needs these holes. So No.

I know you can have the FEL on it with the mower; but, using it is impossibile due to the hyd system

bigpete · Mar 11, 2004

GSXR100 is correct. You need to remove the deck to attach the independent front hitch for a blade or blower. I can't imagine using either with the deck still on anyway.

BarryinMN · Mar 12, 2004

Thanks for the advise..

I looked at a loader option but seemed $$$ for performance.

So, have a new front hitch assy with a used 54" blade w hyd angle for sale.

I'll keep the 455 as an awesome mower.

Thanks,

bigpete · Mar 12, 2004

Barry, I loved my front hitch with blade so much I bought one to go with my 4110--even though I have the 410 loader, too. You are right about the loader on the 400 series. It just doesn't seem like a good investment for what it is capable of doing. As far as the front blade, I think you would be pleasantly surprised as to how well it will move snow with your 455. For most light to medium snow fall up to 12" to 18", that blade will make quick work of a paved surface. Much faster than a loader.