Oil & Fuel "Best" older Deere garden tractor w/ diesel

[jmt1271]

Thanks, going to pick it up Fri.

 

[Nuru]

Good luck with it.

 

[deereguy]

We have one that's an '82-'83 and put a TON of hours (no hour meter) on and ran ok when we parked it. A problem those years had was a vibration (it ate motor mounts fast), and was kinda hard on belts from the PTO clutch to the deck. Yours is slightly older and I don't know of any potential troubles to look out for. It looks like a great deal (we paid close to $2800 in '82/'83), so it should hold its value.

Good Luck!

 

[jmt1271]

I picked up the tractor last Friday and am very pleased with the whole deal. The tractor can pass for new from a distance. It drives/mows even better than it looks. But the best part is this. I asked the seller before buying if it jumped out of any of the gears and he said it did not. Upon driving it around his place it didnt. Well, Saturday morning I mowed and the tractor jumped out of 3 and 4 several times. But I still was easily able to mow. I contacted the seller(of whom I had already formed a good opinion) and told him. His response was to assure me was unaware of the problem, but felt bad because he SHOULD have known. He said he was going to pull his trans from his personal 214 and drive the 6 hours to my place and swap his for mine. I offered a simpler solution, purchasing another unit. He paypal'd the funds for this purchase last night. i am going to be installing another used(but guaranteed) unit in my tractor. I am impressed to say the least.

On a side note, I am going to be selling the (like new) vacuum unit that came with the tractor. It works like new and is very effective. I just dont have a need for it.

 

[mousedoc]

Wow! I don’t imagine too many sellers would go the extra mile to satisfy a buyer like yours did.

Since the previous owner did a bunch of work on it, I’m wondering if your problem could just be an adjustment. If the shift pattern plate is not adjusted properly, it may not be allowing the gear(s) to fully engage. Before you swap out the trans, try this.

Loosen, but don’t remove the two screws that hold the shift pattern plate down. You want the shift plate to be able to slide around. Shift into third gear, adjust the shift pattern plate so that it is not (or barely) touching the shift rod, then lightly snug the right shift plate screw. Then repeat the procedure for fourth gear and snug down the left screw. Then make sure you can shift into first, second and reverse, then fully tighten both shift plate screws and give it a try.

 

[awlchu]

jmt1271,

The detent springs are likely bad in the tranny. These springs press two ball bearings against a shaft with a groove. When properly engaged, the balls are seated in the groove.

Very unusual for the 3-4 shaft/springs to be bad. Usually it's the 1-2 gear springs (used the most in mowing).

 

[BobinIL]

I owned a JD 430, that was the best garden tractor I have ever owned. Very powerfull and reliable. I could mow with a 60" deck and it never pulled down no matter how tall the grass was. Check ebay or machinefinder there are always a few for sale in the 3K to 4K range

 

[jmt1271]

Wow! I don’t imagine too many sellers would go the extra mile to satisfy a buyer like yours did.

Since the previous owner did a bunch of work on it, I’m wondering if your problem could just be an adjustment. If the shift pattern plate is not adjusted properly, it may not be allowing the gear(s) to fully engage. Before you swap out the trans, try this.

Loosen, but don’t remove the two screws that hold the shift pattern plate down. You want the shift plate to be able to slide around. Shift into third gear, adjust the shift pattern plate so that it is not (or barely) touching the shift rod, then lightly snug the right shift plate screw. Then repeat the procedure for fourth gear and snug down the left screw. Then make sure you can shift into first, second and reverse, then fully tighten both shift plate screws and give it a try.

Thannks, Mouse that seems very logical, will give it a shot.