JDgreen227
Super Member
I'm a little late joining this discussion, but I have an '89 318 with the 50 inch deck and 54 inch front blade that I bought new...it now has about 1400 hours on it and got worked very hard here. I would buy a new one tomorrow if they were still in production, but I needed something larger so that's why I now own a 4210.
The trouble spots in my JD were mainly electrical, I had to replace the ignition switch, pto switch, neutral safety switch, etc. and now it needs some more electrical work as it will run for a minute and then the juice shuts off. As for oil leaks, mine was very oil tight but because I changed the oil so frequently the brass drain plug finally snapped off, when I rebuild the engine I will replace that. Another thing you could look for on a used 318 is the power steering cylinder, they cost about $200 to replace as they are not repairable.
Something I loved about my 318 was the durability, they engineered it strong....the rear axle is HUGE, I devoted many hours with mine doing full throttle work moving large rocks with the front blade, or using the rear hitch point to pull heavy loads. Other than batteries, electrical switches, and tires I never had to replace any parts on mine outside of filters.
In my area a 318 with a 50 inch deck and 800 hours sells for about $2600...I have thought about buying another because I think they are the best machine Deere ever made for the money.
The trouble spots in my JD were mainly electrical, I had to replace the ignition switch, pto switch, neutral safety switch, etc. and now it needs some more electrical work as it will run for a minute and then the juice shuts off. As for oil leaks, mine was very oil tight but because I changed the oil so frequently the brass drain plug finally snapped off, when I rebuild the engine I will replace that. Another thing you could look for on a used 318 is the power steering cylinder, they cost about $200 to replace as they are not repairable.
Something I loved about my 318 was the durability, they engineered it strong....the rear axle is HUGE, I devoted many hours with mine doing full throttle work moving large rocks with the front blade, or using the rear hitch point to pull heavy loads. Other than batteries, electrical switches, and tires I never had to replace any parts on mine outside of filters.
In my area a 318 with a 50 inch deck and 800 hours sells for about $2600...I have thought about buying another because I think they are the best machine Deere ever made for the money.
