John Deere 345 Lawn Tractor Fire

[Fromjim]

I have a 1995 John Deere 345 Lawn Tractor, bought new, has about 400 hours on it, this was a very reliable, good quality, and likeable little lawn tractor, it has a 2 cylinder Kawasaki engine, I have had no trouble other than a few mower blades, belts and one spindle on the mower, I and my wife love this little tractor, we have about 5 acres to cut and can enjoy doing so with this tractor. My problem is last week it caught fire and I nearly lost the tractor, thank God I was away from the house and clear from other machinery, I made it to within 100' of my garage with it on fire and managed to get the hose and put out the fire. When everything cooled down I started taking it apart to see what caused the fire, I thought it was an accumulation of grass that caught fire in the muffler area, I managed to take all the burned pieces off and recovered any bare wires with tape, the rubber gas line was in bad shape so I replaced it and decided to start it, to my surprise it started very easily and having the hood, shields and many parts not needed to start it off I could see very well all the area where the fire had taken place, I let it idle for a few minutes and suddenly I noticed gas dripping just over the muffler, I shut off the tractor thinking I had a bad gas line connection, I verified and found everything was secure, no leaks while it was shut off, again I started the tractor and watched the area carefully, I could see the fuel pump beginning to get wet and in a minute or so gas was again dripping off the fuel pump directly above the muffler, again I shut off the tractor and removed the fuel pump, after it was removed I could see there was a small hole manufactured into the side of the fuel pump, I checked to see if I could find anything wrong with the fuel pump but didn't see anything broken or missing, again I replaced the fuel pump being very careful with the fuel lines etc. and again I started the tractor, it started quickly, and within a few minutes the fuel pump began to get wet with gas, there was no way this could have been prevented, with the hood and all the other parts I had off you could see the leak if you got down and looked directly at the fuel pump, with everything in place this would not be visible and as it did to me, a fire would surly start and if you were still in the garage, you would probably lose the garage, truck, and other tractor everything would be gone, and no one would even know why they burned.
I am posting this for anyone with this model of John Deere, mine is a 1995 model 345, so if you have one or even another model, take the time to investigate you tractor setup, have it running and examine it carefully, you may have a potential fire waiting to start.

Hope this saves someone, and if you or anyone know who I could contact at John Deere I would like to report this to them, and maybe save a tractor or even a life.

God bless
Jim

 

[Topcat14]

This is a known problem with this model. I have more bad news for you- your engine has a plastic Cam gear that is another known problem with that tractor- it might last a while but with 400 hours it could go any time. Other than those two problems 345 was great tractor. If you dont want to replace Or haven't done it- consider selling that 345

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-lawn-garden/282937-345-caught-fire.html

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-lawn-garden/341198-have-96-jd-345-two.html

 

[Retired Iron Peddler]

I checked the fuel pump on my late 1999 production JD 345 years ago when this problem first appeared. Mine came from the factory with the upgraded fuel pump and it also has the steel cam gear. It's a great little mowing tractor; however, it doesn't get much use since I purchased a JD Z655 zero turn mower three years ago.

Bill

 

[check]

This is a known problem with this model. I have more bad news for you- your engine has a plastic Cam gear that is another known problem with that tractor- it might last a while but with 400 hours it could go any time. Other than those two problems 345 was great tractor. If you dont want to replace Or haven't done it- consider selling that 345 http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-lawn-garden/282937-345-caught-fire.html http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-lawn-garden/341198-have-96-jd-345-two.html

Please don't consider selling it to anyone else without telling about the problem. You don't want their garage/tractor/truck going up in flames!

 

[Baby Grand]

^ Thanks for posting that bit of moral guidance, check.

 

[bigdeano]

This can happen to any pump that uses a diaphragm to pump the fuel. If the diaphragm leaks, fuel under pressure is pumped into the crankcase. Long ago I had this happen on a Chevy 283 when I was on the highway. I was suddenly leaving a huge cloud of smoke behind. I made it to work and opened the hood to find everything covered with a gas oil mixture. The crankcase was completely full and blowing out the breather onto the exhaust and everything else. I could have gone up in flames.

It looks like on your garden tractor pump they've added a drain to the pump housing to dump the gas overboard. Glad there wasn't more damage.

 

[Fromjim]

Thanks for all the responses, I surely won't sell the tractor without advising the buyer of the current problem, mine does not have the adapter and hose to drain the gas safely. I didn't know about the plastic gear problem, mine has run beautifully since I bought it, I would have kept it longer but am afraid to have a fire in my garage or on my property. I have considered a Kubota GF1800, I will start a new thread to ask for opinions. Anyone suggest a price for the old 345, still runs, but the fuel pump should be replaced for safety sake.

God bless all
Jim

 

[meyerld]

Just a tip as I had this happen to a snowblower when I was a young man. A neighbor told me that my home insurance would cover the cost of repairing or replacing the mower, and I was surprised to find out they were happy to do so and the claim did not count against me.

 

[Deere Dude]

Thanks for all the responses, I surely won't sell the tractor without advising the buyer of the current problem, ... Anyone suggest a price for the old 345, still runs, but the fuel pump should be replaced for safety sake.

God bless all
Jim

Why not fix the fuel pump then you don't need to tell anyone. Otherwise you will have to give the tractor away.

I would only worry about the plastic gear if I was going to keep the thing.