John Deere 425 Restoration w/ Pictures!

[jsygrovehpi]

Hey y'all. I've been slowly rebuilding my father's old 1994 JD 425. He bought a used JD 2305 back in 2010 with 130 hours on it and I got his hand-me-down JD 425 with the 54" MMM and 47" snowblower. The tractor is now 22 years old with just under 1,000 hours and is starting to show it's age.

So far I've replaced the mower deck's belt since it was cracking pretty badly and I wanted to avoid a sudden failure. The tractor tires were also pretty well dry-rotted so I replaced them with the factory turf tires. I've also repainted the suitcase weights and most recently the side screens on the hood since they were starting to rust.

I also replaced the plastic factory valve covers for the aluminum valve covers that JD replaced them with for several reasons. For one, the o-ring style seals were starting to leak again and would have needed attention anyways, plus the oil fill cap was only a friction fit whereas the new covers have a screw style cap which should resist leakage better. The seals are also not the rubber o-ring style and should last longer.

The power steering hydraulic ram was leaking pretty badly, especially when the fluid was cold, so I replaced it with a new ram.

I picked up a factory seat and cushion and plan on replacing my slightly ripped seat. I didn't want to replace the entire seat since the bottom of the metal pan has the date produced by the factory (Jul 22, 1994). My plan is to cover the date with tape and sandblast or sand the rest of the pan and hit it with a fresh coat of black paint and install a new JD seat-back sticker I bought. Anyone have any experience with the plastic/vinyl seat edging? Mine seems to have shrunk since it "rounds" the corner between seat bottom and back (see picture)

I'm praying that I don't have a plastic cam gear failure but it sounds like it's not worth doing the work as a precautionary measure and only deal with it if/when it finally goes.

What do you guys think of my progress? Not lookin' too bad for 22 years old, ehh?


P.S. Check out some of those snow pictures. That fence is 42" high and in 1 storm the snow was nearly up to the top of the fence!

 

[davesl708]

Looks like it will be ready for the next 22yrs. :thumbsup:

 

[Richard001]

Looks good. Those wheels look nice, I'm guessing that you had to paint the rims.

Time to clean up the engine compartment.

 

[Richard001]

Anyone have any experience with the plastic/vinyl seat edging? Mine seems to have shrunk since it "rounds" the corner between seat bottom and back (see picture)

That edging is the same type used on electrical equipment to protect users from the sharp edges. Check with your local electronics distributor, or Granger may also have this.

Take a section of it along when you go to the store so they know what you are looking for.

 

[Gittyup]

That's the same year as mine was (sold it 2 years ago). I loved that tractor and replace it with an X739. Mine was the AWS. CAM will fail, and you are right at the hours where it happens (998 for me). Still, might as well wait until it happens. I see you had the classic valve cover leaks. And, yeah, you should clean that engine now that you've fixed the leak with the new covers. The side panels, did you pull the metal screens out and paint? They seam to rust from the backside out. Mine weren't too bad and I couldn't figure out how to get them out of the plastic panel, but then I didn't' try too hard either. I like the 4 part hood on the older tractors better than the one piece hood on my X739. Old design gives better access even if a bit more work to remove the panels.

 

[Gittyup]

Good looking tractor. You got a gem there. That's the same year as mine was (sold it 2 years ago). I loved that tractor and replace it with an X739. Mine was the AWS model. CAM will fail, and you are right at the hours where it happens (998 for me). Still, might as well wait until it happens. I see you had the classic valve cover leaks. And, yeah, you should clean that engine now that you've fixed the leak with the new covers. The side panels, did you pull the metal screens out and paint? They seam to rust from the backside out. Mine weren't too bad and I couldn't figure out how to get them out of the plastic panel, but then I didn't' try too hard either. I like the 4 part hood on the older tractors better than the one piece hood on my X739. Old design gives better access even if a bit more work to remove the panels.

 

[jsygrovehpi]

Looks good. Those wheels look nice, I'm guessing that you had to paint the rims.

Time to clean up the engine compartment.

No. The rims were not painted. The rear wheel weights look like they could use a coat of paint.

I kinda wish I painted the suitcase weights yellow though. Way too much green vs amount of yellow on this tractor.

And yes, I need to clean off that engine. Lots of oily dust and a bunch of acorns sitting on top of the block from when it was sitting outside. (****ing chipmunks!)

 

[jsygrovehpi]

That edging is the same type used on electrical equipment to protect users from the sharp edges. Check with your local electronics distributor, or Granger may also have this.

Take a section of it along when you go to the store so they know what you are looking for.

Thanks Richard!

 

[jsygrovehpi]

That's the same year as mine was (sold it 2 years ago). I loved that tractor and replace it with an X739. Mine was the AWS. CAM will fail, and you are right at the hours where it happens (998 for me). Still, might as well wait until it happens. I see you had the classic valve cover leaks. And, yeah, you should clean that engine now that you've fixed the leak with the new covers. The side panels, did you pull the metal screens out and paint? They seam to rust from the backside out. Mine weren't too bad and I couldn't figure out how to get them out of the plastic panel, but then I didn't' try too hard either. I like the 4 part hood on the older tractors better than the one piece hood on my X739. Old design gives better access even if a bit more work to remove the panels.

That's my fear Gittyup. I tend to clear a lot of my neighbor's driveways and would hate to have the engine die down the street (and even worse with the snowblower in the down position) so I can't push it back home.

Yes, I removed the screens from the side hood panels. If you look on the inside you will see tabs of the screen material that penetrate through the fiberglass and are bent 90 degrees to prevent them from falling out. You bend the tabs straight (about 12 on each screen and there are several hidden below the foam 'seals' around the openings in the fiberglass) and the screen is easily removed. I had a professional painter blast the screens with this new blasting system that is a hybrid between a pressure washer and media blaster. He also added a rust inhibitor to the water so it wouldn't rust. I primed and painted it with JD green spray paint from the stealership. Overall it was a very easy process.

 

[jenkinsph]

Looks real good so far. If it were me I would change the cam gear and clean up the engine compartment. Fix the seat and consider painting everything else up like new. Then use it for another 20 years.