john deere 445 cam problems

[wvfixyourself]

445 Tractor went pop! no valve movement, Went to JD dealer and the cost would be over 1200.00 to repair. Found out the the engine had a plastic cam gear, bad design. Found replacement STEEL gear cost of over 150.00. Tore engine apart, located broken water pump gear, bent push rod, broken cam gear. removed engine from tractor,Tore down and replaced all parts and reinstalled in about 8 hours. Tractor runs great now. Total cost of repair 242.00. This is far from the 1200.00 the dealer wanted. So before you sink a lot of money into the dealers pocket , check with some local small engine repair shops. Most John Deere dealers will not take the blame on the faulty Cam Gear, and offer no help in the fix. The problem I have that most dealers knew about this problem and did not advise the buyer as to the problem , just kept on knowling selling this faulty product. Job security, One Peed Off Customer. The Old saying is, how do you lose customers? The answer, one at a time

 

[LBrown59]

445
Tractor went pop! no valve movement, Went to JD dealer and the cost would be over 1200.00 to repair.
1*Found out the the engine had a plastic cam gear, bad design. Found replacement STEEL gear cost of over 150.00. Tore engine apart, located broken water pump gear, bent push rod, broken cam gear. removed engine from tractor,Tore down and replaced all parts and reinstalled in about 8 hours. Tractor runs great now. 2*Total cost of repair 242.00. This is far from the 1200.00 the dealer wanted. So before you sink a lot of money into the dealers pocket , check with some local small engine repair shops. Most John Deere dealers will not take the blame on the faulty Cam Gear, and offer no help in the fix. The problem I have that most dealers knew about this problem and did not advise the buyer as to the problem , just kept on knowling selling this faulty product. Job security, One Peed Off Customer. The Old saying is, how do you lose customers? The answer, one at a time

1*This is a common /frequent problem with most of these tractors.
It is well documented here as there is post after post about it.
2*You done well at that price.

 

[TCowner]

I agree. I was looking at a used John Deere F911 front mount mower recently and I asked the question on the plastic vs. steel camshaft gear issue. The dealer had no idea what I was talking about. I told him that my F725 front mount mower had the plastic camshaft gear and it cost me just under $1,000 for the repair. The 725 is a vertical shaft engine and the 911 is a horizontal shaft but otherwise the engines are very similar.

The dealer did some checking and is "pretty sure" it has the steel camshaft gear.

The v-twin Kawasaki engine is good engine I believe. But using the plastic gear was inexcusable. The problem is that the plastic gear will last 500 - 600 hours before it grenades but of course, long after the warranty has expired.

Some time ago someone posted on this website a serial # breakdown and when Kawasaki changed from the plastic gear to the steal gear. Unfortunately, I can't find the posting. But no one should purchase a used 425, 445 or others that use the v-twin kawasaki without knowing which camshaft gear they are getting.

Some of the early models self destructed early enough so that were fixed under warranty or paid for by the owner so they would be safe. Otherwise, the buyer will need to set aside the $1000 for the repair down the road. That is, unless you have good mechanical skills like the original poster here and can do it yourself. I don't have those skills and am $1000 poorer as a result.