John Deere Dilemma
- Thread starter mike223
- Start date
coasterez
Banned
I have the 425 AWS. Now in its 14th season. Love that tractor! Worth every penny. Completely trouble free. Nimble, fast, heavy, stable, comfortable. Just plain awesome! Any of the 3xx/4xx series are great machines.
jcmseven
Veteran Member
Mike,
I would say anything less than 1500 hours in a well cared for machine is OK on the 455. Our local college traded one in on a new 748 last year and it had over 5000 hours. It looked rough but still ran well and cut well. Anything less than 1000 hours in one of these tractors is not much. But, of course like anything else there are some people who could tear up a tractor in 50 hours and others who have 2000+ hour machines that look and run great. So try to get a feel for upkeep.
John M
I would say anything less than 1500 hours in a well cared for machine is OK on the 455. Our local college traded one in on a new 748 last year and it had over 5000 hours. It looked rough but still ran well and cut well. Anything less than 1000 hours in one of these tractors is not much. But, of course like anything else there are some people who could tear up a tractor in 50 hours and others who have 2000+ hour machines that look and run great. So try to get a feel for upkeep.
John M
Well for any who are interested, I bought a 455 today. The one at the JD dealer in Columbia was in pretty good condition, with 592 hours on the meter. It was a trade in from a guy who bought a zero turn mower, and evidently he did his own maintenance, as JD didn't have any records on it, but they knew the guy who traded it. It was serviced before the trade, but needed new blades, and the cutting height adjustment knob was stuck in a narrow range, so the dealer is going to fix the height adjuster and put new blades on the cutter. The belts on the cutter are new as well. The paint and plastic have a few dings, scratches and rubs-not dents, and the hood has small cracks in the front corners, but opens and closes normally. The biggest negative on the tractor is the 60" cutter has alot of scratches and surface rust, and the turf tires are old, and probably need replacing. It also needs a bath, especially the engine compartment. I drove it around and cut a portion of the dealers lawn to see how it ran, and I was impressed at the power that it had and how smooth it cut. The power steering and spring cushioned seat were very comfortable. All in all I think I did OK. I paid $4000+tax for it, and hopefully will never have to buy another lawnmower in my lifetime. So all of you guys who convinced me to get the 455, chime in on what to be looking for maintenance wise and anything else you can think of. Thanks.
epic6500sr
Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2005
- Messages
- 36
- Location
- Wright City,MO
- Tractor
- Grasshopper 725 G2,321D and a John Deere L100
Congratulations you bought a great machine, that probably will last your a good decade or two. As far as maintance, change the engine oil and filters every 50 hours (could be 100 I now have grasshopper's with kubota diesels they are 100, but if my memory serves me right the Yanmar wants it done every 50 hours, to be safe you could do it this way). Also, every 100-150 hours change the tranny oil and filter, some say this is overkill, but I believe I got the hours out of my 445 because I did this, my grandpa had a 455 that I maintained for about 10 years after he had his strokes, and I did the same things for his 455 as I did for my 445. Now, if you really want to keep everything sounding nice and unfrozen you lube every grease point every time. Make sure to keep your blades balanced and sharp, those blades or at least the ones on the 445 and 455 I used and serviced were notorius for chipping, they aren't quite the quality of today's specially formulated steel. So good luck if you have any questions I will certainly try to help you. Have fun mowing
Good move getting a 455. You just can't beat the Yanmar diesel and the heavy drive system of the 455, it's an awesome REAL little tractor that will be around long after your first two lawn tractor considerations are taking dirt naps at the landfill. The 455 topped my list as a cost is no object dream tractor when it came out, sort of like the X700's are now. Happy tractoring!
-Fordlords-
-Fordlords-
montanaman
Gold Member
Hey guys,
Sorry I'm going to take this post a little off topic. I own an older JD 140 and since I have been using a zero turn, it just sits there. For mowing only, unless you are on a cliff, there is just not a more efficient way to cut. I'm sure the owner of that 455 loved it, but why did he trade it? Bought a zero turn!
I don't need my zero turn to do any real work because I have bigger tractors but the ones I sell will tow 2,000lbs and can also push snow better than a garden tractor.
Please understand that I'm not trying to burst your bubble for buying the 455. It is an awesome tractor and I would never suggest that for the money you spent, you could have bought a diesel zero turn woth having because you couldn't find one for what you paid. I was just suprised that in the whole thread, no one suggested that you buy a zero turn since you also have another tractor for the big jobs!
Ken
Sorry I'm going to take this post a little off topic. I own an older JD 140 and since I have been using a zero turn, it just sits there. For mowing only, unless you are on a cliff, there is just not a more efficient way to cut. I'm sure the owner of that 455 loved it, but why did he trade it? Bought a zero turn!
I don't need my zero turn to do any real work because I have bigger tractors but the ones I sell will tow 2,000lbs and can also push snow better than a garden tractor.
Please understand that I'm not trying to burst your bubble for buying the 455. It is an awesome tractor and I would never suggest that for the money you spent, you could have bought a diesel zero turn woth having because you couldn't find one for what you paid. I was just suprised that in the whole thread, no one suggested that you buy a zero turn since you also have another tractor for the big jobs!
Ken
Thanks for the replies. I'll do the maintenance, but I need to find a manual. Do you know where to find one?
Montanaman,
I did consider a zero turn, but they were WAY out of my price range, and I had to consider that my wife will be using the mower as well, and she's sometimes cooordination challenged, if you get my drift. This mower seems to be a very good one, only time will tell, but it is alot stouter than the others at which I was looking. Additionally, I like the idea of having a 3 pt hitch allowing for other implements to be used, as well as a possible FEL addition. I realize that my larger tractor will do all of these things, but sometimes a larger tractor may not fit where the 455 will.
Montanaman,
I did consider a zero turn, but they were WAY out of my price range, and I had to consider that my wife will be using the mower as well, and she's sometimes cooordination challenged, if you get my drift. This mower seems to be a very good one, only time will tell, but it is alot stouter than the others at which I was looking. Additionally, I like the idea of having a 3 pt hitch allowing for other implements to be used, as well as a possible FEL addition. I realize that my larger tractor will do all of these things, but sometimes a larger tractor may not fit where the 455 will.