Thoughts on JD 425

[hunt4570]

Trying to find a used mower, I mow 3-4 acres, mostly flat but with lots of obstacles. I have an inground pool so I'm also wanting a collection system to keep stuff from blowing in the pool. I found a JD425 all wheel steer with 20hp liquid cooled Kawasaki a 54" deck and the powerflo bagger system. He's asking $2900, a concern to me is it has 600 hrs..looks good though.

So tired of looking at these "box store" mowers everyone is selling off.. lots of plastic and none seem to last too long .

Whatcha think? I'd do Zero Turn, but again such a big gap between "big box" units and "better" units, and most have no bagger.

 

[KEYBEAR]

I have a 2016 X-758 with 60" deck also a power Flow 14 bl. The Power Flow does a great job but is a total pain . First the weight of the Power Flow pulls the right side of the deck down so the deck has to be adjusted for it . Second it is or can be very dirty a real mess if dry . Also the bags are heavy and get full fast I really wish I had bought a pull behind with a motor on it not the mower deck .
As for the tractor 600 hours is not a lot of hours if cared for it should go a long time . I put 80 hours a year on my tractor mowing and other stuff . If the 425 is clean and the power flow is in good condition the price is not bad .

 

[beenthere]

IMO that is a great price for a 425, 54" deck, bagger setup and in addition.. low hours. That 400 series I've found are classic designs that the X tractor models that follow have dropped in favor of a one-piece hood. The dust, grass, and other debris get into the radiator much easier than with the older 400's..
I have an X485 and won't use it to mow.. the 54" deck is a poor design compared to the older 54" decks.
Check, if you can, on the s/n of the 425 with the dealer, and get them to look up the history to see if the plastic part in the engine has been changed out or if it is a later model 425. What are the last 6 digits of the s/n ? can "x" out the last three for security if you'd prefer.

 

[hunt4570]

IMO that is a great price for a 425, 54" deck, bagger setup and in addition.. low hours. That 400 series I've found are classic designs that the X tractor models that follow have dropped in favor of a one-piece hood. The dust, grass, and other debris get into the radiator much easier than with the older 400's..
I have an X485 and won't use it to mow.. the 54" deck is a poor design compared to the older 54" decks.
Check, if you can, on the s/n of the 425 with the dealer, and get them to look up the history to see if the plastic part in the engine has been changed out or if it is a later model 425. What are the last 6 digits of the s/n ? can "x" out the last three for security if you'd prefer.

Its for sale by a private owner, I'll see if he'll give me the serial #.

Where is the break off on the serial# for earlier or later models?

He does have it listed as a 1997 model..

 

[beenthere]

That is after the time they switched.. but the seller should give you the s/n.. he/she can leave off the last three digits. The 4th and fifth to last digits tell the year.. '94 was 20xxx and year 2000 was 80xxx.. so '97 was 50xxx Deere keeps a pretty good record of past work, if that work was done by a Deere dealer.

My first 425 was a '96 and was s/n 40083.. never had a problem with it.

 

[Gittyup]

I used one for 20 years. Loved that tractor. It's a grass cutting machine. And good at snow too, if you put chains on it. I did have to put a new cam in it at just shy of 1000 hours. It was '94. I think the price is great or the low hours. It's a way better machine than anything you'll buy new for that kind of money. Just change the fluids regularly and keep the screens clean. It'll last you a long long time.

 

[hunt4570]

I'm going to try to go look at it this weekend, anything in particular I need to keep a look out for?

 

[hunt4570]

IMO that is a great price for a 425, 54" deck, bagger setup and in addition.. low hours. That 400 series I've found are classic designs that the X tractor models that follow have dropped in favor of a one-piece hood. The dust, grass, and other debris get into the radiator much easier than with the older 400's..
I have an X485 and won't use it to mow.. the 54" deck is a poor design compared to the older 54" decks.
.

Why wont you use it to mow? Then what do you use it for?

 

[Gittyup]

IMO that is a great price for a 425, 54" deck, bagger setup and in addition.. low hours. That 400 series I've found are classic designs that the X tractor models that follow have dropped in favor of a one-piece hood. The dust, grass, and other debris get into the radiator much easier than with the older 400's..
I have an X485 and won't use it to mow.. the 54" deck is a poor design compared to the older 54" decks.
Check, if you can, on the s/n of the 425 with the dealer, and get them to look up the history to see if the plastic part in the engine has been changed out or if it is a later model 425. What are the last 6 digits of the s/n ? can "x" out the last three for security if you'd prefer.

I now have an X739 and the mower deck on it is much better than the one on my old 425. Not that the deck was bad on the 425, but the new one spins faster and cuts cleaner with less clogging.

 

[hunt4570]

IMO that is a great price for a 425, 54" deck, bagger setup and in addition.. low hours. That 400 series I've found are classic designs that the X tractor models that follow have dropped in favor of a one-piece hood. The dust, grass, and other debris get into the radiator much easier than with the older 400's..
I have an X485 and won't use it to mow.. the 54" deck is a poor design compared to the older 54" decks.
Check, if you can, on the s/n of the 425 with the dealer, and get them to look up the history to see if the plastic part in the engine has been changed out or if it is a later model 425. What are the last 6 digits of the s/n ? can "x" out the last three for security if you'd prefer.

So this is what I got from the owner if there is anything you can tell me about it that would be great!

Product Identification Number
*M00425B041354*

425 AWS Tractor

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

My dad has a 99 or 00 445, it's got 1005 hours and has only been in the shop once for a deff lock seal that was a pain in the *** to get to. If you find a steel cam gear unit, there good for 2000-3000 hours on the min side if taken care of, I see them pop up on CL all the time with 1500-2500 hours.

I don't know much about the cam gear prob and which models had the steel.

Symptoms of the deff lock seal was leaking hydraulic fluid in the rear where the deff lock enters the wet rear end. $10 seal, took the JD shop 2 hours.

His is 21hp liquid cooled Kawasaki, 60 in deck, regular steer with the bigger tires and wheels from factory. That kaw has enough torq to lift the front wheels when she gets to pulling.

 

[Smoothas]

The 425 is a great machine- but the plastic gear is a no go. It can fail anytime between 600 and 1000 hours, I’d get a price from your JD dealer on replacing the plastic gear. (Typically about 500 bucks or more) unless you feel comfortable doing it. I’d then offer seller 2,900 minus whatever rebuild costs- so if its 500 bucks I’d offer 2400- then bring tractor directly to dealer. Other than plastic cam gear – that 425 should last a long time, they were tanks

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I would also like to add that I used my dad's 445 at my place for a year before I bought my husky, I used his tractor to stretch the 380ft of chainlink fence I installed for my cattle, move a 6x12 single axle trailer around and up a hill to the house often, trailer weights around 1000lbs, mowed 2.5 acres of grass weekly at my place and another 2 acres at my dad's.

All that was nothing to that machine, very stout tractor and my dad has a 4ft woods rear blade for it as well.

That tractor is an absolute work horse and it's built heavy enough to last a very long time.

My husky is 24hp with a 54in deck, it does a good job cutting grass, I wouldn't dare ask it to do any work, I won't even hook a cart up to it lol.

As far as price, it all depends on condition, if the deck is in good shape, low hours (under 1000 hours) and the plastic is in good shape, I have seen them go for $1800-$4500.

It's a huge spread but it's very rare to see someone asking less than 2k for one, most are in the 3-4K ball park.

It went 425, 445, 455.

Only diff is the 445/455 got bigger wheels and tires, 4 hydraulic ports (2 sets) in the front for attachments, the 455 got a Diesel engine (newer version of the old 430s). http://www.mytractorforum.com/12-jo...pgrading-445-sizes.html#/topics/160900?page=1 info on tire sizes.

My dads 445 is 2wd with deff lock, the deff lock is very easy to engage and I have had his buried to the deck in mud and was able to wiggle my way out using the deff lock with the Titan turfs. If I understand that correctly the AWS had narrower rears and can not have the wider rear tires.

 

[hunt4570]

Well that whole nylon gear thing has scared me off on this thing, I took a pass so I'll just keep looking..

Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[beenthere]

May be a mistake on your part to pass, without checking to see if it has been changed out. The AWS is pretty close to bullet proof and a real plus in my opinion. Ask the owner to verify the gear situation and/or go through a Deere dealer for a report on that model/ s/n.

As to the question why I don't use the X485 mower deck, is it blows clippings and debris our from under and not all out the chute. Using the power flow blower to blow into the MC519 cart was no better.. Deere redisigned their decks for a more blocky or robust look and removed the good air flow that the older 54" decks have. There were attempts to solve the problem with some bolt-on plates, but there was very little improvement. No experience with other decks built since the early 2000's when they first came out.. That X485 is used for the broom, the grapple now, sprayer duty, lawn rolling duty, and other odds/ends other than mowing.. That is done with the 455 diesel. The 425 is designated to MC519 cart for grass and leaf pickup mainly.

 

[Smoothas]

Agree with Beenthere- at least check to see if Plastic gear has been replaced. If not get price from JD dealer to replace it, trust me your JD dealer will be very familiar with this – then see if seller will “work” with you on price- those 425’s other than nylon gear are 2000+ hour machines

 

[hunt4570]

Ok, UPDATE on this..

I talked to his JD dealership, they have not changed that gear out nor can they see that anyone else has either. They also told me to do the work to change that out I'd be looking at $900. Also I was wrong on hours, this unit has 825 hours (I probably got mixed up with the millions of other mowers I've been looking at! ) So Its getting pretty close to failure time, so I did take a pass on it.
BUT, with all I've seen on this I will probably try to find another of the same model, again thanks for all the help!

 

[Gittyup]

Just to clarify some of the differences in between models. The 425 and 445 are identical except the 445 is fuel injected and the 425 is carb. The FI yields about 5 more HP (25 HP vs 20 HP) and requires less warm up. The bigger wheels came on all models not equipped with AWS. The AWS models use smaller rear wheels turned inside out. They will not accept wheel weights and require spacers for chains. AWS is available on all 3 models. The 455 is diesel and has markedly more torque, and is therefore better suited for the biggest decks in the tallest grasses.

As for the cost of the CAM. $900 is pretty reasonable. If you do it yourself and change everything while in there, it will cost about $500. That's what it cost me. Once changed out, the tractor is good for another 1000 or two. The 400's are some of the best tractors made. Don't give up on them. Think about what you'll be getting for your money after the CAM change. Nothing new in that price range comes close to that machine.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

$2900 plus the $900 to fix it, your in the machine $3800, that's just above a new Husqvarna GT.

The thing about the JD 425 AWD is the investment aspect, if you don't like it you could get that out of it with a replaced gear and under 1000 hours.

The resale value will remain high on the 400 series, that won't be the case with other mowers.

Seems like a lot of money but it's a solid investment. If it's a one owner and the guy to remarkable care of the tractor then I would say it's a mistake to pass it up.

There's no other garden tractors that can compete with the 400 series without jumping to a sub compact.

 

[oldnslo]

Depending on your mechanical ability the cam gear is not that difficult to change on these engines. I would also replace the water pump while doing this since it has to be removed anyway.