Looks like I’m not the only one with John Deere tractor issues.
Except he has a real tractor, not the little kiddy toy riding lawn mower thing.
Backhoe attachment and the Full Meal Deal.
The hydraulic power steering unit went out on his JD and just the price of a USED unit cost him more than I will have sunk into fixing BOTH of my little ones if I can help it.
Plus he is currently remembering those special curse words reserved for mechanics because he is swapping the damn thing out himself.
AyeYiYi.
My sympathies buddy.
I told him not to bust any knuckles.
Fond memories for me. My high school summer (’71) I worked for the local John Deere dealership (Tulelake, CA) in the shop. Most of my work was assisting with “dealer prep” on new equipment. For example, new combines arrived with their headers separate (for obvious reasons). We had to mount the headers and then hook up power and the controls.These were some of the first combines to have fully enclosed cabs, complete with a gen-u-ine AM radio. Deliveries were interesting, driving a combine down county roads and arriving at the customer’s location without a half dozen mail boxes and a volkswagon in the header.
Ah, but, you see, John Deere only wants its own mechanics and its own parts to be used on John Deere ag equipment.
You don’t so much as buy a piece of JD equipment anymore. Instead you rent a subscription service to that equipment and you don’t really ever own it.
There are a lot of farmers who are ditching the Deere for anything else they can find.
Because other manufacturers allow 3rd party parts and other people’s modifications without voiding a huge contract.
Sorry, F*** John Deere.
I am,was working on a John Deere LX 266 classified as a lawn tractor, not mower. Developed a leak at the brake shaft, actually a Turf Torq transactual. In order to fix the leak the transactual had to be tore apart. Very costly and time consuming. Being raised by parents whom were married during the depression and learn to survive taught us kids necessity is the mother of invention. Remove the transactual from tractor studied it for a few days hit on a fix for it $3.87. Installed it in the tractor 2 months later no leak. Was looking at $400.00 to rebuild it. By the way transactual is a K62A Turf Torq
I hear ya! While I haven’t had to work on tractors personally, they can be a bitch from all the war stories I hear.
As for the cost of parts, my spa main two-speed 240V pump had a locked rotor due to leaking around a seal in the pump that literally ate the bearing, so it cost me $630 for a replacement pump/motor. Parts. Only. Yilkes!! Of course, only Jacuzzi had the part… so I paid for the “Genuine Parts” as well.
What a racket.
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Real tractor?
Hahahahahahahahahaaaaa.
Yer killin me!
It’s a nice little lawn rig, but “real” tractor – yeah, no.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY