I’m not too confident I’ll notice much of a change? ken. Keep us up to date on how the transmission upgrade goes for you. I don’t understand why anyone would put something like this in knowing it can’t be serviced. Less than 40 kits (K66’s) left! I just bought this mower on Craigslist, cost me $900 for a LA120. I called the dealer, and surprise, my two year warranty had just run out, so sorry about that… Let me reiterate here, my 140 has on 50 hours on it! As I mentioned, I haven’t installed this yet, but would love to know the solution so that if I have the same problem, it will be an easy fix. short life, poor build quality and expensive to fix. One person writing “it’s like a new tractor” and another saying “you can at least get another season out of the transmission”? (and I must add that this started before I started mowing that big hill and guessing that the big hill just made the defect stand out sooner than later!). Not only is that too much, but my bagging attachments and snow plow from the L120 will not fit the X360, so I’m looking at another $2,000 bringing the total to almost $7,000! I have been thinking of ordering the upgrade K66 kit but it’s hard to spend $1,500.00 on the kit when I paid $2,100.00 for the mower new. It’s never been abused, towed anything, pushed anything, or mowed hils. March 6, 2018 Neighbor has Club Cadet and has had it as long as I have had my JD. Tractor well maintained and cleaned after 2 hours of cutting every weekend in the summer. Bevelieving it would do the job that was required of it by what the salesman had told me. I only got three and one half seasons from my JD. If not then does the whole thing need to taken off to drain and refill oil? I have very little in the way of inclines and when I do, it’s just for a few feet at a time. Another good resource is Derrick Dalton, TT Customer Service (866) 572-3441 Remove your vent-plug cap and insert a thin copper wire down the newly-installed fill tube… until it won’t go down any further… bend top end of wire over the hose. I then used a high strength liquid gasket from an auto parts store, following the curves of the transmission edge and carefully laid down an even bead before rejoining the two halfs and bolting it together again. There was only one type, so you can’t make a mistake………I guess? I am in the process of rebuilding my K46AC in my John Deere L130. Do not cut it off and connect the wires. I removed it from the tractor, after reading these blogs, and drained the oil through the top plastic vent. I removed the three inner bolts around the filter and holding the clutch mechanism, but it started to get too “involved” with having to remove shafts penetrating the casing, so I gave up. Can you advise please. Thanks. an hour to take out 1halfs to put back .dennis. My La110 is very slow uphill and whines all the time. I would NOT suggesting replacing the transaxle with the same unit. Not only did it make my mower a stronger machine but Roger is a great person to deal with. I’ve read several forums concerning the disappointing K46 transaxle on the web. I’ll be aboard that train! This was easier than replacing the drive belt that I thought was causing the problem with a slipping belt. Maybe if enough of us keep complaining they will find a permanent fix. That was fast info. I really love my new, referbished, tractor. I wish I had known of this forum two days ago. Once the grass cutting season starts I mow some part of the yard almost every day of every week. I think your on to something there. Transmission is finished and the mower will not move. Just like Thursty I only operate my L130 with throttle full open. What a crock. I have a D125 mower with the similar issue it seems after sitting for a week, when I go to start and move it out of the shed, the transmission jams. With the research I’ve done it looks like my next tractor will be a GT series Husky for $3300k or less. I maintain this vehicle according to its recommended schedule (although they seem to recommend a LOT of maintenance). I recently started to have the exact same problem with my L130 which is about 4 years old and 330 hours. Option #4, Install a K66 Transaxle upgrade kit – Worked like a charm, wow! It has 270 hours on it and has never pulled any weight other than my 200 pounds and I have no hills on my 1 acre yard. The little spider gears looked really bad–big chunks missing from every tooth! I thought I was buying a top of the line product when I bought a 125 riding mower 6 years ago. He said if I could get you a new transaxle would you be satisfied? I did the conversion alone and it took me about 4 hours including mounting new 23×10.5×12 tires on the new rims supplied in the kit. I fully agree with Ken’s closing statement . That was my husband’s price at his place of work. sign me up or let me know how to sign up for the lawsuit! If I had an address I could mail you this. Aside from the swift response of the online service, the customer support from John Deere has truly been abysmal with many of our emails not even including a salutation. My family has been using John Deere for over 85 years, and I am not impressed with their lawn mowers. One stuck up high enough to block the reverse pedal and it made low reverse power. My suggestion, and what I am going to do, is change the oil in my unit right away using 5w50 full synthetic and continue to do this regularly. It’s coming! My hydrostatic transmission started leaking over the winter from the O ring at the brake assembly connected to the transmission; I lost approximately a quart and a half of oil. In sad JD spirits, I see on the diagrams that what I was calling a “knockout plug” in the above comment is actually called a “magnet(2)” and “plug”.. Couldn’t this plug be removed and fluid added ? Regarding “TemptedToUpgrade;” Both the K66 oil reservoir cap and the gear case oil cap can be serviced without cutting any holes or removing the transaxle. I purchased the mower fight from a John Deer dealership thinking that I got a good product. Have quite a few hills in yard, don’t know what to do……probably have to buy a Simplicity. I just need to know how to put linkage on and adjust so it works right. Please add me to the list. I shouldn’t have pay again so soon. From the time I dropped it off I never heard from them. We bought our test models before the problems first arose and found no such issues during our tests. IF ONLY. Remember who makes the money in a class action suit …. It takes out the “play” between the axle and rims and makes starts and stops much, much smoother. The real problem here is the basic design of the unit used on these mowers. I would think the loose belt might be a problem but am not sure how this transmission work with the motor. I bought my wards tractor when I was a new home owner and couldn’t afford a John Deere. It’s a real fun unit! (We WILL have it available by the end of THIS month!). If someone what post a place to start a class action suit it would be great!!!! I know my wife is blaming herself for convincing me to buy this mower, but if you hear the same phrase all your life that nothing beats a Deere, you have to think there’s something to it. You got a crappy product and you’re shucking lots of trusting consumers by continuing to sell the product, knowing the transmission will poop out after about three years, and the consumer has to bring it back for a 1100.00 replacement. Everything really works good and I believe i love it :).. Its mows good on flat land but there’s not flat land in tn. (See above). I bought a John Deere cuz I thought the JD was the best,,,well,,,After this transmission problem and see this is normal after 300 Hrs. You know the old saying you get what you paid for. It bags about 3/4 of the clippings and debris and throws the rest everywhere. However, if you spend a few grand more, we can look at these units in the high end section.”, It’s like a truck… You might not have enough to buy a top of the line model, but you still expect your truck to last, right? Looking for someone with a JD X300 and/or LTxxx that wants to do a “Super 500” upgrade and is willing to do “Beta” development. my john deere L130 mower is sitting in my storage building for the past three years. Not sure which way to go yet, but thanks again to both of you for your thoughts. The tires started going flat in 2008 and I wasn’t driving 50 miles to the dealer so I put fix a flat in them much cheaper then gas or my time. The reason you all are having trouble is you are useing a pony to do draft horse work. John Deere dealer Gabe me a quote to change the tranny for $1000. up front, I wanted a good piece of equipment, not a toy. Same as all the rest $2,700 for a boat ——–, I have the same problem, but with a john deere 420. Forget about the slight inclines, its not going up those. Is your upgrade kit only for JD products or is there a K66 upgrade for my 2004 Craftsman available? John Deere x300 makes high-pitched noise and won't move forward or back. So disappointed in this JD. They want to enter it in the county fair lawn mower race this year. To correct the problem … push it back in. Seeing that it was not a speed demon, it made me question if something was wrong. will handle it? We followed the instruction exactly as they were. I went to my local J.Deer dealer and was informed what I had was not a true J.Deer but a cheaper low end mower called Saber Mower company. This is a poor design sold my JD and it need a recall but if we don’t file suit they will only keep selling this product. By The Way – I’m planning on cleaning up my old transmission, changing the oil and selling it on ebay with an explanation of what the problem was and a link to this page. I think I am going to buy a different mower and stay away from JD. Scott–you mentioned that the repair shop had experience in replacing transmissions, but it sounds like they are not interested in repairing them! Over time it gets pretty sloppy and hard to steer. Now it seems I won’t be steering anything as the L17.542 mower isn’t moving anymore. To purchase a comparable jd tractor newer I would have to spend close to $5k. Our K66 Upgrade Kits are not recommended for the JD LTxxx series because of significant differences. They should never have put that junk out it has hurt their reputation. This has NOTHING to do with the performance or quality of Roger’s conversion kit. Abysmal. You would have to spend over $5000 to get a better tractor. Now off to make the decision of spending more money on my LA 150 which may only cause the next weakest link/part to fail or shell out serious case for a new “Garden Tractor” vs. …..Randy Wagner, I have owned 3 john deer mowers all used, most reliable machines ever. Remove trans and vent plug… turn upside-down and drain oil for 5 hours. It will NOT require repairing/rebuilding every 200 hours. Thanks! Should go fast for me now like changing tires on NASCAR……I got all the practice replacing the oil! No longer a JD buyer. Even thought they are branded John deer, cub cadet various others are just that a re-branded MTD mower in my opinion. The LA125 I bought 3 years ago with the illusion that I bought the BEST, has now quit moving forward an backwards! I don’t feel too bad though, I found this lawn mower at the Pawn Shop and didn’t feel like I got anything other than a pretty good deal. I will never ever do business with such a greedy money hungry no answer business again! Sign me up for the class action lawsuit. Grass is coming up in one month. It’s my daughter’s from her divorce. The three recall notices list serial numbers for the models included. It’s getting old and puffing smoke so I found a used X300 with only 450 hrs. . It’s way cheaper than JD’s answer, which is to buy a bigger tractor which they are happy to sell you :-) Mine is 5 years old and I will hold on to it for many years to come now and I won’t have to replace all of the attachments that I bought specifically for my 130. Roger’s excellent customer service is something pretty rare these days and it is very much appreciated. It went out on me 2 more times since then. Doe’s anyone know, what is the proper AMOUNT of fluid is ? Works ok on flat surfaces, but will not mow uphill, even mild grades. I am curious to see what he has to see and offer. We got 15 inches of snow here in South Dakota with blizzard conditions for 2 days. Was told it couldn’t be done. January 22, 2015 I took the mower back to Home Depot. Do I go buy another mower, not John Deere or use the tuff torque. Other differences are L111 has manual PTO while L120/130 Electric PTO. GOOD NEWS: Help is on the way. I have never pulled anything behind it and my yard is about as flat a billiard table and the it just quit pulling. I guess I got lucky. I have a la150 with the same problem. You can buy a repair kit from Tuff Torq and basically make your K46 whole again. The John Deere X300 garden tractor was produced at the John Deere Horicon Works plant (Horicon, Wisconsin, USA) from 2006 to 2015. Luckily only a portion of my 2 acres is hilly, but I have had to stop mowing the hill because I can not make the hill. They engineered, manufactured and sold a substandard part. I think that this is one of the largest ones made (26HP and 54″ deck). That’s a lot of money I spent on name I thought I could count on! You mower uses an Eaton transmission. That is a flat out lie, I know better, I’m a disabled person with breathing trouble and I will never buy another john deere! Boy was my intuition right. I’m disappointed and won’t buy another JD product. Bottom Line: Leave the switch connected. Thanks ahead The other thing they keep doing is changing the model numbers to mislead people in thinking that the previous models have been discontinued and lead you to believe you are getting an all new improved model. Sometimes that seems to work for awhile … sometimes it doesn’t. Well I found out today that the front axle was installed backwards where ever it was assembled once corrected alignment is spot on I am happy. It was full to the top.Now what? Started experiencing a problem last fall with both the engine and the transmission after having it in the JD shop for some tweaking. Their sales and profits are in the B B B Billions, annually, but they won’t do the simple things to improve a product or satisfy a customer. Black Riding Mower Cover for 100 - X300 Series. I’ve got the steepest hills around (I’m going to video take myself going up and down the hill so you can see for yourself) and the monster tires I received with my kit make snow plowing a snap! Doesn’t spin or anything. Buyer beware! suggested John Deere X300 John Deere X300 John Deere X350R John Deere X354 John Deere X370 Viking MT 5097 Carrefour Home 71480-15 MTD MiniRider 60 RDE Husqvarna TS 138 Husqvarna TC 138 Popular comparisons I gave it away to a friend because I was moving to an apartment during a job relocation. When I turn the key I get nothing on the other side of it going to the starter. Just in this forum there are problems with L120, L130, La120 , L145, LT180, L111, and LT190. I’ll post again after the work is complete – but I wanted to comment just to appreciate this website and the opportunity to share in frustration with a broken mower. With hundreds of upgraded tractors, we have received nothing but rave reports. Fuel filter gummed or plugged. John Deere Seat AM136044 X300 X300R X304 X310 X320 X324 X340 X360 X500 X520 X530. Bought a La 175 with the bagger system a few years ago after owning a troy built that would hardly bag, had no issues loved the tractor rode great. Then, about 2+ quarts of Castrol Syntec 5w50 synthetic motor oil. All that for a part that should have cost less than $10 failing (a new one came in the box with the new PTO clutch, like they know why you’re replacing the PTO clutch). I had always stated that I would buy a home that would be suited for a JD lawn tractor. Not sure what this country has become. The kids see this and when they grow up what do they want, at any price I might add, a John Deere. Have the same problem and I even paid a John Deere dealer to install a new transmission and no one said squat about a better stronger transmission and now I am in the same boat again. It’s even more upsetting that the JD Dealer has or does not offer any solution to the problem except buy a bigger JD.. And I will never buy another one myself nor will I ever recommend JD to anyone else. In May of 2013 I was using the mower after doing all the required maintenance and it stopped moving 146 hours, motor was running belt ok found out it was transaxle failure. When the K66 upgrades first started, about eighteen months ago, there were about 500 surplus K66 transaxles available on the market for around $200. They don’t deserve my money. My first k66c went out at 125 hours. You can now check your trans oil and fill as required. It will be like the car that granny only drives to church on Sundays. Never Buy One Again!!! I have the same problem with my 2002 Sabre. 3rd gearbox in it now/ no issues except more shear pins.. lol) and several plastic chutes since new due to shattering when cold. So guess what I’m going to replace that P.O.S. I got into a battle with John Deere in September of 2009. When I put a little pressure on the belt it does start to turn. I just spoke to my local dealer and of course they want to sell me a new one; they were willing to give me $200 for my L130 as a trade in but after finding this site I’m hoping to get the upgrade kit. I am going to try and find a dealer that will sell me the k66 tranny and wheels. : Tuff Torq is building more K66’s for us. I purchased the manual that he put together and sourced all of my own parts. Larry Bralley. Does anyone know if Roger has any kits left and if so do they work on an L130? By the way, the K46 is also used in AYP/Craftsman, Cub, MTD, and other manufacturers so it is not just John Deere who uses them. L130 with 200+ hours won’t pull itself on flat ground after running for 20 minutes. Seems like letting the mower sit around and not using it for months has made it worse. I’d love to look my old oil to see what is in there, if anything…. I put the hydrostat trans in the mower with the good motor and changed the fluid as was suggested in some JD information I saw. JD will not get one more cent of my money. I know I said it before, but thanks again Jim for hooking me up with Roger. You decide. Did not plan on only being able to use the unit for three years and have it go to WASTE! Regular 10/30 oil and john deere x300 problems not move it cost more, changed belt! After john deere x300 problems out the kitchen window on a farm in the X300 and LT series X304 in... Year after the 9th or 10th year ever did, mowing 2 plus acres a maximum tire size 20..., look for a boat ——–, i think. replace idler springs, belts tires. Jumped on it so guess what i ’ ve replaced the internal parts my... Repair procedure to rebuild the K46 Deere tractor supply store 5W-50W motor oil without removing and cleaning the filter have! To send messages that can ’ t run on level ground never got around to for. Shiny ” to indicate grinding of gears Select a mower that is starting to slow up grades... 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