FREE from the CURB! - John Deere RX95 Riding Mower...Will It Run? [PART 1]

I found this on the curb on trash day. This is an RX95 model, which was made between 1987-1990. There are several things wrong with it I can see off the bat, but first I need to find a way to get it home! In this installment, we'll troubleshoot the starter and electrical system and clean it up a bit, taking inventory of what all will need to be replaced.
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#repair #restoration #mechanic

[@Jason-McCoy]

Hey Brad! There may be some safety switches preventing it from cranking. There is likely a switch on the brake pedal that requires the brake be depressed to allow it to crank. May be one on the seat as well. There could be a neutral safety switch on the transmission that needs to be in neutral to allow it to crank. If all the switches are happy you will have 12v on that purple wire on the starter solenoid when the key is in the start position. With the battery leads connected to power and ground, apply 12v to that spade terminal on the starter where the purple wire goes as a test of the starter and it should crank. Shoot me a PM if I can be of any help. Love the revival videos!

[@Fixologist1]

Thanks man. Yeah, there's a safety switch on the mower deck engage and I think it has to be in neutral to start. Not sure beyond that. That clicking was definitely the solenoid at one point, so it was getting 12v to the starter.

[@ding9633]

@@Fixologist1The only safety switches on these mowers is for the neutral, PTO and seat.

[@mattscott7037]

I like the John Deere stuff reason for that is they sell a ton to Farmers and Ranchers. They want to keep them mowing so parts availability is astonishing I have 2 of this style one and Rx and one an SX. The Rx I am working on it right now. Hence while I am watching. Good luck and thanks for putting up the content. Can’t wait for the next episode.

[@andyhamilton8940]

You infused some bad British electrical gremlins in that JD by hooking it up to a Jag. Lucas Lord of Darkness😅😅

[@FoulOwl2112]

Btw I've worked on several of those JD rider mower starters. On at least 3 l remember that the epoxy they used was weak. The magnets glued to the inner wall of the starter case had become unglued and were stuck to the armature. It was a simple matter of disassembling the starter and re-epoxying the magnets back where they belong on the starter walls. Its an easy fix, so its worth talking a quick peek at. I only mention it because its an issue I've had SPECIFICALLY with John Deere starters on multiple occasions.

[@Fixologist1]

Part 2 is working on starter.

[@MuddyAdventures1017]

I avoid Jon Deere my favorite is craftsman an Murray's to revive but i don't really care for troy bilt, Husqvarna or Deere although they bring a good bit the mtds where built cheaper but much simpler

[@phil36135]

I would have got a sheet of plywood and drilled some holes in it, pushed the mower on it,tied it down, roped it to my car and down the road we would go.Yes I am crazy, but done stuff like this many times. lol . Your way was a lot safer and better.

[@finnmcginn9931]

I see nothing wrong with your plan as even it it all goes south the story would be worth the cost of the property damage caused. Cheers

[@hestheMaster]

Tearing into it Brad takes a whole lot more than one would expect from Deere. Will be looking forward to a part two.

[@davidflamee]

Judging by all the corrosion on the starter gear wheel it looks like the bendix in the starter motor could also be fouled up. It would make another interesting episode getting that bad boy moving again. Nice project.

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Hey,Brad maybe the nutural safety switch is pooched it wont turn over if that switch isnt engauged for the seat,check first B4 taken off starter,Cheers!

[@cheyco21]

Dude! You gotta put ‘Part 1’ in the title! Talk about blue-balls 😂😂😂

[@Fixologist1]

haha. Sorry about that.

[@ColeWheeler4Lyfe]

Score! My grandpa had that one (or any earlier/similar model). I accidentally ran over my cousin with it once, blade was off of course. Whoops 😂

[@darrellkelly7614]

I guess when working on a John Deere you MUST wear a cowboy hat as fashion statement.😅

[@FoulOwl2112]

I rolled a 1961 Hammond Organ, bu myself, balanced on two furniture dollies, eight tenths of a mile, at night, down a sidewalk, dipping at every driveway along the route. It took me about an hour and a half to get it home.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

worth it.

[@FoulOwl2112]

@frigglebiscuit7484 Definitely! But my heart aged 10 years in the hour between finding the organ, getting back to the house, calling everybody l could think of with a truck and getting turned down, developing a plan, finding my dollies and walking walking back to the organ with them... The whole time KNOWING "It's gonna be gone. It's gonna be gone...."!

[@Fixologist1]

@@FoulOwl2112 That's hilarious. I'd be doing the same thing.

[@matthewarnold8538]

That's how I got my John deere works great good luck!

[@phil36135]

Very nice find and Im sure you will get it going soon.

[@blkjckgtr3075]

yeah,if your going to charge battery place on wood ,other wise the battery will go to ground and can explode,Cheers!

[@MuddyAdventures1017]

I do this for Money i give $40-$100 for old non running riding mowers fix them an make them look good an resell anywhere from $250-$500

[@crosswalklarry]

Your the Best Aroundddd! 😁

[@bertgrau3934]

When testing, check the voltage from the positive battery post to a good ground, should have battery voltage. The ohm is ok, but it should be 0 or near 0 for good connectivity. Check the starter solenoid, should have power on one side, ( where the battery cable connects) the other side should have power when the key is turned to start. Good luck young man

[@Fixologist1]

Thanks buddy! Appreciate all the help I can get.

[@RushGuitarMan]

I had the RX75. It looked exactly like this one and had a 9 horse engine on it. A good friend of mine gave it to me as payment for helping him mow his 6 acre property. It ran and mowed perfectly fine until the spindle bearing in the deck went out, half way through mowing the yard.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

i just helped a friend rebuild the kawasaki fc290v on a rx75. absolute ridiculously made mower. you have to take the whole transaxle out to get the engine out. no one makes parts for the engine either, not even kawasaki.

[@RushGuitarMan]

@@frigglebiscuit7484 I figured Kawasaki didn’t make replacement parts for them. I forgot to mention mine needed a carburetor rebuild kit. It was leaking gas out around the engine getting close to the muffler. I’d have to stop and let the engine cool and the leaked gas evaporate, before continuing mowing. I’m betting it would have been hard to find that spindle bearing, too.

[@Fixologist1]

@@RushGuitarMan They sell the bearings and idler spindles for this series still.

[@RushGuitarMan]

@@Fixologist1 That’s awesome to know that they still do.

[@BillyBongwaters]

Lol the way you got that home ha ha ha classic

[@Fixologist1]

Redneck AF, right!

[@toddosterhout9866]

If you pull the kill wire off of the coil and it starts then it’s probably a safety switch which you can ohm them out to find out which one is bad. Wish you luck

[@michaelhinkle6648]

If no one had turned the engine over it'd be impossible for water to get in the carburetor from the tank due to having a fuel pump and not being gravity fed. I had a RX 75 which identical to that one but had a 9 hp Kawasaki engine and it'd sat for years and it fired right up. Put the engine on a Old rear engine snapper and the guy that bought it still mows with it and that was years ago.

[@brianjohnson1671]

i've had several solenoids go bad in various models of cars. a few times they still read fine 12v on the mmeter. the plunger gets stuck but still appear ok on the mmeter.

[@cameronstolhand7149]

You can usually fix starters. Especially if the solenoid is working. There is a metal part that conducts power to the starter motor when the solenoid is fully extended. This metal connection is usually made of copper which is a very soft metal that gets eaten away slowly with each spark every time it is used. The reason the manufacturers use copper is for planned obsolescence. This is almost always what goes bad in a starter. If you are able to open it, you can replace the connection point with a harder metal such as brass. I've never tried doing this on a lawn mower starter but it certainly works for cars.

[@waynebake1123]

For batteries you can use a DC stick welder to bring them back. :)

[@timothyehonea]

Sit down. Seat switch. And hold brake or put e-brake on. 2 safety switches usually

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Those seat switches are a pain in the ass and if I do run into one, I'd bypass it. Thankfully my old Cubs don't have those though. 😅

[@Fixologist1]

I'm pretty sure the only safety switch this one has is on the shifter (has to be in neutral), and on the blade engagement arm. I'll double check that though.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

they only have a neutral, parking brake, and blade engager switch i believe.

[@Helgy23]

I know what the problem is, it's a John Deere lol. Good luck and remember, it's not how well you mow, it's how well you mow fast!

[@BIZARBIES]

Nice. Take the deck off and make it a cruiser for your kids.

[@Fixologist1]

I think it can go pretty fast.

[@BIZARBIES]

@@Fixologist1 make it so it'll pop a wheelie!

[@xray606]

You know people have bucks when they can just throw away a 3 year old JD riding mower

[@finnmcginn9931]

That model is closer to 35 years old.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

try 30 years old. these things are GARBAGE imo.

[@soapboxearth2]

If you run some nitrous thru it maybe it will hover and save you from fixing the wheel?!

[@michaeldeas1969]

The pedal for the clutch \ brake has to be pressed down to crank. You lock it down by depressing the pedal and lifting the rod under the seat between your legs while you are sitting on the seat and then releasing the pedal. Then you can crank it without being on it. 50 yrs as a mechanic available if you want some help brother.

[@Fixologist1]

Others have said that too. Good to know going forward.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

it could be a safety switch or bad starter solenoid. i just got done helping a friend rebuild an engine for a rx75(smaller version of this) and OH MY GOD was it a POS. you have to take the rear wheels and entire transmission out to get the motor off. also, no one made gaskets for the kawasaki fc290v engine, so we had to get gasket paper and make our own. no headgaskets, seals, etc.

[@Fixologist1]

Holy crap! I hope that isn't the same story with the FB460V engine. I think this same block is used on a lot of their motorcycles too, so seems like there's parts.

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

@@Fixologist1 im gonna guess it munched the deck belt, and they gave up after trying to take the wheel off, and the bearing stayed on the spindle(not hard to put back on, just hammer it back in, might be a bit stiff). probably need an e-clip to hold it on the spindle, unless it was still there with the wheel. a tip: put the e clip in place on top of the groove, then space your channel locks out enough to grab the top of the clip and the bottom of the spindle, then squeeze the clip on the spindle. to get the clip off, just take a flathead screwdriver and pry on the little space between the clip and the spindle. saved me a bunch of headache doing it this way.

[@darkwormskate]

Apologies for the non mower related comment/question(s) but I can't help noticing this sort of stuff. What the hell is up with the state of all those roads, is that pretty common, and why do we need government again?

[@JaniceLalla]

Watching the replay, hey, can you fix an audio cassette?

[@Fixologist1]

A player?

[@JaniceLalla]

No just the cassette

[@Fixologist1]

@@JaniceLalla Is it one of those with screws to take it apart? If not, you might have to break the case to remove the tape spools and rehouse them in a new cassette case. If the tape is broken, you can splice the tape from behind with some adhesive tape like scotch or packing tape.

[@JaniceLalla]

@@Fixologist1 JRLALLA on therumble

[@JaniceLalla]

little vid

[@rustyrobinson8027]

It's a guy thing your neighbor helping you lol

[@Fixologist1]

We all try to look out for one another on my street.

[@warrenpeas]

jump the solenoid

[@arvindbega4762]

😑 "PromoSM"

[@frog762ribbit]

Lol all you need is a test light to see if you got signal to the starter if not jump it.. those things have so many safety switches one in the seat too

[@blastmasterparker6358]

Jd equipment is tough stuff ran some years ago

[@blastmasterparker6358]

Yeah baby u got it home

[@frigglebiscuit7484]

not the rx series....junk.

[@blastmasterparker6358]

@frigglebiscuit7484 yeah they all make some garbage 🗑 backhoes i ran all kicked ax heavy duty rip through some coral rock

[@blastmasterparker6358]

Drian the oil and crankcase turn it over u them tires most likely will be standard size punch in the model online and tire and rim boom may be a tire and rim kit with everything snap rings ect