John Deere 400: 60 Inch Deck Rehab Part 1

This is part 1 of either 2 or 3 on fixing this John Deere 400 Garden Tractor 60" deck. Overall the deck is not in terrible shape but it needs some attention.

[@shanesmaineshop]

I have the same deck on my 400 as well great tractor for sure.

[@socialdragon1743]

your kinda lucky to have the newer style deck on this one, my 400 is one of the first year models to come out so ive got the older 3 wheel decks. looks good overall congrats on the 400 !

[@ThatMowerMan]

The ones with the 4 wheels are a replacement deck, I just figured that out! 😅 I always thought the older ones also had 3 gauge wheels.

[@matty2helpfull]

I'm currently working on making a 400 deck into a front mount deck for a 318

[@Thejohnmullen]

Boy I wish I had a deck that look that nice for my 318. It seems impossible to find one that’s in decent shape

[@markchidester6239]

Any plans to do another comparison video? I would like to see one on the 400 complaining to the 420. Big reason is the attachments for the 400 being different from the other 400 series tractors. What is different? Why won't they interchange? Also, I have a 400 and would like to install a 420 (or other) rear axle with the locking differential. What's different there and what difficulties would I find in doing this? Great videos BTW!

[@bigredgreg1]

Good project. I'm looking forward to its continuation.

[@mmrbeef]

I ordered $190 worth of parts on Tuesday. I hope they come in today or tomorrow morning so I can work on the deck this coming Sunday. It would be nice to try out the 400 soon!

[@davidshipulski4532]

That's a surprisingly good looking deck!

[@quinnthomas9965]

Do you have any tips on ordering parts from John Deere online/dealership because I find it difficult to keep track of which hardware part number goes to what when it all arrives at the dealership and also I ordered parts from the dealership like the rollers that go underneath the deck and then realize they don't make the long hotdog size roller anymore and you have to buy 3 smaller rollers and slide them in series and that exposes an inch more roller rod than the one original long one so I kind of want to return those. So I had the dealership order around $800 dollars in hardware, bearings, pulleys, belt, and maintenance filters/lubricants and when I went to the dealership they just handed me a box of parts and I like an idiot just walked off without matching each part with the part number list on the receipt and when I got home and went through it they forgot the rear gauge wheels and I'm also staring at a bunch hardware that I don't remember where it goes. I feel like you may do a similar activity at your own job but just speculating. You seem to be pretty good at knowing what you should be replacing and what should be left alone. I bought new hardware mostly because you do and before watching your videos and would always just re-use the old nuts and bolts. If you end up answering this in an upcoming video could you please let me know. I watch most of your videos that pertain to rebuilds and maintenance. I don't know you do it or not but I've heard other youtubers make statements "I see a lot of people asking me about..." and then they go on to answering on that video.

[@mmrbeef]

That is a great question and I should do a video on it. Decks are especially painful to figure out where the parts are. New hardware is just always so much easier! I do reuse some hardware but not much. Just from experience I know that some hardware can't be reused (such as the nuts and bolts that hold spindles on the deck). A short answer for your question is I copy the Deere parts image into a Power Point, print it and make notes. If I have time tonight I will try and make a video for this weekend. Thanks for the idea!

[@toddhsams]

What viscosity gear oil did you put into the gear box you drained the oil out of...thx

[@mmrbeef]

I normally use 80W-90 gear oil in these gear boxes.

[@Bud1079]

I’ve been searching for a video like this do you have the part number for the tension spring and the length and size of the belt?