Fixing up a John Deere Lawn Tractor - Was it Worth It?

Repairing / fixing up a John Deere ride on lawn tractor.
Thank you to my Patrons
/ daggerwin
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@empiesidbury1573]

I just wanted to say thank you for taking your time to make these videos of your work for us to enjoy. I find it extremely satisfying to watch them. You are very talented and do great work!!

[@lowbudgetfilmguy8626]

Thank you so much for this video. This is the only in depth on repairs on this model I can find on KZbin and we'll done might I add. Thank you sir.

[@ranwolfFARM]

You have so much great talent Daggerwin. Thank you for all your hard work. That John Deere looks brand new.

[@hayksamvelyan]

You did a great job with the deck, I've never seen one with a timing belt before. Your work really took years off the mower.

[@matthewdowd4686]

Daggz back in person!! Love it! Big fan mate!

[@biohazardshrimp]

I love my John Deere mower. You did a great job cleaning this one up.

[@raphaelelvish2430]

I love this video! Great job Dag. I also love working on these old machines but never have time but when I do I have all the fun in the world. Again great job mate.!

[@alterdphsycosis]

great job dag! looks like she just rolled off the assembly line

[@Andy_83_SWE]

Love these videos. So relaxing to watch

[@jeroentehennepe4255]

I like these kinds of videos. Really relaxing to watch between breakfast and Survival Role Play on Sunday’s 😁

[@frankvucolo6249]

Wonderful video. Thank you. The Freedom 42 is a really great timed, dedicated mulching deck. I have it over a larger Kawasaki engine. The deck is on the smaller side, but that’s why I chose it. Get as much HP as possible over a modest sized dedicated muncher and the cut is superb. By the way, those timing belts are expensive! Lucky thing it was in such good shape.

[@johnkinnane547]

G'day and greetings from Tasmania Australia, that was good watching that your like me I keep my mowers ect., in good condition, you gave that machine a new lease of life credit to you, thanks again John

[@HywelPlayz]

daggerwin, i enjoy watching you fixing stuff.

[@markindzeris369]

She's choochin' skookum! Love my LT150..after 9 years of service got too close to the back porch and my beautiful hood is now in 10 pieces.

[@giantasiansticker8880]

Yeah I got a lt133 they are very brittle

[@Random-iz1gp]

I don't even fix lawnmower... I could watch you all day just your personality is just great

[@dupree4397]

One of my favorite John Deere restorations.. Thank you!

[@Hugebach]

Love these videos thank you

[@Liam_football]

The Lawn mower looks cool.Great job

[@rickleger3528]

love that side lifting jack gives great access to the lower part of the mower

[@matthewvaldez6387]

Well done Dag! Just as fun to watch as the farm sim 👍👍👌

[@loydcourson5276]

Very sharp looking i like the care you put into things.

[@AndrewHCann]

Excellent video Marty :) ready be go more lawn care services to work with and long time now!

[@plee501pl]

192 people who watched this video missed the point. Excellent work family. Glad I found your channel. Your formidable Skill and talent can't be denied.

[@jamesgibson5606]

Epic restore, enjoyed your adventure.

[@markturney8276]

great job👌🏽impressed with the equipment u have

[@robj2704]

You're absolutely right about using genuine John Deere belts. I tried using what some suppliers referred to as "equivalent" or equal. Those suppliers didn't do their homework when selecting an "equal" belt, and often, they will slip. I have used generic parts on my J-D and many work fine, but when it comes to belts, I've learned to not cheap out by buying an aftermarket kind.

[@curtisarmstrong6521]

Inspiring..I just finished servicing my JD LA 140

[@glory_warrior6213]

I love how he didn’t want to take the easy road, I know for myself it would have haunted me for days not trying to make an effort at it

[@justchillin131]

You have the same mower lift as me 😂 great job done it looks fantastic

[@tinkeringinthailand8147]

Liked this one. I have just bought a Daewoo 350cc mower for my 1 acre fruit farm here in Thailand, it seems to be doing the job, which initially involved cutting 2 foot grass. But lets see how it does over time. Thanks for the great video :)

[@ianrandell9763]

As always, a great job plus when the footage is speeded up, that's the bonus 👍

[@michaelbenoit248]

Hey @Machinery Restorer, our mower is the LT160 and it has a little over 800+ hrs and is still going fine. Those Kohler motors will run forever. Ours has been though a lot to. Ours has the same deck to. But we’ve broken that timing belt almost 3 times and it’s not cheap. It’s still in great shape none the less.

[@carolinacrusher6808]

I have that exact mower, has done a great job the timing belt for the deck will Break very easily.

[@andrewschmitt5792]

I have two LT-160's that are in decent shape similar to yours. They are good tractors. Nice job.

[@chadcaudy9192]

Working for John Deere I always enjoyed working on these mowers. I thought they were fantastic little tractors. Never cared much for the freedom deck but it was better than the ltr155 and 166 with the integrated bagging system. What a pain in the ass those belts were to change. Both the deck drive and transmission drive. So many pulleys. But this brought me back to working at John deere I enjoyed the video. Hope you find more of them.

[@happycamper5900]

I am restoring a LTR 180. What a pain in the ass to change the drive belt. 5 idler pulleys! The rear bagging system is unique. It works well…. When it works.

[@cwmaxfield2000]

I'm pleased to see you cl. Drives me crazy when i watch these will they run videos and they dont clean prime or paint.

[@whit4275]

I had 2 of those lawn mowers & really liked them.

[@brianburke8595]

How have I only just realised that this is daggerwin, I have watched both channels for ages and never knew they were the same guy.

[@oxidizedolive]

As someone who has always used zero-radius lawn mowers, these videos really make me want to use a traditional tractor-style mower. These just seem so much easier to work with, and a little more fun to use. And you don’t necessarily have to worry about the stupid problems with pump/motor transmissions in them if you choose the right traditional style mower. I find it ridiculous how easy it can be to get a zero-radius mower stuck or sliding all over the yard, regardless of what tire you’re running... but you can always weld/lock the axles on an auto or manual mower if need be. 🙃

[@frankcloskey7789]

Excellent restoration and repairs. 4/17/2021

[@PoorBoysproduction]

Great video daggerwin I give you an A+

[@mrl3975]

Good video keep them up daggerwin

[@jimstelljes3925]

Looks new again. Good job.

[@christopherhopkins4805]

You really do good work

[@MysteryGamer438]

Nice job Daggerwin. 😀

[@fsgamer7920]

Hi Daggerwin this is my first time watching this channel

[@Adub_Modding]

Great video

[@soonerlegendspodcast]

Wow brother that is slick great job

[@DarkEclipse223]

John Deere would be very proud to see that you kept the original paint colour

[@Jj-nohate]

I love watching! And you're very talented.

[@henryduke722]

You did an awesome job

[@martin-id9ek]

Great vid dagger

[@JuliaCV9]

Thats a nice job there!

[@shaunmccauley5129]

Amazing really talented man

[@cookie4205]

What a magnificent mechanism

[@idahojune5307]

Impressed! great job!.

[@robertmailhos8159]

Love that side tilt jack.ineed one of those just got to find one some where

[@karenmanager1350]

Love that you have your own proving grounds.

[@copper44]

Cool vid daggerwin I never new you were a mechanic that plays farming simulator

[@Harishankar_298]

Awesome great job dag

[@RJ-nh9hw]

Invest in a media blasting unit, be more efficient in your efforts and create a finer preparation. Your numbering system is excellent. With the media blasting equipment you could have cleaned up and painted the pulleys, etc. resulting in a more complete working restoration. In all, nice work, thanks for sharing.

[@tomhints2904]

I’ve got a John Deere 455 and what a beast it is, yeah it’s a bit old but it’s better than the new ones in my opinion, properly built with a yanmar and it’s 22HP

[@jay-kq8of]

Hi I came across your channel from Martin butlers recommendation. Great content and very helpful tips

[@MachineryRestorer]

Thanks! (To Martin as well) :)

[@stevecapper9321]

great job mate looks much better than it did on to the next one . S C UK.

[@evan_kumar]

16:35 & that’s why I love mowing the grass

[@toxrozzx8158]

Love these kind of video's keep it up!

[@IR-nq4qv]

Good job on the restore and detail, personally I don't care for mulching decks, while they may be good for the grass, They are not so good for use this time of the year, they don't pick up anything and running over fallen autumn leaves and twigs.., well..., that just makes more of a broader mess that continually blows around. Mulcher decks often clog up when travelling over wet or damp grass and must be routinely cleaned out to avoid build up and rusting out the deck as we see here. I use lime and fertilizer annually for lawn care and don't rely on mulching. A mower deck is much more friendlier with a chute that can vacuum up all the leaves with each pass, the leaves can be then placed in a compost for other great uses in the garden.

[@Ebikelover]

Wow that was impressive.

[@Denvermorgan2000]

Nice Mower good job.

[@Mark-zz9rt]

I’m hoping to get a LT166 for $50. Fix and flip. Great job on the restore 👍🏼

[@MrGeroth]

You’ve got a good machine there. I have a LA150 with a 52” deck.

[@daveb1081]

Yeah, my dad had an LA 145, I learned to cut grass on that machine, it conked out and we switched to Toro. NGL, I'm a huge Toro fan now, but I prolly haven't been around other brands Enough to make a true diesicion! Great video! Keep up the good work!

[@jonathanspearman9274]

Another job well done keep up the great work and videos !!! 👍 can I just ask what you do with all of them when finished??

[@DoRC]

A heat gun will usually restore faded plastics really quickly.

[@SshiggyY]

Do RC or just a normal gun 😏

[@mechanic4744]

@@SshiggyY 😂

[@dannysapp5559]

very nice job

[@greentom]

You forgot to put on tire shine! Just kidding. It came out great.

[@aldo9535]

Or grease the bearings!

[@Mike-su8si]

And turtle wax

[@Rdrake1413]

I have a John Deere L145 with a 48'' deck. I bought it new and have had it for about 15 or more years. Been a good mower. We have very sandy soil here and when I was a mechanic for our local John Deere dealer I saw many deck with holes in them. The sandy soil here is just like sand blasting the deck eats them up over time. I have patched my deck once and other than normal maintenance have not had any problems with the mower.

[@Rein_Ciarfella]

I got a couple MTD’s in non-running condition recently, my first-ever lawn tractors. Got one running and it seems to vibrate a lot when engaging the PTO. I had already sharpened and balanced the blades so my next thought was whether blade orientation to each other makes any difference. This video shows the orientation makes a difference if they are timed but mine are not (just the standard spindles, idler and tensioner all on one belt. Is the timing for purposes of balance and vibration or for cutting efficiency? Is there a standard orientation for non-timed blades?

[@bedebill]

How nice not to have any moronic back ground music, good job.

[@robertthomas2]

nice sit on mate. My dad and I go to local sales and Farm Sales to by equipment like this and trailers to fix and sell for a profit.

[@natejones6664]

Looks great! what was the coating you placed on the underside?

[@tdumford1]

i have one similar with a 16hp vanguard twin and the freedom 42 deck. I love it

[@CP-rm7rz]

neglected JD has new life. i would love to see you do a restore project on an Allett reel mower

[@delighted8481]

Nice job! What did you use to restore the color? Thanks for sharing!

[@fukyeafuk1n0ath74]

Ah nice and early at 4:35am in the morning

[@maxmott7489]

Looks great question; mixture of 50 percent paint thinner and 50 percent of what oil ??

[@almolloy5817]

Another good video. Side discharge and bagging are not options with this mower deck?

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

Good god, looks like my grandparents took care of it! Barely used it, but made sure not to scratch it. And at the same time never took care of the blades.

[@marksmith7002]

What means is used to paint the underside of the cutting deck? Thank you lg

[@gordbaker896]

Outstanding job. I have never seen that model in Canada or U.S. videos. The 42" I have seen are all 3 blades. Never seen one with a timing belt! There is no visible Discharge Chute. Complete mulching? The steering is much more direct and likely trouble free than the Rack and Sector in N. A. models. They are a pita to change. I had an LA 125, 145 and LA 165. Now have an X-320 which does a beautiful job. Actually built by John Deere. Completely different from LS and LA, LT 100 series. I would have recommended Sandblasting the deck to get a good anchor pattern for industrial coating, possibly pick-up Truck Bed liner coating on the underside. Was that powder coating You used? Great job replacing what was needed and cleaning up the remainder. Is that "1 CUT" an abrasive polishing compound? It does a nice job on the paint. Sometimes I drill out worn Deck Bogey wheels and insert copper tubing and renew the 1/2" dia axle bolts. Briggs and Stratton engines prior to 2000 are much better than the newer Chinese M'f'g. Great 'Tipper' for getting at the underside. Heat guns carefully used can bring back the gloss to the plastic.

[@brensdaman926]

Nice work! Although I would've had the deck shell powdercoated or sprayed with line-x. It'd last a lifetime

[@Lordosvk]

its pretty nice mashine and easy to work on.

[@hunter7476]

nice work

[@markssmallengines3542]

If you noticed JD stopped using an etch primer before they paintd their mower body's an decks from about 2000 onwards. It's a real issue for them as my friend gets alot of warranty claims coming back into the shop with flaking paint an premature rust with ones that are only 3 month old machine's. It's just mowers not tractors or implements I so I believe it's a cost cutting idea. An the dam broken bonnets lol I make a nice bumper for the front as bonnets are not cheap lol nice vid an love your JD 155 she is a beauty. Oh an I'm guessing it's a tough torque K46 hydro? If it's done 200-300hrs I would suggest removing it, drain the oil an clean the magnet in the top an if your keen split the case an do the lower magnet then put fresh oil in. They claim there not servicable but that's b.s. A lot of people spend big money and replace the hole transmission due to low oil in the sump plus it's easier to throw a new hydro in at the buyers expense. Over the years oil can slowly escape through the axle seals while its moving an you won't even notice. Older model JD, Toro ect had a oil reservoir to check which should never have been deleated. Take care Mark.

[@robj2704]

Yes. I almost put a new transaxle in my J-D mower, but luckily, I discovered the traction drive belt was worn out instead. Saved myself the cost of a new transaxle.

[@brodzmutt1512]

What polish did you use when polishing your ride on?

[@jankotze1959]

Come out perfect

[@feverhelper]

Any chance you could provide (or already have) a video on making your power washer in a blast cabinet?

[@merrymanrc]

Ok you got subscribe to your channel because I like to watch small engine repair another one I watch is Bruce Pender he repair small engines too. You did a great job.👍 on that John deere

[@blueovalfan23]

that deck was gravy. i had to get a welder, learn enough about welding to get me by and replace every bearing in it on top of patching the rust holes. well i plugged the holes and burnt the thinner stuff out. not pretty or ideal but effective enough for a bandaid. also had other issues but it was a free mower that i got some use of, parked it for awhile and got it back out and fixed it up decent. it's an old hydro 180, love that thing it. way better than my old craftsman ii. that thing is still going but the dogs in the rearend are going out. i really should get that thing apart and see what i can do with it. don't need it but it would make someone a good mower.

[@davidstill754]

The deck belt time wasn't to far off. The major issue he has is the front tire alignment. Notice how both front tires are not in alignment. This causes the transmission to work harder due to the fact the mower has one tire rolling straight and the other pushing as it goes forward. The mulching deck is also another killer of these LT model john deeres. Its a mulching deck not a mowing deck. The way he was using it is the way it was designed for just grass clippings and leaves not for cutting grass. You'll over work the engine and cause it to fail trying to mow your lawn with a mulch plug or a mulching deck

[@Adi-S]

Great Video! I have a question, it the timing belt a JD thing? I have never seen it on my Lawn Mowers and the have three blades.

[@mikespain8655]

Walker mowers (zero turn), use timed blades also.