Repairing A John Deere Tractor Seat

Video showing the process, results and my opinion on how the repair job on the John Deere tractor seat turned out.

[@nickcorello5086]

i started doing my career in auto mechanics and i also like tractor repair i am always learning new stuff from people itrs great people like u make these videos

[@danielmata3083]

This was a super duper tip; it helped tremendously! THANX

[@baldeagle242]

Great idea for an inexpensive repair. I have an LT160 I'm going to try the same process on. 😁👍

[@j.morrison73]

I know what I'll be doing for my JD seat. Thanks. I think I'll go two steps further. I'll add at least one or two more coats on the splits and then 'paint' the entire seat with it to heal meld it all together.

[@had2galsinthebooth]

I solved the problem by taking the cushion right off the seat on my LX277. Sitting on the black plastic shell is comfortable enough for me,I don't miss the cushion at all and couldn't care less what anyone passing by might think if they were to even notice.

[@MrEdsster]

thank you. this has helped with one cause of my anxiety

[@joelskok9491]

Helpful, thanks for sharing with us.

[@jafinch78]

Amazes me how well performs with storing outdoor tractors/riders. The last seat I just repaired I wound up cutting some foam to fit in the cracks for a smoother finish. Unfortunately, I used old PlastiDip from the first round of the other two seats repaired and did thicken up so wasn't needed as many coats... though wasn't as smooth looking either. We'll so how the thicker material performs long term.

[@Z71Ranger]

Great Video and Idea.

[@warrenvalentino5763]

Awesome video! Thank You Very Much for the information in this video. i will be fixing my ride on mower seat the same way. :)

[@discerningmind]

Very impressive! At first I thought--no way! But you and the product did a great job, and it looks so much better than tape. I've read your replies in the comment section and I'm happy to learn that it has held up. I'd say anyone in a hostile climate could simply do touch-ups to obtain the great results and longevity that you had.

[@paulg444]

great job, now you can put a seat cover on it and protect..

[@DROY2004]

Good stuff !

[@Tahimate]

Nice. I will try this

[@had2galsinthebooth]

Plasti Dip is something I've wanted to have around for a long time but I keep forgetting to order it. The yellow and the padding is long gone from my LX277 seat. It has sat outdoors in the summer and winter for many years. I might just drill a weep hole in each of the formed channels of the black plastic to drain the rain and dew then paint it JD yellow. From the street nobody will ever know and I could not care less if they do. My hinder has enough padding for the 1 hour per week that I mow and on the ditch banks it's easy to stay centered on the seat without sliding around on the padding plastic. People with boney hinders and longer mowing times might not do so well with my way. :)

[@YahwehsTexasServant]

I have the exact same issue on pr John deere mower seat. I wonder if I might try this method but after cleaning the rips then apply yellow duct tape and then yellow plastic dip...to make it even stronger?

[@mshaw290808mi]

I have found that in general duct tape is not a good long term ( that is more than six months) solution it tends to come apart during heat and flexing.

[@mikevanin1]

Thanks, this was encouraging! So it looks like it lasted at least 2 years according to a comment you posted later in this thread. Is it still holding today? A last minute thought - how long does the plastic take to dry between coats in that type of weather?

[@mshaw290808mi]

After 3 years the repairs that I made are still holding. Two additional small tears have occurred in new places on the site, which is to be expected as the seat continues to wear. I gave the plastic 24-48 hours to completely dry in about 65 degree weather.

[@JonnyDee]

I'm considering doing the same, only using black on our torn forklift seat. Question is (& apologies if you already answered this), but how long has/did it last?

[@mshaw290808mi]

It lasted about five years before I had to redo it.

[@gumsmoking]

The seat probably would have looked much better if you had trimmed the edges of the rips instead of just painting over them. I saw one demo of a lawnmower that was much worse but he removed a lot of the extra flaps. Still not a bad job....

[@DustBowlWeevil]

Hey there. Just an idea; your seat looks good with the repair, but I would think, if you want it to look even better, to maybe try covering the entire yellow part of the seat with a spray can of Plasti Dip. The colors would completely match, and it would also give your entire seat another couple of layers of protection. Like I said, it's just an idea.

[@sundancer3700]

And what happened after you sat on it, Im sure it ripped again.

[@FensterfarmGreenhouse]

How long did it last?

[@mshaw290808mi]

It is still holding up very well. But I only use the tractor for about two hours a week and it sets in a heated garage during the winter, the seat is not put through a punishing environment. The most important part of the process that I found is make sure the plastic around the damaged area is perfectly clean. The yellow goop that I used does not like to stick to dirty plastic.

[@chadportenga7858]

+NotAnExpert Just wondering, how the seat is looking after year 2? I just replaced mine (was too far gone), but I've got another tractor I may try it on. Does it stay pliable in cold weather?

[@mshaw290808mi]

+Chad Portenga It still is going strong, no additional rips and repaired rips are still holding tight.

[@TheOzarksPicker]

And how about now four years later?

[@graphicwonders]

Almost 6 yrs later, how has it held up?

[@mshaw290808mi]

More cracks have appeared in different parts of the seat. The cracks I repaired have held. One of the reasons I repaired the original cracks is that when the plastic that covered the foam split it also curled up, which was very uncomfortable to sit on. So none of the new cracks have curled up so the seat is comfortable to sit on, and I have not felt the need to repair them.

[@coreymagin]

Just about to buy yellow duct tape but I might try this.

[@davidm8464]

How's it holding now is everything still as it was when you fixed it?

[@mshaw290808mi]

It is still holding, but of course on an old seat a new crack has formed so I had to fix it.

[@davidm8464]

Thanks for the update. I'm going to give it a try 👍

[@CLCinflorida]

where did you get the plastic dip?

[@mshaw290808mi]

CLCinflorida I got it a local hardware store but it is sold on amazon.

[@CLCinflorida]

NotAnExpert Thank You!

[@NLINE7]

That's what I had to do is order it off Amazon in yellow, for some reason in my area all the hardware stores will carry is Plasti Dip in black or you can get it in the spray can here local in black,red,white and clear.

[@udavidism]

It looks like you smoothed it out with dog comb. Great idea but there has to be better ways to smooth out that goo, maybe spread paper over it and wash off the paper after it dries.

[@DesertDigger1]

Where did you buy the plastic dip?

[@mshaw290808mi]

You can find it on Amazon.

[@bigtoad68]

Good video I had the same problem with my John Deere along with alot of other issues John Deere is junk in my opinion.you're paying for the name and the green paint bought a cub cadet like it much better

[@discerningmind]

You didn't say which John Deere. If it was a Lowe's/Home Depot version I'm not surprised. I've been told that those versions come out of a different factory, and the John Deere dealer's and others in the industry don't even consider those machines a John Deere. The reason John Deere has machines in Lowe's and Home Depot is for market saturation. The Lowe's and Depot versions are built and priced to match with the other brands of garbage you see on the floor. I don't expect you'll have a very good experience with Cub Cadet. A number of years back I spent $8200 for what I thought was going to be a great machine. I didn't know that MTD had bought Cub Cadet. That machine was so bad I sold it after two seasons. It was always breaking and always cheap parts that broke. MTD ruined Cub Cadet. MTD offers a lot of brands and none of them are any good. If you did want a good John Deere you have to buy one from a dealership.

[@gizzyguzzi]

@@discerningmind That does not seem to be true. The JD dealers do carry the entry level 'big box' cheap home owner machines too. But they are about as good as a MTD or AYP of the same price. But it sounds like even the better JDs are not the quality they used to be. I'm looking for an older machine, when they still built quality!

[@discerningmind]

@@gizzyguzzi I think you're right. I have seen lower models at my JD dealer. I don't know if these have been as low level as the big box stores. I should have paid more attention to what I wrote. My point was that since HD and Lowe's carry the lower models people buy those there so dealership's generally don't stock much in the lower line. I've deleted the last sentence in my first comment.