I purchased a John Deere X300 from our local John Deere dealer on 07-17-2013 and was expecting many years of service from said lawn tractor, however I have surely been very disappointed with the reliability of this lawn tractor.  In fact, this is the worse lawn tractor/mower that I have ever owned and I will present my case why I have come to this opinion and conclusion.

I yearly change the oil filter, oil, spark plugs, clean or replaced the air filter and the in-line gas filter (optional) depending on its condition. I also lubricate aka grease all the jerk fittings and oil at other points per the manufacturer's manual.  Tires and battery have been replaced a time or two which is rather routine.

The year 2022 was a time for some serious parts replacement to the deck of which if I am not mistaken had 178.6 hours total run time.

LAWN TRACTOR MAINTENANCE

Today 03-22-2022, the mid-day weather was gorgeous with highs in the lower 70s and a great day to do the annual maintenance on the John Deere X300 lawn tractor.

What started out to be routine maintenance, ended up being a corrective maintenance issue.  Yesterday after cutting the front, side and back yard and having the deck in gear while running water into the port to clean the deck underneath, I noticed an abnormal sound and the deck was doing more vibrating that usual with the deck blades in gear.

While removing the right cutting blade, I noticed a good amount of movement in the spindle and knew that the bearings were gone.  I went to John Deere aka Quality Equipment in Polkton, NC and purchased a spindle assembly.  When you purchase something with John Deere green on it, your wallet or plastic will definitely know you have been to John Deere! 

I had never taken the cutting deck off the X300 and viewed a couple videos on YouTube before starting this project which was a valuable help and resource.

After disengaging the deck from the lawn tractor, I used a DeWalt 20V cordless impact Drill Driver model number DCF885B which is variable speed; 0-2,800 RPM to try and loosen the pulley nut which was 7/8 inches, however the nut would not budge.  I then took a propane torch and heated the nut up and after several seconds with the impact driver/drill chugging along, the nut finally broke loose.  It was then no problem removing the spindle assembly which was held to the deck by four (4) bolts.

The old spindle assembly is off and the new one ready to be installed.  I definitely didn't blow or wash the leaves from the upper cutting deck...........my bad!

New spindle installed and ready for the pulley and pulley nut.

With that out of the way, getting the deck back onto the lawn tractor took some serious effort, but managed to get it done and tested the unit out and it ran fine without all the noise and excessive vibration.

I should have replaced the other spindle which will go out soon for sure, but I am going to "milk" it as long as I can!

After reading a few internet threads, the deck bearings do not last that long on some of the John Deere models and I am not talking about the cheaper ones they sell to Lowe's, etc. for resale.

Most of the time you get what you pay for, but I don't think it fits current John Deere, whereas I believe their quality has diminished over the decades trying to stay competitive with other brands which are getting a Lion's share of the market.

After the spindle replacement, I changed the oil, oil filter, spark plugs, cleaned the air filter and greased the fittings.

BECAUSE ITS GREEN, DOESN'T MEAN QUALITY AND SERVICE

Just for the record to validate my above heading, I used a Troy-Bilt lawn tractor which was around 18 HP with a Kohler engine and 36 inch wide cutting deck for approximately twenty-five (25) years and did not have any major repairs or issues, other than cross threading the spark plug which had to be re-tapped/threaded.  The deck spindle bearings were still good when I gave it to our oldest daughter, of which she used it for a few years and I believe that was about eight (8) years ago.  The only problem with the machine was the carburetor needed cleaning and the fuel line needed to be blown out!

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE

After viewing a couple videos on why many lawn tractor deck spindle bearings fail within a few years, it was apparent that they were manufactured to fail.  The reason being, there are grease fittings on most of the spindle assemblies, however the bearings are sealed and the applied grease never reaches the inside of the bearing raceway.  The only grease in the bearings is the grease applied during the bearing manufacturing process.

Here is the definition of planned obsolescence:  Planned obsolescence  means manufacturers deliberately designing products to fail prematurely or become out-of-date, often to sell another product or an upgrade – a practice that is barred in some countries.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 03-22-2022.

DECK SPINDLE TEAR DOWN

We had rain last night early morning (03-24-2022) and too wet to do anything outside and to keep from getting "antsy", I decided to tear down the X300 deck spindle, whereas at least one bearing was completely shot. 

Yesterday, I attempted to take the spindle apart to access the bearings, but wasn't able to do it.  There are no YouTube videos showing the tear down of the John Deere spindle, part number AM137483; finally figured out the top idler spacer needed to come off.  It was apparently fixed solid to the main shaft; i.e., press fit on the shaft.  I soaked the shaft/heavy washer with Kroll oil overnight and this no doubt helped!  There was about 1/8 inch clearance between the washer and the spindle housing and took a flat head screwdriver and worked around the diameter of the housing and it started to move upward and finally got it removed.

I definitely did the above the hard way, whereas all I had to do was put a nut on the top threaded spindle and tap it with a hammer and the spindle will start moving out of the spindle housing.  You have to readjust (back out the nut) to give the shaft clearance space, whereas the spindle will come out the bottom of the spindle housing.

As depicted by the pixs below, the top bearing was totally destroyed and somewhat dry indicating there was no grease getting to it.  There was some grease inside the spindle housing and the lower bearing was still in fairly good shape.  I did notice that there was no seal on the bottom bearing facing the spindle cavity and probably why it did not fail, of which there was adequate grease in the bearing raceway.

NOTE:  John Deere sells the above bearings, whereas the bottom bearing has the top seal removed and the upper bearing has both seals in place.  No amount of grease you pump will get into the top bearing and as evidenced will prematurely fail!

A closer look at the bearings, of which the top bearing was totally destroyed aka shot.

I ordered a couple after market bearings for this spindle and will drill and tap a weep hole in the upper spindle housing and also remove the seal on the bearings that is facing inside the spindle housing to allow grease to get to the bearings.  I tested the zerk grease fitting on the top of the shaft and there was grease getting through two small holes on either side of the main shaft.

As soon as the bearings arrive, will get the deck spindle put back together and have a spare unit!

REPLACED SPINDLE BEARINGS

I received the spindle bearings today (03-28-2022) and already drilled and tapped a weep hole in the spindle housing to ascertain that the cavity will be full of grease.

I installed the spindle bearings without the usage of a press, whereas I have a small press to install frets into musical instruments, but it was not large enough, therefore I tapped the bearings into place with a small hammer with a brass and a hard plastic head.  After the bearings were installed, I filled up the spindle cavity with high temperature bearing grease.  Pixs below:

 I removed one of the bearings seals on each bearing and the bearings without the grease seal will face inward toward the spindle cavity to allow grease to get to the bearings.

The bearing is slowly tapped into position.

Spindle housing with the bearings and caps in place along with the weep hole sealed with a 10-24 bolt.

I will give the spindle a test run using my large drill press to drive the spindle and see if the grease stays in place.  There was some slop between the main shaft and the inner bearing no doubt due to wear.  If it doesn't work, I have enjoyed taking the spindle housing apart and installing the bearings even though the bearings cost  $ 15.50 for a set of two. 

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 03-28-2022. 

REPLACED LEFT SPINDLE

The lawn tractor was making a terrible racket when the mowing deck was engaged and ordered a John Deere deck spindle assembly from one of John Deere's vendors via EBay which was a few bucks cheaper than the closest John Deere Dealer in Polkton, NC.  The hours on the JD was approximately 178 hours.

I replaced the worn out spindle assembly and the top bearing was totally shot and the ball bearing raceway had given way and the ball bearings had worn grooves into the spindle spacer rendering the spindle housing unfit for replacing the bearings.

It didn't take but about 30 minutes, guessing at the time since I now know the short cuts and easy way of removing the deck, etc. and added a 1/2 inch drive pneumatic impact wrench which was a breeze removing the spindle housing, blade and pulley nut.

I did notice a couple belt flat groove idler pulleys had excessive play in them and will order replacements and order a new belt since it is showing some wear, but still working ok.

After replacing the spindle assembly, I cut the grass in the front and side yard and the lawn tractor was not too loud when the deck was engaged and no excessive vibration as before.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 04-16-2022.

REPLACED TWO DECK FLAT IDLER PULLEYS

On May 11, 2022,  I replaced the two flat idler pulleys on the deck.  I have on back order the V-Drive deck pulley. When the V-Drive pulley arrives at the John Deere outlet in Polkton, NC  I will purchase two of the hard plastic deck wheels which are worn badly.  The deck drive belt is in fairly good shape and will "milk" it a little longer............grin if you must!

After installing the two flat deck idler pulleys, it was amazing how quiet the machine sounded with the blades engaged.  The total operating hours for the X300 was 182 hours. 

The only thing that didn't need replacing on the 42 inch Edge deck was the two spindle drive pulleys.

Basically, I will have rebuilt the deck when the V-Drive deck pulley arrives and the replacement of the worn deck wheels.

To say the least, "I am not impressed with the reliability of this John Deere X300 42 inch deck."

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 05-11-2022

REPLACED WORN DECK WHEELS

On May 16, 2022, I replaced the two worn deck wheels and noticed that the shoulder bolts aka axles were worn badly as well and order some generic shoulder bolts from EBay.

The shoulder bolts I received, the shoulder portion of the bolt was about 3/32 inch too long and added a washer between the shoulder bolt and wheel to the deck frame bracket.  I had to drill the washer hole out to 5/8 inch diameter and the wheels were snug without much wobble and turned freely.

NOTE:  While at the John Deere place in Polkton, NC, I purchased a belt and picked up the v-drive pulley that was on back order.  I will not change the v-drive pulley unless the v-drive pulley gets real noisy, wobbly, etc. and/or the drive belt breaks.

Web page updated by Bill aka Mickey Porter on  05-20-2022.

LAWN TRACTOR TRANSMISSION TROUBLES

Sometime around May 27th, while cutting our yards, the lawn tractor would barely go forward and reverse and making a horrible metallic clanking sound and I assumed the transmission was gone.  I went on YouTube and viewed several videos and talked with the John Deere service department and they said to check the transaxle pump drive pulley that it might be worn out, of which I did and that was the initial problem.

I went on line an ordered OEM parts; transaxle pump drive pulley and the transmission cooling fan of which the splines were  worn also.  I definitely didn't order them from John Deere since John Deere just repackages the parts which are made for Tuff Torq!

Pix of the original drive pulley and the splines are worn completely out; only a few on the bottom of the bottom.  Looks like a smooth bore 20 gauge shotgun barrel muzzle, grin if you must!

A big difference in the splines on the new pulley.  The hub of the pulley is made of a softer material than the drive shaft to the transmission pump since you don't want to have to tear the transmission down for such a problem.

The fan still has some life left to it, but it was very loose on the drive shaft and needed to be replaced.

Pix of the replaced drive pulley and transmission cooling fan.  There are plenty of YouTube videos showing how to change these parts out.

The lawn tractor was field tested going up a few steep hills and the transmission pulled ok.

TRANSMISSION OIL CHANGE

The oil in the transmission has never been changed and my bad for not doing more research.  Quote John Deere manual, "The transmission is a sealed component.  No maintenance is required on this transmission.  If you suspect any transmission problems, please contact your authorized dealer."

Since I did not want to remove the transaxle from the lawn tractor, I elected to do a "poor man's" oil change, meaning to pump out as much oil as I could from the transmission, replaced what I removed with new oil and do that a few times until the oil looks nearly new.  I did this three (3) times and the oil looked good on the 3rd removal.  There are several YouTube videos showing how this is done without removing the transaxle from the lawn tractor.

At the end of this years grass cutting season, I plan to remove the transaxle (transmission) from the lawn tractor and put new oil in the tractor.  This procedure will allow you to nearly remove all the oil that is inside the transmission.

The initial two times of pumping about a quart of oil from the transmission, the oil was very, very black and the third time, it was much cleaner looking.

To reiterate, "This is the worst lawn tractor/mower that I have ever owned!"

Current hour time on this lawn tractor is  226.6 hours!

Web page created by Bill aka Mickey Porter on 06-04-2024.

LEAVING ON A SPIRITUAL NOTE