Firebrick43
Well-known member
The whole machine is cheaply made. The engine, the deck, its spindles, its front wheels, the steering system, the transmission. What is there to defend about it other than they came up with a dirt cheap quick change system that needs a few dollars in wear parts from time to time.Yup. Don't get why people are defending something that's obviously low-quality.
It’s no different that the low end cub cadet, husquvarna, hell even the low end gravley/exmark/scag/toro aren’t that great either. When people buy to price points in box stores they are going to get what they paid for.
Less than 3 dollars and you can replace both the cap annd the Oring ,from the dealer, every oil change if it tickles your fancy. It’s not like many cars and even semis have plastic oil pans, radiator tanks, and intake manifolds exposed to temps within 10-20 degrees of thatI honestly don't mind the quarter-turn quick release drain cap idea. I do mind that's a thin plastic piece of garbage being exposed to 250°F air-cooled-engine-oil and will invariably degrade, leak and break after just a few years.
Hyperbole at its finest. 30 second search, about the easiest conversion one could do in mins and cost 16$ at my dealer *part number MIU13767A quick look online shows that there are plenty of people complaining about these caps either disappearing and the oil going everywhere, or them seeping/leaking for no apparent reason and needing to be replaced along with the o-ring. Further searching shows that John Deere only uses the cap on the lowest end "S100" series machines. Everything above that uses a valve of some sort, with the highest end X700 series using a proper brass ball valve. So they know it's ****.
Also, FWIW: This is also the series of mower that could have come equipped with the "30 second oil change" system, which is this weird giant proprietary oil filter that comes pre-filled with a 1 quart of oil and has a giant anti-spill valve on the bottom, locking you into $55 oil changes for your lawnmower until John Deere inevitably stops making their special filters and you have to scrap the machine because you literally can't change the oil filter anymore.
JD is not your friend.

