John deere lawn tractors

[lightning02]

Anyone know all the difference in the john deere lawn tractors? They all seem to have the same frame and deck and motor so not sure of the difference between let's say the E line and D line and S line.

 

[jrsavoie]

Depends some are garbage with a Deere emblem to sell them. The older models were heavier duty and will last 50 years with maintenance.

 

[HPRifleman]

John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractors

 

[lightning02]

John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractors

I saw that which doesn't help much. Just lists the D line up. Take for instance. A D130. Now whats the difference in a S130 or E130? They don't list those and have the same 22hp motor and 42in cut.

 

[LB-1911]

I saw that which doesn't help much. Just lists the D line up. Take for instance. A D130. Now whats the difference in a S130 or E130? They don't list those and have the same 22hp motor and 42in cut.

Different transmissions -

TractorData.com John Deere E130 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

TractorData.com John Deere S130 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

http://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/tractor-brands/johndeere/johndeere-lawn-tractors.html

 

[lightning02]

Different transmissions -

TractorData.com John Deere E130 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

TractorData.com John Deere S130 tractor information

www.tractordata.com

http://www.tractordata.com/lawn-tractors/tractor-brands/johndeere/johndeere-lawn-tractors.html

Both are hydro and both are tuff torq TL200 transmissions.

Am I missing something else?

 

[glentre]

I've owned two Deere lawn tractors, the last one an X-304 all wheel steer model. They are basically good tractors but kind of cheaply made. I mow under beech nut and walnut trees and after time the nuts blow holes in the sheet metal decks, both the sides and top. And, don't hit any trees or fixed objects with the curved blade guard as it is flimsy and breaks easily. After research, I switched to the Cub RZT SX 46 which has a plate steel deck that can really take a beating. Also, it has a button you press for seven seconds that allows you to continuously go from forward to reverse without the blade stopping. Nice feature.

Glen

 

[KenC]

Anyone know all the difference in the john deere lawn tractors? They all seem to have the same frame and deck and motor so not sure of the difference between let's say the E line and D line and S line.

There are several differences in them but one has to compare a specific number to list them. In general, front axle type, deck design(not just size), engine quality, trans model, tire size, overall size/weight differ.

 

[LB-1911]

Both are hydro and both are tuff torq TL200 transmissions.

Am I missing something else?

Failed to include D 130 to show different trans - I believe that S & E are different model years.

Good Luck in your quest.

 

[lightning02]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

[lightning02]

Ok so to my understanding is other then then S line the E and D line have been dis-continued? Since John deere doesn't list them on there website for 2021?

 

[jrsavoie]

Looks like all listed so far are cheap throw away junk.

I have a 1980 400, for the money I wouldn't trade even up for any of those.

I also have a Toro 223D and 325D way more mower for the money than any of those new Deeres. Taken care of, all 3 will last another 20 or 30 years with minor maintenance and repairs. At least they are worth repairing.

 

[Firebrick43]

These are all the lower box store grade JD lawn tractors (Yes they are sold in JD dealers as well)

The series started with the sabre line back in the late 90's, I am pretty sure they were actually built by AYP as were the L series(2003-2005). Then came the LA series 2007-2010(At least assembled by deere but many parts were identical to the ayp?), the D series 2011-2017, E series from 2018 to 2020, S series from 21+

I have no personal experience with the D series or on but quick glance passing them at the dealer they are little more than Styling changes, still nothing more than a small rider for smooth suburban lawns. Very cheaply made comparative to the higher lines of JD riders and made to be competative with box store(hence why they are sold there as well)

 

[BillK]

Both are hydro and both are tuff torq TL200 transmissions.

Am I missing something else?

Yes . . . one transmission has cruise control, the other does not.

 

[Firebrick43]

Yes . . . one transmission has cruise control, the other does not.

Not really a transmission feature. The tractor has foot pedals instead of a hand lever. The foot pedals return to neutral when let off. John deeres "cruise control" is just a little lift tab that locks the foot pedal in the position that its set in so it maintains its set point if you lift your foot off. Hand lever models don't have this as they just have a friction plate to keep position. From the transmissions standpoint its immaterial as its just a plate on a shaft that rotates back and forth, no different with either method as the differences are all up stream.

 

[BillK]

Not really a transmission feature.

Might be but that is where they show the feature. He was asking what was different between the two and that is what I found

 

[Firebrick43]

On the S series they show in under the operator station features, which is why maybe he thinks one had (listed prominently under the transmission on the E series) cruise control and the other did not????

 

[PassnThru]

Not really a transmission feature. The tractor has foot pedals instead of a hand lever. The foot pedals return to neutral when let off. John deeres "cruise control" is just a little lift tab that locks the foot pedal in the position that its set in so it maintains its set point if you lift your foot off. Hand lever models don't have this as they just have a friction plate to keep position. From the transmissions standpoint its immaterial as its just a plate on a shaft that rotates back and forth, no different with either method as the differences are all up stream.

My L110 had that feature - my lot is small enough that I never used it. After a few years the linkages go to the point that I removed it so I didn't have to listen to it rattle anymore.

 

[lightning02]

So I went to look at few deeres. They seem ok? I'm not really up to date with lawnmowers lol the body panels on the cub cadets seem to be thicker and bolted on better and don't wobble as much like for instance the hood. The size of the both of those mowers overall seem the same but park both next to troybuilt it's night and day different. The Troy looks like a little toy compared to those both. They didn't have a husky to compare unfortunately.

It seem going new might not be the best choice since they tank in price even with 20hrs on them. Prices drop like half I have noticed. With that said what would be a good mower/brand to go with if buying used? Definitely want one with a hydro transmission. Don't care about cruise control. Would like a V-twin motor in 22hp or higher. Anything smaller people seem to say they are underpowered.

 

[Firebrick43]

If your looking for used riders and can find one, a JD 300 series(newer ones) would be what I would look for. A 500 series would really rock but I don't know your budget. There really hasn't been any traditional tractor designs in the last 10-15 years that are comparable in this size class.

 

[PassnThru]

You should really post what size your yard is and if it's flat or has hills. Also whether you intend to pull a cart with it or put a snow plow on it. Those things will really affect what you need.
For reference, I have one of those cheap Deere mowers - an L110 that I bought in 2003 when they first came out. It's got a single cylinder 17.5HP Kohler on it that's still running strong with no leaks or issues and it's always been plenty of HP. I've replaced belts and a few pulleys and the deck spindle bearings once. I've replaced the front axle bushings just to tighten things up a bit as well as replacing the front wheel bushings with actual bearings (they make a kit for that). I had a crack around one of the deck hanger brackets but got that welded up no problem. I've lost some speed over the years but most of that was just slop in the controls - I've actually gotten it back to 90% with some creative solutions to reduce the slop. I might pull the transmission this year and change the fluid - it's not considered serviceable but it's doable.
I mow a little less than an acre and it's pretty much flat. I have some tree roots above the ground that make it rough on the deck but it's been plugging away for 780 hours now. The deck is nowhere near rusting away on it - pretty solid in fact. I wouldn't say that I'm fanatical about keeping the deck clean but I usually pull it (easy - takes about 5 minutes) about 3 or 4 times a season and clean it and I always try to avoid mowing when it's wet.
I don't really know what they are like now but they started out, despite what you might hear, pretty strong.

 

[lightning02]

Well I'm in FL so it gets used year around. It will be pulling a yard cart. I have an acre. 80% of it is about flat and the other 20% has a pretty good slope in the front and a bit of the side yard from the road bc of the ditch.

I probably could see if I have a picture of the front. Not sure. Dark outside so can't take one at the moment.

 

[wayne55]

I have an L110 and have done about the same as the post above. I changed the trans. oil to 5w50 at about 400 or so hours. When I do need a new mower, I wish I could still get the same L110 today.

 

[lightning02]

On market place there is a D130 with 65hrs 42cut/22hp for $1200 AND a E130 with 54hrs 42cut/22hp for $1200

I like the D130 bc it has the older style oil filter setup which people say is better then the newer bigger filer setup BUT the E130 motor has iron sleeves I recall reading so if this is accurate. Your better off going with the E130 and swapping it to the older smaller oil filer setup. Get best of both worlds.

 

[jrsavoie]

If your looking for used riders and can find one, a JD 300 series(newer ones) would be what I would look for. A 500 series would really rock but I don't know your budget. There really hasn't been any traditional tractor designs in the last 10-15 years that are comparable in this size class.

Or the 400 series. You can get snowblowers, blades, rotoillers and other attachments. That hook up rather easily.

Be aware there is a 400 series which includes 420, 455 and more and the John Deere 400 which is attachment specific.
These are 20 to 25 hp.

Don't be scared of used. These mowers will last for decades after the garbage that has been posted has been melted down.

We have invested about $6500 total in our 1980 John Deere 400 with 60" deck and 50 snow thrower, that we bought in 1985. That includes purchase price and repairs.

Except for a year in the 90s, it has mowed at least 3 acres.

 

[Hot shot]

Nowadays it will cost you an arm and 2 legs to get something that will last a long time
I’m like passnthru and wayne55
My main mower is a craftsman ys4500 made by ayp. Bought it new in 2006. 690hrs 24hp intek
Replaced deck spindles once along with idler pulleys. This one has the manual blade engagement. Replaced the cable on that3 times
15 minute job. Cheap part. Only thing I’ve replaced on the motor was last year. Starter motor and ring gear. original carb,solenoid,key switch. Has a hydro-gear transmission non-serviceable. 4 years ago took off what I needed to to get access to the rubber plug on top. Pumped out all I could get. Put back in the same amount. Found yt video on it. I can’t remember whether I used 5-50 or 20-50. CRS. After doing that I couldn’t believe how much more responsive it was
I also have a 1999 cub cadet 2135
That is well built. If op could find one of those that has been taken care of with low hours it would last a while
I had a jd455. Bought it used. Wife didn’t like the smell of diesel. She cuts the grass most of the time. Ended up selling it. That thing was nice though other than a $135 solenoid for blade engagement that was a bad a$$ unit

 

[Adk Mike]

Here’s a 1987 John Deere 212. I was gifted. Junked under a pine tree.
I got it running it was stuck. Winter project.
46 inch deck needs a rebuild. I plan to mow with it next year.

 

[jshillin]

Well I'm in FL so it gets used year around. It will be pulling a yard cart. I have an acre. 80% of it is about flat and the other 20% has a pretty good slope in the front and a bit of the side yard from the road bc of the ditch.

I probably could see if I have a picture of the front. Not sure. Dark outside so can't take one at the moment.

Transaxle is more important than the engine when it comes to power in the little mowers. If you have a steep hill and try to pull anything, care much less about the HP and more about the transaxle. I found my dad an old JD GT275 with a single cylinder engine, but had a K70 transaxle and pulls really well. If you want something that will last, completely avoid big box store mowers. I've had JD GT235, 345, GX345 and they were all tanks. I still have the GX345 for winter duty, but mow with my Simplicy Zero Turn now.

 

[lightning02]

Nowadays it will cost you an arm and 2 legs to get something that will last a long time
I’m like passnthru and wayne55
My main mower is a craftsman ys4500 made by ayp. Bought it new in 2006. 690hrs 24hp intek
Replaced deck spindles once along with idler pulleys. This one has the manual blade engagement. Replaced the cable on that3 times
15 minute job. Cheap part. Only thing I’ve replaced on the motor was last year. Starter motor and ring gear. original carb,solenoid,key switch. Has a hydro-gear transmission non-serviceable. 4 years ago took off what I needed to to get access to the rubber plug on top. Pumped out all I could get. Put back in the same amount. Found yt video on it. I can’t remember whether I used 5-50 or 20-50. CRS. After doing that I couldn’t believe how much more responsive it was
I also have a 1999 cub cadet 2135
That is well built. If op could find one of those that has been taken care of with low hours it would last a while
I had a jd455. Bought it used. Wife didn’t like the smell of diesel. She cuts the grass most of the time. Ended up selling it. That thing was nice though other than a $135 solenoid for blade engagement that was a bad a$$ unit

How about a cub 2186 with 450hrs?

 

[mopar4u]

For riders I like Deere but love Simplicity. Being in Wi i have good access to both. I will say i havent found anyone better than Deere parts network but didnt stop me from buying a simplicity.

as with most mechanical things, if you truly keep up on maintenance or know the maintenance history, you most likely will be rewarded with longevity.

 

[Mikeske]

I had Deere for several years including a first year L120 with a 48" deck. I was surprised as over the next 11 years I had it I put on 510 plus hours when the hour meter faded to black. I just kept using until age and design limits were hit and the issue becoming more severe. The L-series are the first generation of the box store green and yellow and preceded the D and E series. I used mine to mow my 5 acre property and it was good enough.

I then went with what I wanted and in 2017 I bought a X590 which has the servicable transaxle and Kawasaki V twin in it. It is a completely and more expensive class of tractor with the 52" deck and just a completely different animal. The thing mows great and it has enough guts to even use smaller tractor ground engaging equipment like rototillers and plows. Was it as good as the older heavy duty garden tractors from the past well I kind of doubt it as it was designed with a lot of plastic in it but the main parts are good gauge steel.

But this would not be garage journal if someone should oh heck skip the smaller wimpy box store tractors and jump up to a compact utility tractor and I noticed that no one done that so just for the heck I included a picture of my CUT JD 2305 that I have for my property maintenance on my 5 acres

 

[lightning02]

This is the slope. It wraps around the side as well. The side is a little more aggressive of a slope.

 

[Cairo94507]

I have a D140 and it seems to do just fine on my 2.8 acres.

 

[rancherbill]

There are many differences, for example the wheels look the same. On the expensive series they use ball bearings and on the cheap series they are bushings. The same with other parts in the steering. Some of the parts are very expensive and the are designed to fail. The same comments can be made for the deck.

 

[rd65]

How are the new JD's for mowing? I was reading reviews on the JD site (200 & X300 series) and some are complaining that they do not mow well. I currently have a 10yo Craftsman YT3000(?) 46". As this is the only rider I have ever used I cant comment on mow quality. We will be looking to replace it in the next year or two. We mow a flat acre and do use it with a cart to leaf work every fall. We live north of Seattle so mulching is not really an option, we currently bag clippings.

 

[Hot shot]

How about a cub 2186 with 450hrs?

That’s a good mower heavy duty trans
As long as it is not rusted out and has been well maintained it’s a good garden tractor.

 

[Toolfool]

This is the slope. It wraps around the side as well. The side is a little more aggressive of a slope.

No, THIS is slope. My front yard. I have had my JD LX280 for about 18 years. Mowed about 3 acres while living in WA, now mow a good size yard and the retention pond here. Oil and filter changes, maybe 3 blade sharpenings .

 

[jrsavoie]

You should really post what size your yard is and if it's flat or has hills. Also whether you intend to pull a cart with it or put a snow plow on it. Those things will really affect what you need.
For reference, I have one of those cheap Deere mowers - an L110 that I bought in 2003 when they first came out. It's got a single cylinder 17.5HP Kohler on it that's still running strong with no leaks or issues and it's always been plenty of HP. I've replaced belts and a few pulleys and the deck spindle bearings once. I've replaced the front axle bushings just to tighten things up a bit as well as replacing the front wheel bushings with actual bearings (they make a kit for that). I had a crack around one of the deck hanger brackets but got that welded up no problem. I've lost some speed over the years but most of that was just slop in the controls - I've actually gotten it back to 90% with some creative solutions to reduce the slop. I might pull the transmission this year and change the fluid - it's not considered serviceable but it's doable.
I mow a little less than an acre and it's pretty much flat. I have some tree roots above the ground that make it rough on the deck but it's been plugging away for 780 hours now. The deck is nowhere near rusting away on it - pretty solid in fact. I wouldn't say that I'm fanatical about keeping the deck clean but I usually pull it (easy - takes about 5 minutes) about 3 or 4 times a season and clean it and I always try to avoid mowing when it's wet.
I don't really know what they are like now but they started out, despite what you might hear, pretty strong.

We must be ****. We try to clean the deck and grease every mowing.

We found that slick plate works pretty good under the deck.

I have some epoxy airboat bottom coating that I have yet to try.

 

[jrsavoie]

Nowadays it will cost you an arm and 2 legs to get something that will last a long time
I’m like passnthru and wayne55
My main mower is a craftsman ys4500 made by ayp. Bought it new in 2006. 690hrs 24hp intek
Replaced deck spindles once along with idler pulleys. This one has the manual blade engagement. Replaced the cable on that3 times
15 minute job. Cheap part. Only thing I’ve replaced on the motor was last year. Starter motor and ring gear. original carb,solenoid,key switch. Has a hydro-gear transmission non-serviceable. 4 years ago took off what I needed to to get access to the rubber plug on top. Pumped out all I could get. Put back in the same amount. Found yt video on it. I can’t remember whether I used 5-50 or 20-50. CRS. After doing that I couldn’t believe how much more responsive it was
I also have a 1999 cub cadet 2135
That is well built. If op could find one of those that has been taken care of with low hours it would last a while
I had a jd455. Bought it used. Wife didn’t like the smell of diesel. She cuts the grass most of the time. Ended up selling it. That thing was nice though other than a $135 solenoid for blade engagement that was a bad a$$ unit

A 455 to 955 is what we desire. We always have diesel here but have to run 15 miles round trip for a can of gas. WE did start keeping gas here, mostly for the 400 John Deere. And we got a gas car. We weren't to excited about that, but we were in a sudden unexpected bind. No time to shop.

 

[PatJ800]

For riders I like Deere but love Simplicity. Being in Wi i have good access to both. I will say i havent found anyone better than Deere parts network but didnt stop me from buying a simplicity.

I agree here. I have 3+ acres of lawn which I mow twice per week and twice per cut so I can counter-stripe, 100+ hr per yr mowing... My 1972 Simplicity Power-Max 4041 with the 60 inch fairway deck is an absolute monster that no modern "lawn" or "garden tractor" can even remotely hold a candle to (you have to own one to know...)

But I do my regular mowing with a cheap JD 335 zero turn from Lowes.

It's like if I had a 1970 Chevelle LS6 454, I wouldn't commute to work in it, I'd drive a Ford Focus. Both will get you to work, but who wants to wear out their bad-*** Chevelle driving to work when a Focus gets you there just fine. Once the Focus is toast, who cares, it's a Ford Focus, get another one. The 4041 is the lawnmower equivalent of the Chevelle. It will always be fixable and rebuildable even if it gets expensive, and it will easily outlive me. All the good American brands of the era had a similar high-quality unit. The 4041 comes out before I have a bunch of people over for a party, and I want perfect basketweave stripes in the lawn like a baseball diamond.

The Focus is the lawnmower equivalent of everything made in the last 20 years costing less than $20k. I'm on my third similar cheap mower purchased brand new, and get about 5-6 well-maintained years or 400-600 hours out of them before the non-servicable transaxles are tired, the spindles are sloppy, the low-grade B&S or Kohler engine is tired, but it's still worth ~$700 on Craigslist which I put towards a ~$3000 new unit. For regular mowing I say get the cheap unit and wear it out. To show off or as a hobby get a quality 30-50 year old American unit and fix it up/keep it running, but not for regular mowing.