Mower repair in S. PG?

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  • Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    So my Deere X300 threw it's deck belt and I need a new one installed. Anyone in S. PG/Charles area you all recommend?
     

    Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    Yeah, I bought it from them years ago, but they just want way too much money to pick it up etc.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    We're about to test out a new to us place , I'll eventually get back to you . My previous go to guy relocated waaay out in the sticks below la Plata .

    Marlboro Mower in Croom- ish does good work , but probably similar $ and wait time issues .

    ***********************

    And the basic fact of life is having pickup and return service for riding mowers , from established shops isn't cheap or quick . Ask around locally about guys who do it semi- formally from backyard , but they can be hit or miss unless you have personal recommendations.

    For the riding lawnmower lifestyle your basic options ;

    1. Be reasonably handy to replace belts , change oil, etc yourself .

    2. Have a flat bed trailer, or suitable full size truck with ramps to haul yourself .

    3. Budget in the $$ for established dealer to pickup and return . ( And since during peak season it will likely be multiple weeks , have either a backup mower , or arrangements for on call mowing services .)
     

    Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    Yeah, Marlboro has always done work for me in the past. When they worked on it a couple years ago, the main "guy" indicated that he was going to slow it down and eventually stop. I've checked and there are a couple places that will work "on site" but none have gotten back to me....

    Guess I'm using the push mower for a while...
     

    h2u

    Village Idiot
    Jul 8, 2007
    6,694
    South County
    Definitely NOT Southern PG, but Atlantic Tractor in Edgewater sent me an email recently about them picking up mowers for repair. They are a Deere shop.

    Doesn't Lanham Cycle and Turf on 301 do repairs anymore? What about the Kubota shop next door (Gateway Tractor)? Lanham Cycle and Turf rebuilt a Craftsman mower engine for me about ten years ago and did a great job.
     

    Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    Yeah, I'm going to give it a go myself. Just ordered a belt. Holy crap though, JD must be smoking crack! Their part prices are worse than Toyota. $78 for a JD branded belt?! I think not.
     

    Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    Ordered belt from V-belt guys. Did the job myself in 20 minutes this morning. Piece of cake. Fired up mower, engaged blades...."SNAP!" Belt broke. F-me.
     

    Slackdaddy

    My pronouns: Iva/Bigun
    Jan 1, 2019
    5,850
    Something aint right,, all the blades spin free??
    I run a few mowers, have put on a few belts from "V-Belt Guys", no problems.
     

    Trumpet

    SCSC/NRA life member. MSI member
    Oct 29, 2005
    2,077
    Alright, went to Gardiner's and picked up a JD branded belt. Comparing to the other one, it's much more substanial/stiff and it's a deeper "V". While I was at it, scraped the deck, greased all fittings etc. One of the blade spindles was kinda dry/stiff, but once I greased it, it was much better. Got the belt on no problem (it really is an easy job). Got it fired up and it works!

    Now, one thing though. When I engage the blades, the deck has a little wobble to it. It didn't have it before. Everything's lined up as it should be. The only "new" things were I scraped the bottom of the deck and the grease on the one blade. Could that somehow have thrown something off? The blades looked pretty beat up too. Maybe put on new blades?
     

    antco

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 28, 2010
    7,045
    Calvert, MD
    Yeah, I'm going to give it a go myself. Just ordered a belt. Holy crap though, JD must be smoking crack! Their part prices are worse than Toyota. $78 for a JD branded belt?! I think not.

    Don’t ever peer into the parts costs, software costs, or technician labor charges for computer updates to their industrial engines. My fleet repair costs got so high with the 4045 T4i engines in 2014-2015 that I solved the problem by getting rid of every single one of them.

    Their junk needs a ECU update to improve reliability of their poor design? Fork over $650 for a Deere tech at RDO to spend an hour babysitting his laptop as it reflashes the engine ECU.
     

    Sgt. Psycho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 1, 2009
    1,917
    https://www.jackssmallengines.com/

    I have had good service from this company. Pretty fast shipping too. They have all the parts for pretty much any make and model. They also have after-market options as well as OEM parts, at appropriate prices for each. I have bought their off-brand blades and I got the same quality and service life as the OEM blades for my Gravelys.
     

    PapiBarcelona

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 1, 2011
    7,343
    I'm really local to Jack's. it varies between a hit and miss, they have Gravely branded rattle can paint and I gave them a Briggs and ScrapIron part number for a complete engine to order which were my two positives.

    All stuff I could have easily just ordered online, like everything else I do.

    The rest of the few in-store experiences I've had had been Meh. It's retail, so super high turnover rate.

    Some of the reviews reflect both good and bad I've had there.
     

    JoeyBimmer

    Active Member
    Jul 22, 2020
    574
    Eldersburg MD
    Don’t ever peer into the parts costs, software costs, or technician labor charges for computer updates to their industrial engines. My fleet repair costs got so high with the 4045 T4i engines in 2014-2015 that I solved the problem by getting rid of every single one of them.

    Their junk needs a ECU update to improve reliability of their poor design? Fork over $650 for a Deere tech at RDO to spend an hour babysitting his laptop as it reflashes the engine ECU.

    that is a shame because the 4045 Pre computer controls does a decent job.

    I have a fleet of leafers that run them, and other then abuse they hold up.
    One of my mechanics was telling me his old job would run them as plant power units, and they wouldn't blow up, but they would change them out at like 15k hours just as preventative maintenance.
     

    JoeyBimmer

    Active Member
    Jul 22, 2020
    574
    Eldersburg MD
    Alright, went to Gardiner's and picked up a JD branded belt. Comparing to the other one, it's much more substanial/stiff and it's a deeper "V". While I was at it, scraped the deck, greased all fittings etc. One of the blade spindles was kinda dry/stiff, but once I greased it, it was much better. Got the belt on no problem (it really is an easy job). Got it fired up and it works!

    Now, one thing though. When I engage the blades, the deck has a little wobble to it. It didn't have it before. Everything's lined up as it should be. The only "new" things were I scraped the bottom of the deck and the grease on the one blade. Could that somehow have thrown something off? The blades looked pretty beat up too. Maybe put on new blades?

    as blades wear they will become out of balance depending on if they have taken a few hits. Have you tried running the deck with the blades off to see if the vibration is still there?
     

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