UPDATE:
I now have an expensive law ornament!
Background:
I grew up around heavy equipment (father was in construction) I am currently in the National Guard as a construction engineer, (20 years) and I have owned various tractors over the years. I am not new to heavy equipment.
I bought the JD 110 TLB that is at issue in these posts used. I bought it approximately 2 months ago (Dec 28, 2010) from a private sale. I was looking specifically for the 110. When I became aware of this one, I looked at, operated it, worked all the hydraulics, etc. Noticed minor problems, hose leaks, cylinder seepage, minor issues, nothing that jumped out.
After a few hours of light use around the house, mostly moving snow I noticed that a few of the bolts that run along the frame below the engine and support the front end loader and the front axle were loose. When I tried to tighten them I noticed that they were stripped and would not stay tight. A few on the other side were missing. I tightened all the others and was planning on purchasing new ones to replace the stripped ones. Before I could get the new bolts (I had planned on getting them on Saturday, the hydraulics quit on Friday) See my prior posts on the hydraulics quitting.
I had the local John Deere dealer pick the tractor up. The initial assessment was that something had failed in the pump. When the mechanics were troubleshooting they found that the coupling from the engine to the pump was busted. In looking further they found that the engine was out of alignment. Yesterday they called me to give me an update and said that the cause was that the bolts I had found loose along with many other were missing/broke/stripped/wrong size. There initial assessment was that I was looking at a $7000.00 repair. By the way, I spent $18,000 for the tractor.
I went to the shop this morning on my way into work. What I learned this morning was, after they called me yesterday the mechanics did some additional checking and found that some of the bellhousing and loader attachment points were broken. We are now somewhere in the $10,000 repair range. The mechanic explained to me that the issue has been going on for some time, that someone had attempted to fix the problem by drilling things adding over sized bolts, and other poor fixes. Holes are now elongated, threads gone, parts bent, components broken. If the problem had been properly fixed initially, this would not have happened.
After much hemming and hawing on my part, I gave them the go ahead to fix it. What other course of action was there? Unusable, no trade-in value, unsellable (too ethical for me to patch it up for sale so that someone is stuck like I am).
As much as I cringed at the $10,000 price tag, I was okay (life lessons can be expensive) About 30 minutes ago the dealer called. The transmission case needs to be replaced because of the misalignment damage. I am now looking at a $16,000 repair. I told the dealer to load it up and bring it home. Date and time of funeral to be provided (I have to laugh at this point)
Lessons learned:
Buyer beware. (knew that already, but dang it hurts to be reminded)
Fix it right the first time (I knew that too, but point driven home)
If you own a JD 110 TLB, make sure that the mount bolts are tight (If you are unsure of the bolts I am talking about, let me know and I will send you pictures)
I guess the upside to all of this, Is I still have all my fingers and toes. My wife hasn't left me (wait, I haven't told her yet...) and my dog will be waiting for me when I get home...my luck my German Shepard ran away to be with a a poodle. I will keep looking for an upside.
At this point I think the best I can do is parts out the tractor and try to recoup some of my losses.
Please do not take this posting as a slam against John Deere products. I just thought it might help someone else if they are starting to see loose bolts or are considering purchasing a used JD 110 tlb to make sure to check the bolts they can see and touch.
Work Safe, Play Hard, and Enjoy Everyday to the fullest