jd 355d buying advice

[wjwoods]

I am going to look at a JD 355d Garden tractor in one week at a jd dealer.
This tractor has 450 hours.I want to run the tractor for about 30 minutes at high rpm and then check for leaks(it has a yanmar diesel engine). Do any forum members have any other advice about what to watch out for. This should be a very rugged tractor.but it will be expensive to repair if it needs to be fixed.
Thanks for your help.

 

[fgross335_2210]

I had a 335 (gas air cooled 20HP) and traded it for a used 355D about five years ago. It had around 300 hours when I bought it and is past 500 now. It's been a great tractor, zero problems. Uses 1/2 the fuel of the 335 and has a lot more torque. I run M1 synthetic oil and the JD filter and the engine does not use any oil.

I noticed this past winter I have to crank it longer to get it started, wondering if one or both glow plugs are going out...something to look into. I have replaced the battery once, bigger then the gas engine battery and almost impossible to remove/replace due to the size and available space. The engine vibrates a lot at idle and small cracks have formed in the corners of the hood from the vibration, but that's only asthetics. It's also a loud little sob, much noisier than my 2210 which has a 3cyl yanmar diesel....earplugs or muffs are a good idea.

The engine has dual inner/outer air filters like the ag JD diesels, and you can remove the outer element and blow it out with the air compressor. It uses a unique/heavy duty belt from the engine to the mower deck....dealer said it's due to the torque of the engine.

When I went to my local JD Lawn and Garden dealer to order engine maintenance parts, they had to do a little research because they had never sold one (I got mine from a dealer that is both L&G and Ag). Everything associated with the engine is yanmar-specific - filters, etc. The rest of the tractor is generic John Deere.

The 300 series JD's (325-355D) are some of the best JD Garden Tractors. Plenty of attachments, strong transaxle and power steering/lift. I plan to keep mine for a long, long time.

 

[ccsial]

I also had a 355D. It was a good machine. I traded for a X748 becasue I wanted 4WD for snow service. My only complaint is they did not make a block heater for it. I used two heat lamps in real cold weather. It would start cold but it shook like a wet dog when it did.

 

[om21braz]

I'd make sure the airbox is reasonably clean and has filters that are in good condition. Take a look at the coolant - does it appear to be clean? any sparkles in it? Check how easy it starts and color of smoke at start-up. I expect it would be a good machine and as fgross mentioned, most of the machine is just like the 325-335-345 lawn tractors. The yanmar engines have a good reputation, but it would be quite an expensive repair should engine trouble arise. Good luck with your decision!

 

[wjwoods]

Re: 355d jd purchase-Thanks for the advice.I will update you on my decision.

 

[Carl Bert]

I bought the GX345 about 5 years ago and have never regretted it. In my opinion this is one of the best lines of L&G tractors John Deere has put out. I bought mine when it was 2 years old, with 170 hours. I paid $4000 and was recently offered $3800 from my dealer, on a trade-in. I used the tractor for over 5 years and would only take a $200 loss. How do you beat that?

Sorry, I know this was no help in answering the OP's question. Can I ask what year the 355 is and how much the dealer is asking?

 

[wjwoods]

Hi Carl-the 355d is a 2000 with 450 hours and the dealer is asking $3000.
which is a good deal.There was a very similar tractor for sale last fall in treherne ,Manitoba,which is about 80 miles from this dealer, for $4200
If I do purchase this tractor,I will pay extra for the service dept. to go over it
thoroughly before I purchase it,I am wondering if these 2 355d's are not the same machine as they are quite rare . .Thanks for your help.

 

[Carl Bert]

Hi Carl-the 355d is a 2000 with 450 hours and the dealer is asking $3000.
which is a good deal.There was a very similar tractor for sale last fall in treherne ,Manitoba,which is about 80 miles from this dealer, for $4200
If I do purchase this tractor,I will pay extra for the service dept. to go over it
thoroughly before I purchase it,I am wondering if these 2 355d's are not the same machine as they are quite rare . .Thanks for your help.

That does sound cheap. Thats how much a 1998 345, with similar hours just sold for on Ebay. There are no 355's for sale right now to compare to. Is the $4200 tractor of the same year and hours?

 

[wjwoods]

Hi Carl -I can only get part of the description of the tractor from an archived machinefinder listing.the hours are very close (around 450). I will discuss this with the salesman
and see if he know's the customer who traded in the tractor etc. If I don't get a reasonable answer regarding the history of the tractor I will look elsewhere.I have a 1999 1538 jd sabre that still works fine in the meantime.
thanks for the help.-

 

[wjwoods]

I decided not to buy the 355d .The two listings I talked about were
for the same tractor.there were pictures on MachineFinder of the 355d at the
North Dakota dealer with the old manitoba dealer stickers still on the tractor.

the tractor may be perfectly good but the sale and trade-in were too close together for my liking. I did buy a 2004 Gt245 with 420 hours with a powerflow bagger and blade today (for $3000 cdn.).I am looking forward to trying it out.

Thanks for the advice.