JD 5303 Vertical to Horizontal Exhaust Conversion

deere5105 · Dec 28, 2012

Attached are pictures of my recent exhaust conversion. Seemed I recalled hearing that the loader needed to be removed to install the horizontal exhaust. I managed to get the vertical removed and the horizontal in place without removing the loader. During the final step I found out why the loader and mounts needed to be removed. I managed to get the bolt for the lower support started. It appeared to be going in a little skewed, but was going in by hand. I put wrench on to finish it up and it stopped turning. I am certain it has cross threaded.

Question is, is it worth removing the loader, removing the loader mount and tapping the hole to get the bolt flush. I do not believe it will back out as it is and it will still serve the purpose of limiting any movement that might cause an issue where the exhaust tube mounts to the muffler. Honestly it seemed pretty secure without the lower mount. Any suggestions/recommendations?

Zebrafive · Dec 28, 2012

I would take the loader mount off and fix it right. But that's the way I am, maybe a little to obsessive.
As an alternative is there somewhere else you can put the clamp and bracket, maybe a little further back and bolt it to the floor board. A little hard to tell from your pictures what you have further back (nice close up shots), but too close to tell if there are alternative mount points.

I want to convert my 6415 to the horizonal exhaust, but can't get over the cost, over $500 thru JD part department.
Might be less if there is a "bundle" or "whole goods" part number, but I have not found one.

My 2030 has the factory horizonal exhaust. I see very few of these.

deere5105 · Dec 29, 2012

The first post had picture orientation off. I tried rotating them on mobile device based on what was shown on first post. The close up pics that are hard to get a sense of orientation on were taken from floor looking up. I can foresee removing loader and mounts to get bolt in like it should be. Not sure what kind of task that will turn into.

I am comfortable that it will not create any issues to operate as is until I can get that corrected. My tractor work is very minimal this time of year.

REVIEWED AFTER POSTING AND PIC ORIENTATION STILL OFF. I HAVE NOT FOUND A WAY TO ROTATE THEM TO CORRECT ORIENTATION. FROM WHAT I AM SEEING, THEY NEED TO ROTATE 90° TO THE RIGHT.

Zebrafive · Dec 29, 2012

Pulling the loader mount should not be too hard of job. Now is the time to do it, when you do not need your tractor.I've had to pull the JD 245 loader mounts off my JD 2030 several times and they look bigger/heavier than yours. You can find the weight of a mount at JDparts.com. Looks like you have dry place to work too.

deere5105 · Dec 31, 2012

Took about an hour today and got it straightened out. Was going to pick up a tap in case the threads in the hole were crossed. Store I stopped at didn't have one, but after getting to it figured out all was well. One of the most frustrating parts was figuring out why the front most bolt hole on the frame wouldn't drop loose. After wiggling it and getting it apart you can see why. There is a shoulder/recess fit on that one hole. Cleaned hole with WD40 and went right in with impact. I run it in and out a few times lubed with WD40 and everything seems fine. I remarked the bolts and the frame so I can tell if they are backing off. Here are some pictures I took during the process.

alainestelle · Jan 14, 2013

Hi,

Questions???? Why converting vertical to horizontal exhaust?
Is there any conversion kit available thru JD? Price???

Thanks

JD5210 · Jan 15, 2013

Alainestelle, some people do it for clearance getting in and out of a garage/shed, since they can put the ROPS down. JD does make and sell kits for this. If you goto JDparts.com and look at the parts catalog you will get the kit number and then do a internet search to get the price or call a dealer.

deere5105 · Jan 15, 2013

alainestelle said:
Hi,

Questions???? Why converting vertical to horizontal exhaust?
Is there any conversion kit available thru JD? Price???

Thanks

As JD5210 already stated, there are many reasons for converting to the horizontal exhaust. My reason was that I spend a lot of time in the woods and can't keep all paths clear of hanging limbs/vines that are prone to hanging on the vertical exhaust. On my previous tractor I caught the vertical exhaust on a vine while mowing a woods road. Some vines would slide over but this one didn't. I had some gloves handy and while the exhaust was still hot I pushed it back plumb.

Not sure how this will work from mobile device, but here is a link to a site where you can see the kit number, http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet . If I recall correctly, the price was around $200 and included everything needed to convert, including instructions. As stated in earlier post, I would go ahead and plan to remove the driver side loader frame mount from the tractor. I tried unsuccessfully without removing it initially. Removing the JD 522 loader was easier than I expected. The frame mount is around 100 lbs so you would need to make plans for dealing with it.