Buying Advice JD Diesel Garden Tractor

[ARK]

I am a new member, Canadian looking for a JD Garden tractor diesel. There are no dealers in my area, but the 3 cylinder Yanmar diesels seem rugged. Age makes no difference to me but condition does, with the complete tractor. I have the tools and skills to repair these tractors but I am looking for member's advice.

I have had a Kubota, 25 HP diesel, but I think a high teen HP would do for my in town lot, that is hilly for grass cutting and a double driveway for snow removal in the snow belt of central Ontario.

I think for me the best is a diesel full low oil not splash lubed and automatic via a hydraulic transmission. I would like a 3 point hitch and a snow blade rather than a blower and about a 40" grass cutter, mulching rather than a set up to pick up clippings.

I need a hobby since I have just retired after 45 years of trade experience in factory maintenance, hydraulics, electrics, pneumatics and machine control.

I am seeking your advice as to what is a very good JD tractor or some other brand that is repairable because parts are readily available.

Thank you in advance. Does it make sense in importing a compact style of tractor from U.SA.?

 

[bp fick]

I came very close to buying a JD X700 series with the diesel or the now discontinued 2305. The JD2305 has been far upgraded with the new 1000 series JD is offering.

There sure aren't many folks who bad mouth the X700 series machines. Well, except for the price, I guess.

 

[rsewill]

Welcome!

You can find a smaller town Diesel like a Deere 455. But for snow removal you will really miss the 4WD your Kubota has. I am a townie but decided I was ready for a 4WD snow removal machine so I bought a Deere 4100 w/hydro. 1999 model w/snowblower, 60" deck, 1100 hours for $7500. Very happy with it. If you can live with 2WD then the 455 is right up your alley.

 

[BarryinMN]

Can't advise on importation but I have a 455 lawnmower with a 3pt for 10+
years here. Excellent lawnmower. I do use a 3pt 6' landscape rake for gravel road maint & it works well. The one time I ran it in snow the fat tires floated up on the snow & it barely got itself up a hill. I imagine moving snow of any significance with it front or rear would be an exercise in futility...

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

455 is one of Deere's best tractors!

 

[jcmseven]

I vote for a 455 if you can find a good one. I would not be bothered by the two wheel drive for snow removal, so long as you are willing to chain the machine every winter and perhaps run some wheel or hitch-mounted bracket weights. These machines are heavy enough that they will push snow well without weights unless it is really deep but they must have chains. I have removed snow with a 485 and a 595 (the newer--now renumbered again--cousins of the 455) and properly-ballasted there was not much difference moving a 54" blade. The main difference was that I could get away with no weights or chains with the 595 where I could not with the other. In a used machine I would not go lower than the X 500 (older numbering, now X 700) machines. I prefer diesel due to the economy, torque and enhanced resale, but the Kawasaki gas ones are good too. Some model numbers to look for 455,445,485,495,585, 595,720,740,744,748. If you stay within this range, you would be getting a commercial level engine, either diesel or gas with fuel injection, full pressure lubrication (not splash), differential lock, shaft drive, two-lever hydraulics and all the other goodies. I personally really like the older-style 455's in a used machine, but it is hard to find one in good shape without a ton of hours on it.

John M

 

[revitupfaster]

Hello ARK.......a fellow Canadian here. You are correct on the durability and reliability of the Yanmar Diesel.

I live down near Lake Erie, and 30 years ago, bought a piece of property, where I was going to build our dream home. We didn't build right away, but I started keeping the land in shape. The old gentleman I bought the land from said just to keep cutting it an eventually, it would go to grass. We have about 5 acres, and about 3.5 acres are finished lawn.

Shortly after buying the land, I bought a Yanmar YM276D, which is a 3 cylinder 27hp 4wd compact tractor, with a 72" RFM. Actually back then, I think there was a very close relationship with JD and Yanmar, and JD had a 950 series CUT, which I think was pretty much identical to my YM276, except the Yanmar had a "shuttle drive" transmission, which you couldn't get in the JD version. The other major difference was that the Yanmar was red, and of course the JD was green.

Anyway, I used that Yanmar for 28 years, and all I ever did was to change the oil and filter, and replace the battery a few times. The machine never failed to start, no matter the temperature, and ran just as good the day I traded it in as the day I got it. Just last year, I traded it in on a new JD2520.

The main reason for the trade was that I wanted to add a FEL to the Yanmar, and to do that was almost half the price of trading in the whole shebang. I traded it to a JD dealer from whom I had bought a number of smaller JD lawn tractors over the years, and I actually got more on the trade, than I paid for the machine in the first place. Of course a dollar was worth a lot more when I first bought the Yanmar, but nevertheless, I was sure surprised that it held it's value that well.

As I said, I had bought a number of smaller lawn tractors over the years, and ultimately I have ended up with a JD X495, with a 62" deck, which is my main mowing machine. (I also have a 62D deck for the 2520, but generally I just use the X495 for mowing duties) The X495 is a 23hp 3 cylinder Yanmar Diesel, and the 2520 is a 26.5hp 3 cylinder Yanmar diesel. So you can say that I have had quite a bit of experience with the smaller 3 cyl Yanmar diesel engines. So far, all that I've had have performed flawlesly.

I used to use my X495 for plowing snow, as I have the 54" blade set-up, but it being only a 2wd, I had to use chains on it for plowing. I bashed around without chains for a season or so, but eventually realized I had to run chains. When I traded the old Yanmar in on the 2520, I upgraded the front hitch from the 495, for one to fit the 2520, and now, use the bigger machine for snow removal. The extra weight of the machine, and of course the 4wd sure makes a difference in the snow season.

Here's a few pics of my old Yanmar & X495, and the new 2520 dressed out for summer and winter chores.

REV

 

[jenkinsph]

REV,
Nice clean looking tractors I'd say.:thumbsup:

Upon close examination of the pics I did find a few specks of dirt on the mower and I am not going to tell you where it is.

 

[revitupfaster]

REV,
Nice clean looking tractors I'd say.:thumbsup:

Upon close examination of the pics I did find a few specks of dirt on the mower and I am not going to tell you where it is.

I used that old Yanmar on the truck.....that was the day they delivered my new 2520, for 28 years, and she never spent a night outside. Probably a good reason why I got a decent trade value. In a way, I kinda' hated to see her go. I guess the moral is that it pays in the long run to look after your stuff.

REV

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

This dealer is only 15 miles from Orangeville:

Premier Equipment Ltd.
8911 Wellington Road 124
Ospringe ON L7J2L9
Canada
5198339332

They will sell you anything from a mower to an articulating quad. I suspect they have a good selection of lawn equipment on display on site, if not at one of their other stores.