Just got a 1987 (I think) JD 210 with 38" deck, questions

[Carl in CT]

My 4 year old Simplicity Conquest with 23hp Briggs Vanguard motor blew up. It's in the shop for a few weeks getting diagnosed but I'm very concerned it's dead, spewing oil out the left valve cover and little to no compression. Guy thinks it most likely severely overheated, probably due to a mouse nest somewhere. He says if I'm lucky it will just be a head gasket. If it's more it may not be worth fixing. We'll see. A new 23hp Vanguard motor is $1,400 before labor, yikes.

Anyway I have about an acre to mow with lots of hills and the landscaper my neighbor uses charged me $80 for one mow and a little weed whacking. So I hit Criagslist and picked up an old JD 210 mower for $150 locally. The model number is *M00210X420519 so I think it's a 1987.



It needed a new battery ($50 at Walmart) and a tube in the front tire ($18 at Tractor Supply). Of course the seat is ripped but I will live with that as is for now. So now it runs, drives and mows but it's a very tired 10hp Kohler. It struggles and actually dies out going up steeper hills. I'm sure it needs a really good carb cleaning, oil change, new air filter with pre-cleaner and spark plug, and to take off some shrouds for cleaning as I now started seeing evidence of a mouse nest in the engine compartment.

That said, I managed to mow my lawn twice so it's just about paid for itself. It even came with the bagger but I doubt this thing has the power to throw clippings up into it. It also blows some white smoke when it struggles, kinda like my Simplicity did just before it quit so I'm wondering if this thing is in need of a new head gasket. It also seems to be running a tad on the warm side but not wicked hot.

I really just want it to hold together until I get my Simplicity back then I will decide whether to sell it off again or keep it for a spare and maybe I can give it some TLC later on. For now I don't have the time/money to spend on it but it would be a fun winter project if I can get my horses sold and claim the barn for my equipment.

The deck belt is hanging on by a thread so I will have to get a new one of those. The guy gave me the manuals for the tractor and mower deck. Good thing because I can't find much for numbers on the deck but he had written on the manual that the deck belt is M82538 so I will order one of those. It's a 38" deck with two blades and three guide wheels. There is a pretty good gouge in the deck. Looks like a blade came flying off and ripped into it. Other than that the deck seems pretty solid.

Also, the thing cuts terribly uneven, like the deck is sitting tipped to one side but it doesn't look like it is. When I get some time and if it ever stops raining I will pull the deck and check the blades, etc. I got a couple of spare sets with it so I will sharpen and balance those and put the high lift blades on to see if the bagger will work and if I can see any problems causing the uneven cut.

So any thoughts on the motor struggling?

Any thoughts on the deck cutting unevenly?

 

[Deere Dude]

Check tire pressure first then measure each side and adjust up or down accordingly and the front should tip down a quarter inch or so. Either way the manual should give a sequence.

 

[beenthere]

Sorry to hear about your Simplicity, but the exact same thing happened to my neighbor.. mouse nest and overheated one cylinder as he explained it. Now he is happy with his JD X485..
Hope you get the 210 adjusted and mowing good.

 

[Carl in CT]

Sorry to hear about your Simplicity, but the exact same thing happened to my neighbor.. mouse nest and overheated one cylinder as he explained it. Now he is happy with his JD X485..
Hope you get the 210 adjusted and mowing good.

Weird thing with the Simplicity is when we started to poke around we could see some pieces of grass up under the shroud on the side that wasn't puking oil. The side that was looked pretty clean. I don't understand why they even put those shrouds on air cooled engines.

I will check the tire pressure on my 210 but they look and feel about the same and the unevenness of the cut would suggest something more than the tire pressure being off. It's a good place to start though so I will definitely check it. It would be cool if that's all it is.

I wonder if the worn deck belt has anything to do with the bad cut. It seems a little loose and the blades don't seem to be spinning as fast as they should. Maybe a new belt, sharpened/balanced high lift blades and even tire pressure will solve it.

 

[Richard001]

Carl,

Before you use you JD anymore, get that fan shroud off and check for blockage of the air over the engine.

It's rather easy and could save you from another engine blowing up.

Richard

 

[Carl in CT]

Carl,

Before you use you JD anymore, get that fan shroud off and check for blockage of the air over the engine.

It's rather easy and could save you from another engine blowing up.

Richard

Definitely. It's supposed to finally stop raining tonight so I have plans to take it apart Wednesday after work. I got two new deck belts in the mail today so I plan to deal with that too. Want to clean out the carb as well, check the tire pressure, etc.

 

[Carl in CT]

Guess what I found.



Cleaned it out. Doesn't run any better but at least it's not about to burst into flames. Did a quick spray out of the carb but didn't have time to take it off and clean it properly so it is probably still gunked up. The tractor starts and runs but it still lacks power, really bogs down in taller grass and I don't mean field grass, just longer parts of my lawn.

Still need to get a new air filter with pre-cleaner, spark plug and fuel filter. Then we will see if it's any better, probably not, I think it's just old and worn/tired. But it does mow the lawn so if I get one or two more mowings it will have paid for itself vs hiring a landscaper until I know what's up with my sick Simplicity.

Still have to change the blades but I did get the new deck belt on. Still cuts unevenly.