need help making mind up

[beenthere@charter.net]

I bought a used John Deere lt155 with no hood, mower deck, and one bad rear tire. Right about now you are asking WHY? Well I bought it to harvest the transaxle and engine for another project. So I get it home and it runs great and pulls like a new one.

So I have a bought new L110 and a 46 inch cut Murray to cut grass with, The Murray runs and pulls good but the deck is about over the hill. So I thought it might be worthwhile to buy a new deck for the LT155 650.00 and use it to cut with and part out the Murray.

But then I am thinking it might be better to wait until the Murray dies and just buy a new Huskee or JD for 1100 - 1500.

Two things I hate are trashing a JD to keep a Murray and I hate buying a 650 deck for a mower that "might" Blow up tomorrow!
I cannot settle on one thing or the other, any help would be appreciated. I don't know anything about the JD lt155 other than it cranks and runs good, with the Koler engine and don't smoke.
Any and all thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Donsyl]

Hello, if the JD runs good then get a deck for it,or maybe by some luck you may come across a deck for the murray in a lawn mower junkyard or find one cheap in the newspaper for sale that you can get the deck off of. I just drove 330 miles to southeast Kansas to get a cub cadet 1811.............21 years old and seemed great till i got it home.....found a $6 seal for the hydrostat leaking bad, but i fixed it the next day and it runs like new.....it had 669 hours when i bought it, and 687 now and i wouldnt trade it for anything.......So i guess what im trying to say is that if the JD runs good then keep it........goood luck....Don

 

[Iplayfarmer]

What does a deck for the Murray cost?

It sounds like you have two mowers which each need a new deck. It sounds like you really want to keep the JD, but don't really trust it. Who's to say that your Murray won't die tomorrow too?

Put a value to it... I.e. "The John Deere is worth $XXX more to me that the Murray." After you've decided that, price out the deck, tire, and hood for the John Deere vs. the deck for the Murray. If you come in less than your pre-determined value, you have your answer.

 

[bontai_Joe]

You might try and find a good used deck on Ebay for less money.

 

[beenthere@charter.net]

Reading all your replies, they all make sense. I do not desire to keep the murray past the first major problem. She still cuts with the best of them but when the deck is dead so is the mower.
I guess I am a little bit sold on the quality of the JD, having one I use all the time I know they are great mowers. Let me ask a more direct question of you experts.
Is a used jd lt155 is above mentioned condition worth buying a new mower deck for? Will I see my money invested back or would the money be better spent for a brand new cheaper mower when it becomes necessary to buy one?
Another confusing fact is when I priced the deck at the JD dealer and I asked him was the mower worth the new deck, he said I dont think it is? He did not try to sell me anything else so I take it to be his honest thoughts, this was over the phone?
It is just amazing how wrapped around the axle we can get when a simple decision is to be made with conflicting data and product hype thrown in on top of it.
We mow about 1 1/2 acre, part yard and part extended yard, for the most part smooth and almost level.
I know it is all speculation and that is why it is hard for me to answer my own question.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Reading all your replies, they all make sense. I do not desire to keep the murray past the first major problem. She still cuts with the best of them but when the deck is dead so is the mower.
I guess I am a little bit sold on the quality of the JD, having one I use all the time I know they are great mowers. Let me ask a more direct question of you experts.
Is a used jd lt155 is above mentioned condition worth buying a new mower deck for? Will I see my money invested back or would the money be better spent for a brand new cheaper mower when it becomes necessary to buy one?
Another confusing fact is when I priced the deck at the JD dealer and I asked him was the mower worth the new deck, he said I dont think it is? He did not try to sell me anything else so I take it to be his honest thoughts, this was over the phone?
It is just amazing how wrapped around the axle we can get when a simple decision is to be made with conflicting data and product hype thrown in on top of it.
We mow about 1 1/2 acre, part yard and part extended yard, for the most part smooth and almost level.
I know it is all speculation and that is why it is hard for me to answer my own question.

Even considering the quality of most JD mowers, my personal feeling is that this mower is not worth buying a new deck for. I don't know where you are, and prices vary a lot regionally, but the price of the deck alone is getting you into good used mower territory.

From the description of the JD mower that you gave, it sounds like it was rode hard and put away wet. I'm concerned that there are other problems that you can't see yet.

You can get an idea of replacement cost by going to John Deere's used equipment site.

Search on your zip code in the "Lawn & Garden and Commercial Mowing" Category and it will bring up a list of used equipment sorted by distance from your zip code. In my personal experience, prices on the machine finder web site are a little high, but it should still give you a good idea what you can readily get a good used mower for.

If you really want a John Deere, part out this LT155 that you have, sell the murray while it's still running good, and buy a used Deere.

 

[WayneB]

Reading all your replies, they all make sense. I do not desire to keep the murray past the first major problem. She still cuts with the best of them but when the deck is dead so is the mower.
I guess I am a little bit sold on the quality of the JD, having one I use all the time I know they are great mowers. Let me ask a more direct question of you experts.
Is a used jd lt155 is above mentioned condition worth buying a new mower deck for? Will I see my money invested back or would the money be better spent for a brand new cheaper mower when it becomes necessary to buy one?
Another confusing fact is when I priced the deck at the JD dealer and I asked him was the mower worth the new deck, he said I dont think it is? He did not try to sell me anything else so I take it to be his honest thoughts, this was over the phone?
It is just amazing how wrapped around the axle we can get when a simple decision is to be made with conflicting data and product hype thrown in on top of it.
We mow about 1 1/2 acre, part yard and part extended yard, for the most part smooth and almost level.
I know it is all speculation and that is why it is hard for me to answer my own question.

Just wondering where you are located at? I have a mulching deck that will fit the LT-155 and it is like new.

Wayne

 

[beenthere@charter.net]

Alabama, quite a ways away.

 

[WayneB]

yes it is and might not be worth the shipping cost. Although I have listed it on Craig's list for $150 so who knows, put it on a pallet and ship it to you.

I have an LT-155 and bought the mower deck thinking I could use it with the tractor so as to mulch and not bag. Well, my land is pretty hilly and it just didn't seem to fit the bill. So it has sat in the barn for two years now.


Wayne

 

[beenthere@charter.net]

I looked at a cheaper new mower today and well for lack of a better word it looked cheap. The deck was small and very light gauge metal. I had made a list of items to check and the first one on that list was go look at some of the new mowers I was considering.

The one I was leaning towards failed my quality test. They had a cub cadet 42 that looked good it was 1400, but then the higher I go on the new one the more attractive the JD becomes. And I think that is the problem and the answer too. I have been all under this lt155 and everything looks well engineered and heavy duty not recycled tin can metal from China.

So, a very long story short I have decided to add the deck to the JD. If the tractor dies I can always buy another and have a spare deck for later, or re-engine/ re-transmission this one. I might get lucky and pick up the used one on here or find another one or just break down and buy a new one.

Seems the average price for a decent mower lt-155 is 1000.00 and that is with a well worn deck so one with a brand new deck should be worth 1300-1400 I guess and I would have way less than that in the mower. The price is academic since I am fixing it up to mow with and not resale, but it is just a measuring stick to make sure I don稚 get upside down in the project.
Thanks for all the suggestions; hopefully I can return the favor one day.