New to Forum: Used JD LX277

[Shaman]

Hi there.
Had a 1999 Craftsman 20.5hp BS 42" that had the tranny go.
It did a fair job for a while, but my front yard has a slope and I tow a roller in spring and sweeper when mowing.
I don't think it was up to it over time.

Shopped the used market (Kubota, JD, etc.) and dealers.
Had a choice between LX277 with 250hrs for $1800 or GX325 with 1500hrs for $3000+tx. Wife said no way she was going to let us spend $3k on a 15 year old tractor.

I know, I know. I tried to convince her of the difference between a LawnX and a GardenX, but we don't tiller or snowplow so it was a hard sell.
My neighbor has a LX178 and he had my wife convinced it was enough.

I am hoping the TTK62 Transaxle in the JD holds up better.
I have an incline in the front yard:

and want to tow the lawn roller in the spring and sweeper as well. Maybe a snowblower attachment in the future as the budget allows.

Think the LX277 will be up to it?
I hope so.

The LX 'seems' slower than my Craftsman, but it is a WHOLE lot smoother (as you would expect), and the 48" deck and tighter turning radius made the time go by fast. I think it is entirely just the "sense" of speed. Kind of like the difference between doing 80mph in a Caddy vs 80mph in a Chevette. I did not time myself pre and post LX... but when I got done and came in, the wife asked me if it was Diet Dew Break time. I told her I was done and she sort of looked at me confused. hehe.

The only down side is with the Craftsman, I had no interest other than mowing. Now with the JD I have the accessories bug. I'm looking up the Mulch kit, the Cargo kit, looking to order paper manual.... thinking about perhaps a snowblower. This could get expensive.

The "parts" section of the website seems to list only Attachments.
Do people have parts numbers that fit the LX277 for:
- Mulch Kit
- Rear Weight Carrier
- Trunk
- Front Bumper

Any other useful add-ons?

 

[1bush2hog]

Welcome to TBN!!!

For what it is worth, I have used my LX277 to pull an aerator annually in the fall on appx. 1 acre yard. I personally do not feel like the hydrostat trans. is strong enough to classify this mower as a garden tractor - which is what it sounds like you need. If you have requirements that put additional stress on the tranny on a regular basis, you may want to look at a unit that is HD. The 325 would be a better choice if you could find one with lower hours.

The LX277 does a great job mowing and mulching though, although I liked the mulch and bagger kits for my previous LX178 much better.

 

[Shaman]

I'll keep my eyes open for a low hours G series, as I know I can get my money back out of the LX easily. I won't be running anything that actually engages the ground, at least not for now.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[curly]

That's a tranquil looking place you got there Shaman.

Yeah, that accessories bug is a real booger ain't it? I aiin't even took delivery of my (first) tractor and it's about to kill me

 

[1bush2hog]

Yep - the LX277's seem to hold their value pretty good - I pull a core aerator that has a water tank that holds appx. 20 gal. and it makes the tranny whine, especially on slight hills - Although the tranny has not failed in any way, it just makes me wonder if it could take that kind of additional stress on a regular basis.

 

[Shaman]

The spot is not bad.
We have 2 acres and the neighbor on the right had 40a around us and the neighbor on the right sits back even farther than we do and we have a tree line between us.

Being set back off the road give the kids a really nice space to run around and not have to worry about them going into the road. The front lawn is about 60yds long with a slope. I'm not sure what a 'gently' slope is, but standing at the top of the driveway you can look over the garage. Back lawn is about 1/4 of an acre, but flat.

I don't have the mulch kit yet, so have not bothered with the sweeper.
With the side discharge, I would need to go around a couple times and I just don't want to bother right now. The JD is more efficient than the Craftsman was at cutting, so I am not getting much in the way of cut grass discharge rows. I just raked up the two rows I ended up with. I think the mulch kit might even do away with the need for a sweeper. We'll see someday. Getting colder here now at night. Probably only have 1 or 2 mows left, so not in any hurry to invest in the mulch kit this season.

I should borrow my neighbors roller and test it out to see if the JD bogs down like the Craftsman did on the uphill. Not that I nnneeeedddd to roll.

 

[VABlue]

That's only 160# on top of the aerator (20 gallons), so your tractor should handle it easily. I regularly pulled upwards of 300# sitting on a dethatcher, and several times pulled close to 1000# of brick pavers. This was with my 18HP Craftsman hydro. That little bugger handled it easily and is still going strong! Hydro trannies whine, there's no reason to worry about it. The LX277 can take your yard, so enjoy it!

 

[Shaman]

One Month Check In:

Bought used so gave it a once over.
- changed plugs
- changed oil
- topped off trans fluid
- fuel filter looked clean, did not bother with it
- slop painted deck bottom (need to sand and JD paint it next year)

After the once over I am getting a small tinny sound up front. Can not locate the sound though with hood open, but it is in the front on the right side (facing from drivers seat). Have nightmares of previous owner filling it up with heavy weight oil to hide some defect.... but probably just paranoia.

Gave it its first work out this weekend. Used a 50# dump cart to haul full up with basketball size rocks, and used it today to haul a couple full loads of soil. I could hear the tranny, but it was not struggling even climbing up the small slope from the dirt pile to the flat where I am building a stone wall with end cap flower gardens. The bigger boulders were there, but I have built in around them to try and fill the wall in. I'll have to take a more recent picture this week.

Got a new in plastic manual for $20 off eBay.

Picked up a Tractor Trunk. THAT is handy. Can carry pruners down into the woods along the ski trail and prune back the thorn bushes and small shrubs leaning into the trail. Loaded up a couple piles of rocks I had not gotten around to, but kept mowing around because I was too lazy to hook up the dump cart or hand carry them up to the stone wall, taking 20 walking trips.

Grass has come in hard between the back porches.
This is from 4 years ago, no grass showing. We had the driveway 'sanded' and a lot of it silted off into the walkway. It gave grass and weeds enough soil to sprout out of.

Having a more capable mower is addictive.
Thinking about a blade to scrape up some of my gravel rockway to lay more weedkiller sheets. Of course I would need wheel weights then. Wife is kind of upset. I try to remind her I got a $5k tractor for $1800 so we are way ahead... and getting most accessories off eBay is saving me 50% off dealer cost. Another way I'm saving. I wonder how long she will buy it.

 

[VABlue]

Glad its working out for you! Nice pics...

 

[Shaman]

Pictures of the wall.
Used the LX277 to haul some rocks from a neighbors old wall.
Completed the endcap/flowerpot.
Hauled 3 loads of soil heaped in the JD 50# dump cart (1973 vintage).

The second section is a bit tougher, there are no giant boulders to serve as stable pylons to stack around. The original wall is about 5 ft wide and 4ft deep, but they built the road completely up to the top.

Long view from Driveway:

Long view from completed midwall endcap:

First Section:

Second End Cap and Gap.
Need to build between the two tree growths:

Close up of second end cap and start of second section:

It is not that pretty, but it adds something to the roadside.
Don't get much time to work on it with 4yo and 9mo.