duffer
Veteran Member
"Inherited" a JD LA115 riding mower from good friend after he passed. Only had 200 hours on it, but it was in really rough shape. Mower blades were seized, flat tires, ran like (excrement). Blades looked like he mowed rocks and stumps with it.
Cleaned it up, tore apart the mower deck and to my surprise there are actually brake pads for the pulleys. (damn OSHA & EPA) Once I got them removed the spindles worked pretty well. Bearings were good. Got new belt and blades, repainted it, leveled it and works really good now. "Forgot" to replace the brake pads on the pulleys...
Engine luckily didn't need pistons, rings or valves, but I did replace the plug, coil pack, carberator, and fan assembly. Had to adjust the valves as they were WAY out of spec. (word of warning...when you replace your spark plug(s) be sure to check the gap. My new plug was gapped at .005 out of the box instead of .030)
Purrs like a kitten now, and replaces a Cub Cadet that I disliked from the first time I mowed with it.
For those of you a little hesitant to take on a re-build like this, don't sweat it. If you get stuck, or need some guidance, there are plenty of YT videos to help you out. The carb swap was my biggest concern, and it took 5 minutes. It was so easy I thought I did something wrong.
Cleaned it up, tore apart the mower deck and to my surprise there are actually brake pads for the pulleys. (damn OSHA & EPA) Once I got them removed the spindles worked pretty well. Bearings were good. Got new belt and blades, repainted it, leveled it and works really good now. "Forgot" to replace the brake pads on the pulleys...
Engine luckily didn't need pistons, rings or valves, but I did replace the plug, coil pack, carberator, and fan assembly. Had to adjust the valves as they were WAY out of spec. (word of warning...when you replace your spark plug(s) be sure to check the gap. My new plug was gapped at .005 out of the box instead of .030)
Purrs like a kitten now, and replaces a Cub Cadet that I disliked from the first time I mowed with it.
For those of you a little hesitant to take on a re-build like this, don't sweat it. If you get stuck, or need some guidance, there are plenty of YT videos to help you out. The carb swap was my biggest concern, and it took 5 minutes. It was so easy I thought I did something wrong.
