Which model JD 345 & questions

[Vmax540]

Hello, Picked up a 1999(?) 345 with 1535 Hrs. for $2000 from a JD rep. He had no manual so, is this a standard, GX, GT or other ? Now, my brother in law says, I need to replace the oil pump and gears before they fail ? Seller claimed the engine was never apart and also, never serviced the transaxle so, I did order fluid and both filters. Any other suggestions ? Thanks for any input.

 

[LukeL]

That’s just a 345. Before the GX345 but few differences. Great machines. The oil pump and camshaft gears are plastic on those Kawasakis and can fail… with 1500+ hours it might not be a bad time to change them out.

 

[RandyT]

If the engine has 1500 hours than I would bet it already has the metal gears. Around that time frame they started producing that engine with the metal camshaft and oil pump. Most of the plastic camshafts failed at 800-1200 hours.

 

[RandyT]

From further research it looks like that FD611 is outside the serial number range for the plastic gear. Supposely serial number FD611V000001-FD611V000050 may have the plastic gear.

 

[TCowner]

That’s just a 345. Before the GX345 but few differences. Great machines. The oil pump and camshaft gears are plastic on those Kawasakis and can fail… with 1500+ hours it might not be a bad time to change them out.

The later GX345 models had the differential lock. My GX is an earlier model without the lock and I wish I had one. I bought mine for our one acre lawn and for snow removal at our property in Wisconsin. This is the first vertical shaft Kawasaki engine Deere I've owned and I am actually quite impressed with its performance. I like how quiet it runs and its quite "nimble". I think they are a great tractor for smaller properties. The headlight performance is quite dismal and improves considerably with an LED upgrade.