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I have a John Deere riding mower and small tractor and wouldn't have any other brand. I use the mower for the yard and the tractor to mow where needed on the rest of the 28 acres. They do a great job and hold up well.

patches said:

I have a John Deere riding mower and small tractor and wouldn't have any other brand. I use the mower for the yard and the tractor to mow where needed on the rest of the 28 acres. They do a great job and hold up well.

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Welcome to LMF, we always need more members here who know the best equipment is GREEN....:thumbsup:

So why are parts of mine in a cardboard box after 80 hours? I have a pretty good idea why. It's because it has the word China stamped on a large percent of the parts. We're not buying John Deere anymore. We're buying green paint and a name that once stood for quality.

SandburRanch said:

It's because it has the word China stamped on a large percent of the parts. We're not buying John Deere anymore. We're buying green paint and a name that once stood for quality.

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Just like anything else, you are going to find exceptional quality and poor quality...
The manufacturer specs what they want... the suppliers produce that,
There is extremely fine work done in China AND there is also low quality. It depends on what is ordered.

That particular part you show is the spindle or quill, it should be one of the first things you look at to determine if the mower deck will last any time in your application...
That single part takes the heaviest beating... and it is often the lightest duty piece spec for any given model.
For a few dimes more it can be built with better bearings, a grease zerk, heavier spindle shaft and a heavier housing... but when making the most economical end product a LOT of corners have to be cut...
That is why you will find, so-so, OK, Good, better, and best lines in a manufactures model runs... Have to look a little closer when buying today.
It is not the country of origin but rather the quality required to fill the order... The manufacturer is the one that spec the parts.... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Just like anything else, you are going to find exceptional quality and poor quality...
The manufacturer specs what they want... the suppliers produce that,
There is extremely fine work done in China AND there is also low quality. It depends on what is ordered.

That particular part you show is the spindle or quill, it should be one of the first things you look at to determine if the mower deck will last any time in your application...
That single part takes the heaviest beating... and it is often the lightest duty piece spec for any given model.
For a few dimes more it can be built with better bearings, a grease zerk, heavier spindle shaft and a heavier housing... but when making the most economical end product a LOT of corners have to be cut...
That is why you will find, so-so, OK, Good, better, and best lines in a manufactures model runs... Have to look a little closer when buying today.
It is not the country of origin but rather the quality required to fill the order... The manufacturer is the one that spec the parts.... :smile:KennyV

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Very well said, Kenny...it saddens me that so much of what we buy today has poor quality parts because the manufacturer has to lower the cost to produce the items we buy.

If I compare my 1990 Craftsman mower to what you buy today...look at the handles on the older mowers...chrome plated with a rubber grip for your hands. Today you get a black bare steel handle. Look at the wheel adjuster assemblies of 20 years ago, solidly built and heavy duty compared to todays flimsy adjusters. But to be honest, I the engines of todays mowers are better when it comes to reliability, they are easier to start, burn cleaner, use less fuel, are more oiltight, etc. They have taken so much out of the rest of the mower I wonder if we are better off.

Like they say EVERYTHING us costing more today, that includes mowers... the only way you can make anything close to or LESS than last years model, is put LESS into it...

Sometimes folks just don't look close enough at what they are buying... and a green mower can look very similar to the one you saw a few years ago... but look a little closer.

It's like any-other tool, it's often cheaper to make something that 'looks like' a hammer, than to actually make a hammer... and sometimes price is as deep as people look... :smile:KennyV

SandburRanch said:

So why are parts of mine in a cardboard box after 80 hours? I have a pretty good idea why. It's because it has the word China stamped on a large percent of the parts. We're not buying John Deere anymore. We're buying green paint and a name that once stood for quality.

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How do you clean your deck? I use a blower rather than a water hose for the most part, I have not had to do any thing to my decks but change blades and sharpen them.

KennyV said:

Just like anything else, you are going to find exceptional quality and poor quality...
The manufacturer specs what they want... the suppliers produce that,
There is extremely fine work done in China AND there is also low quality. It depends on what is ordered.

That particular part you show is the spindle or quill, it should be one of the first things you look at to determine if the mower deck will last any time in your application...
That single part takes the heaviest beating... and it is often the lightest duty piece spec for any given model.
For a few dimes more it can be built with better bearings, a grease zerk, heavier spindle shaft and a heavier housing... but when making the most economical end product a LOT of corners have to be cut...
That is why you will find, so-so, OK, Good, better, and best lines in a manufactures model runs... Have to look a little closer when buying today.
It is not the country of origin but rather the quality required to fill the order... The manufacturer is the one that spec the parts.... :smile:KennyV

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Hi
I will agree with this as well, you can get good quality items and others with less quality stuff these days. The mowers today, or some of them are cheaper built to cut costs and turn around and sell. I am sure its not just Deere that has had some quality issues, I have seen quality control issues on other brands as wells as Deere. I really don't care much for the Deere L100 series, they may be find for a single owner who is residential, but I would not cut grass commerically with one, as they were not designed for that. I talked to the local Deere Dealer a few years back who had sold a L100 series to a guy who was cutting grass commerically with it and voided all warrenty on the tractor and it was junk by the time it reached 500 hrs.... Again the owner was using it for commerical grass cutting doing more work then it was designed for.
I have ran Deere, Simplicity and a few Kubota's all have there ups and downs, week points and strengths.
Take Care Jason B

Nothing runs like a deere! Nuff said!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

KennyV said:

Just like anything else, you are going to find exceptional quality and poor quality...
The manufacturer specs what they want... the suppliers produce that,
There is extremely fine work done in China AND there is also low quality. It depends on what is ordered.

That particular part you show is the spindle or quill, it should be one of the first things you look at to determine if the mower deck will last any time in your application...
That single part takes the heaviest beating... and it is often the lightest duty piece spec for any given model.
For a few dimes more it can be built with better bearings, a grease zerk, heavier spindle shaft and a heavier housing... but when making the most economical end product a LOT of corners have to be cut...
That is why you will find, so-so, OK, Good, better, and best lines in a manufactures model runs... Have to look a little closer when buying today.
It is not the country of origin but rather the quality required to fill the order... The manufacturer is the one that spec the parts.... :smile:KennyV

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WOW! Could it POSSIBLY be said any better than that?:thumbsup:

I have an automatic winding wristwatch. Paid more than I'll admit to, but it was so well worth it. It's -15 seconds a week, every week, like clockwork (pun intended)! That's only one minute slow a month, for a mechanical watch!!!! (Heck, I have digitals that aren't that close) It can be adjusted and be as accurate as many quartz models I own.

Remember when everyone slammed Japan for it's poor quality? Now look at them. Some of the measuring tools in a machine shop are made in Japan - and are the highest quality tools available! (even surpasses swiss quality)

My china-built watch, although always poo poo-ed by where it's made, is a really high quality 27 jewel watch. The factories where these watches are made are brand-new, state of the art facilities, with same for the equipment. They recieve top-notch training, by swiss production machinists. The resulting product is a swiss watch - it just so happens to be made in China, and cost a couple hundred, instead of a couple thousand.

This is a 'me, too' post - I couldn't top what kenny said....:laughing:

I have not worn a watch for over 8 years, when I retired I simply stopped wearing one. My smartphone has it's own clock and an alarm...why does anybody need a watch when they are retired, anyhow?

But if you showed me a JD watch...that is another matter.

Hi all, I just had to put my 2 cents worth in. My darling wife bought me a X530 series garden tractor to replace my 318 that is dying a very agonizing death. I bought the 318 used, but it was the best garden tractor I ever owned. There is no comparison between the two. As a previous writer mentioned about John Deere tractors, it is a great running tractor and I'm satisfied with it. But, I do miss the greater weight of the 318, especially chugging up and down on hillsides, and the hydraulics. I couldn't justify going to the 700 series to get a tractor equal to the 318. I don't want to be critical, but in the quest for a cheaper product, the engineering staff lost sight of producing an excellent product as apposed to an acceptable product.

flyfisher6032 said:

Hi all, I just had to put my 2 cents worth in. My darling wife bought me a X530 series garden tractor to replace my 318 that is dying a very agonizing death. I bought the 318 used, but it was the best garden tractor I ever owned. There is no comparison between the two. As a previous writer mentioned about John Deere tractors, it is a great running tractor and I'm satisfied with it. But, I do miss the greater weight of the 318, especially chugging up and down on hillsides, and the hydraulics. I couldn't justify going to the 700 series to get a tractor equal to the 318. I don't want to be critical, but in the quest for a cheaper product, the engineering staff lost sight of producing an excellent product as apposed to an acceptable product.

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We've had other threads on this forum about the weight of garden tractors going down and down over the decades. I think some are in the "lighter is better" camp when it comes to mowing, but I think people expect a little more out of the garden tractors and in all other cases the extra weight is a plus.

I haven't owned a modern garden tractor so I can't say if I'd prefer the belles and whistles to the brute force of an older model, but it would be a tough decision.

Welcome to the forum, by the way!