Needing some cheap parts

[Hammermechanicman]

John Deere Parts Catalog

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You can use the JD parts advisor site to find parts and part numbers. The price i see is what my dealer charges me. I look up the parts i need and call the dealer and see if in stock or need ordered. The counter people at my dealer are really great and very helpful. A hint, don't just take the model number to the dealer but take the serial number too. Many models change and need the serial number to get the right parts. I take a picture of the serial plate and just hand my phone to counter person.

 

[tom3]

If I may butt in here. JD doesn't make bearings I believe. I went over to the local NAPA store to get some deck bearings, 6203 sealed. An SKF bearing each at $18, probably out last the mower, outlast me maybe. But times 6 for the spindles and 3 more for the idlers, ouch. They had a cheaper Chinese in a NAPA box for $8 ea. Better but still hurts. Got on Ebay and bought a 10 pack for $14 shipped free. Probably Chinese factory seconds, probably last 4 or 5 years so. Wouldn't use one in my truck alternator (same bearing seems to fit everything) but good enough for the mower and easy to change anyway. Maybe not the way to go for a business though, just throwing it out there.

 

[PTmowerMech]

As Ilengine has already noted, not all parts are available aftermarket and each company will have a different price.
If you end up with a Stens account, see if you can get a hard copy of their catalogue, it is a lot faster & easier to use than the computer one.
This is particularly the case when looking for belts, blades & pulleys as it has a table of them by size.
With pulleys in particular, most now days have a 6000 series ball bearing ( although all catalogues show a double row bearing ) and the only difference between dozens of them is the bush in the center which presses out , and when you have your head around them, you will work out that in many cases you can substitute a more common pulley size for an uncommon thus very expensive pulley size .
That alone can save a lot of money.
Deere parts down here are about 1/2 to 2/3 the price of other brands because their mower division piggy backs on the agricultural equipment warehouse .
SO I buy a lot of genuine JD parts retail cheaper than aftermarket parts wholesale .

Prime Line had the best price on cables , starters & clutches.
Stens are best for belts , pulleys , bar blades ( except the Gator style which are prone to premature flute failure ) & air filters .
Oregon naturally chain saw blades bars chain & sprockets plus Gator blades .
Rotary air filters , oil filters , fuel filter, fuel taps & MTD vari Drive belts .
Where the big discounts come in are the trade packs.
Stens do 12 Packs and Rotary do 36 packs in oil filters so it becomes viable to par it down to 3 or 4 common sizes & buy the big boxes.
Briggs panel filters come in 25 or 50 packs as do several fuel filters

We have swing back blades on walk behinds and the 100 pair trade packs bring the price down to under $ 1.00 pair
Comparred to $ 4-00 to $ $ 9-00 a pair for individual pairs.
I will do 100 to 200 blade changes in a good season

After doing some checking into these things, I think I'm still a little ways off from getting these benefits. You guys that been in the business a while, know all the in's and out of getting suppliers like Primeline, Oregon etc etc.
At my old shop, Amazon was rarely 3 or more days. 99% of the time, they were two days. In this new location, in south central Arkansas, it's never sooner than 4 days to get parts.
There's a stihl dealership/small engine shop about 20 miles away. But every time I've needed something he was out. And he too was 3 or 4 days getting his parts.

 

[bertsmobile1]

You will get there in the end.
I use a carbon book for invoicing for all but commercial customers.
On the opposite blank page I write notes and in particular the after market part number thus I know whose parts got fitted to what mowers & some times the price I paid for them.
So the next time I get the same mower in all the hard work has been done.
on the first page I rule columns where the customers name & type of job ( P = Push SP = Self propelled , RER = rear engine rider CH chain saw etc etc etc )
For the commercial customers I print out the IPL's for their mower and make notes on that .
Saves a lot of time looking up the same things time & time again and makes it easy to check I have the required parts in stock for the scheduled overnight services.

 

[bertsmobile1]

If I may butt in here. JD doesn't make bearings I believe. I went over to the local NAPA store to get some deck bearings, 6203 sealed. An SKF bearing each at $18, probably out last the mower, outlast me maybe. But times 6 for the spindles and 3 more for the idlers, ouch. They had a cheaper Chinese in a NAPA box for $8 ea. Better but still hurts. Got on Ebay and bought a 10 pack for $14 shipped free. Probably Chinese factory seconds, probably last 4 or 5 years so. Wouldn't use one in my truck alternator (same bearing seems to fit everything) but good enough for the mower and easy to change anyway. Maybe not the way to go for a business though, just throwing it out there.

OK for a home owner Tom but a disaster for a technician
You can get 6000 series bearings in grades that are just barely good enough for a hand cart or wheel barrow right up to avaiation grade, but you can not tell the difference.
Then there is the fit , normal loose or tight and both tight & loose come in a couple of grades as well.
SO when it is my reputation on the line, it is spindle bearings from the mower shop and nothing else.
Even then I have at least 5 different 6203 depending upon where they are going to be used as there is 1/2 dozen different groove depths.
Generally if you buy a $ 2 bearing then all you get is a $2 bearing.
And the brand name on the side means nothing as the machine that prints WeeFoolUwe can also ,print SKF Nashi Torrington etc etc etc.
Sold in a tube then it is a accident in the packing shed.
Sold in a branded box then it is counterfitting

 

[tom3]

WeeFoolUwe

Good one, have to remember that!

 

[StarTech]

So the partsperson had no idea how to use JDparts. Doesn't surprise me at all where service here was telling a customer he didn't oil pump in his engine even it had an oil filter and oil pressure light or the time they could didn't a bad spark on a Stihl hedger that was under warranty.

John manufactured and sold the Scotts version you have and also sold it it under the Sabre name. Now the cheaper Scotts models were Murray Ohio made. Next I suggest you looking up the part for that particular Scotts on

JDParts: Homepage

or

John Deere Parts Catalog

Find parts & diagrams for your John Deere equipment. Search our parts catalog, order parts online or contact your John Deere dealer.

partscatalog.deere.com

 

[PTmowerMech]

So the partsperson had no idea how to use JDparts. Doesn't surprise me at all where service here was telling a customer he didn't oil pump in his engine even it had an oil filter and oil pressure light or the time they could didn't a bad spark on a Stihl hedger that was under warranty.

John manufactured and sold the Scotts version you have and also sold it it under the Sabre name. Now the cheaper Scotts models were Murray Ohio made. Next I suggest you looking up the part for that particular Scotts on

JDParts: Homepage

or

John Deere Parts Catalog

Find parts & diagrams for your John Deere equipment. Search our parts catalog, order parts online or contact your John Deere dealer.

partscatalog.deere.com

Yeah, he didn't know his butt from a hole in the ground. Kept writing down part numbers and then forgetting which one he's wrote down. Had to tell him a few times that there was one drive pulley the same size as the one on the deck. And he was getting pissed at me for showing him on the diagram which parts I needed... I guess he didn't want me looking at "HIS" computer screen. lol.

I probably did look at the JD home page, I looked at so many.

 

[PTmowerMech]

If I may butt in here. JD doesn't make bearings I believe. I went over to the local NAPA store to get some deck bearings, 6203 sealed. An SKF bearing each at $18, probably out last the mower, outlast me maybe. But times 6 for the spindles and 3 more for the idlers, ouch. They had a cheaper Chinese in a NAPA box for $8 ea. Better but still hurts. Got on Ebay and bought a 10 pack for $14 shipped free. Probably Chinese factory seconds, probably last 4 or 5 years so. Wouldn't use one in my truck alternator (same bearing seems to fit everything) but good enough for the mower and easy to change anyway. Maybe not the way to go for a business though, just throwing it out there.

I've learned from Bert, and a couple other here how important it is to get good quality bearings for importants parts of a mower. Especially the spindles. This one customer I have, who brought in old western auto wizard, I'm having trouble getting parts money upfront from him. Had his mower for a week now, and still not a dime. I'm starting to do that win customers who have more than $100 in parts to be ordered. Anywho, It's tempting to get the cheap ones for his deck. But he mentioned something about taking his last small engine guy to court for a few reasons. One of them was for shoddy repairs. Soooooo, I'm getting OEM bearings for him. IF he can come up with the money.
I'm gonna give him another week, if he doesn't come up with the money, I'll put his parts back on it, and take it back to his house. "No charge."

 

[StarTech]

PT, I use to fall for the sad stories and I am a man of my word customers. Now it is strictly pay in full when you pickup your equipment. If the customer wants to buy the parts themselves for me to put on they can do it themselves as I don't if they even got the right parts.

Plus I had one like the one you just mention that wanted his mower repaired but refuse to install a new starter just because still cranked even it sound like starter wold go any minute. So I repaired the deck problem by replacing the idler pulley and installed the belt he provided. Next thing I know he was complaining I charged too much for the pulley and that I didn't install a Craftsman belt plus he was threatening to sue me. On top of that he claimed I broke his starter. The belt he provide was an aftermarket belt but probably would have complained even I put a Husqvarna/AYP belt by part number as that how list the parts on my invoices. I wouldn't have from Sears the same belt the Husqvarna installed on the mower.

The phone calls went on over a week with him cussing me out several times. I stood my ground as I knew I did nothing wrong other then listening to him. Well one day he called and cussed my mother out. That did it. I called the local sheriff out and after explaining to the deputy what was going he went to the customer's home. I haven't heard anything in the last 6 yrs back. No more cussing calls.

My advice would be just return the mower as he sounds like trouble to me; unless, you know the fellow that did the work does do bad workmanship. I don't like sue happy customers.