Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 24, 2019 Report Share Posted April 24, 2019 Last year one of my customers asked if I could give him a hand to put an old lawn mower into his car so he could take it to the recycling depot. It was an old John Deere JX75 made around 2000 and was in a bit of a state. I suggested that I could drop it off as it is a heavy machine and he's not that well. So I put it in my van and as the Dechetterie was closed when I went past I took it home to dispose of another time. Once I got it out of the van and into the basement I couldn't help but to have a pull on the old starting cord and the old Kawasaki engine fired up and ran lovely. The blades turned and although the self-propelled function didn't work it could be pushed so I decided to keep it as a back up. Since then, this freeby has cost me a fortune in parts and time spent as I have worked my way around the many problems I have discovered. The blade brake clutch bearing was shot - quote over $100 plus shipping, the shift cable looked like it had been broken for years and the drive wheels were bald. So, I got to work - on the Internet, and discovered several American sites that had useful information. The bearing got fixed for a fiver by removing the unit that John Deere sell as a whole, driving out the actual top bearing from the casing and replacing it with another one sourced off ebay. The drive wheels could be swapped for the front wheels which had a good tread pattern, but the plastic cogs that are screwed to the drive wheels were shot as was the metal spur gears that drive them. Those parts and a new shift cable cost about €100 from a friend who's son now runs his old mowing business at Tuxford. He brought a new belt and blade and service items so the freeby mower has so far cost me around €140. But it cuts the grass beautifully and in mulching mode leaves not a trace or line of mown grass unlike the much newer McCulloch we bought over here and has a knackered gearbox after less then 3 years. Now, the JX75 is almost done. I've fitted all the new parts and freed up the 5 speed transmission so it shifts through the gears smoothly. That was a big leap forward as the drive mechanism hadn't been used for quite a few years and I feared that it might have seized up. The only thing now is trying to figure out why it doesn't engage into drive. The mechanism tilts forward to tighten the pulley on the belt that is being driven by the crank shaft, but the small clutch tab doesn't move to engage the drive and I can't figure out why. On the youtube video I saw the clutch tab seems to be pushed away from the transmission case, against the pull of a small spring, but I'm buggered if I can see how that happens! I know that the drive works, because if I manually push the clutch tab the wheels spin and their speed corresponds with the gear selection. If there are any mechanics or lawn mower repair technicians on here I really would appreciate any advice. On the first photo the clutch tab is on the left attached by a spring to the pulley guide bracket that traps the shift cable sheave. The pulley shaft is in the centre. There has got to be some way that the clutch tab is pushed back (down on the photo) as the whole pulley mechanism tilts to tighten against the belt. that 3 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2019 Thanks but there is nothing shown on the parts catalogue that fits in that hole. https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/67141/referrer/navigation/pgId/17418948 https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/67141/referrer/navigation/pgId/17572682 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicepix 5,650 Posted April 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2019 Done it! After studying the parts diagram I realised that there must be another part to the arm that the drive lifts to tighten the belt on the pulley. After a bit of gynaecology my fingers located the second part, a hinged lever hanging below the arm. It was too dark to finish the job last night and we've been out at a friend's house for most of the day, but I've just managed to partially dismantle the transmission, wiggle the lever into place and re-assemble everything. As the transmission tilts back the lever gives the clutch arm a little push to engage the drive. The old girl is now moving under her own steam for the first time in years and I've got 4 out of the 5 gears. I'll settle for that as 3rd is perfect for mowing and 4th is as fast as I'd want to go. It runs like, well, a Deere 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
j j m 6,479 Posted May 18, 2019 Report Share Posted May 18, 2019 great mowers them Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicepix 5,650 Posted May 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2019 Yep. I've fiddled a bit, everything was dismantled and greased up and got the gear selection sorted. 2nd is perfect for cutting around the flower beds and 3rd for long stretches of open grass. Even Little Wife wants to learn how to use it I'm looking for another one as a project. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicepix 5,650 Posted May 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2019 Well, I found one! Brought home another John Deere today, this time the JX85 which is the same as my JX75 but with a few changes to make it more durable for the commercial market. Metal wheels and an uprated transmission amongst other things. The previous owner had listed it in the DIY section, not the gardening equipment section of the freeads, so hadn't had any enquires in over a month. Therefore I got it at a decent price. You can take the boy out of Yorkshire............... It is supposed to have a transmission problem, but after a quick check over when I got it home it is most likely to be a quick and inexpensive fix. The engine runs fine with no smoke and the blade clutch is working OK too. These models are bullet proof but have two small common faults, both of which are fixable and often mis-diagnosed as being terminal. The blade clutch can make a horrible squealing sound when a five quid bearing needs replacing and the drive system is often written off as needing replacing when all it needs is a setting up right as I found out with my other one. I think this one has the same issue and should be as easily fixed. Not bad for a 20 year old mower that was designed for hard commercial use. Especially given that our brand new McCulloch self-propelled mower gave up the ghost after less than three years moderate useage and that cost a lot more than the two old John Deeres put together. They reckon that these mowers were used for over 20 hours per week and would last three years before needing any major work doing on them. My push mowers only do half an hour a week on average so should in theory last me 120 years 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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