bhshaman,
Good purchase. You'll like the LX. I think you'll have no problems with it pulling your roller and sweeper.

I would have been a little hesitant to pay $3k for a tractor with 1500 hours on it. You don't know how it was used or maintained during that time. I think you made the better choice. The 17hp Kawasaki will have no problem throwing snow with the 42" blower.

It's a tuff torq K62 twin-touch hydrostatic transaxle. It's advertised as having a beefed up hydro pump and drive assembly. Here's a link to an Aussie JD dealer's webpage with some good info on LX series tractors:

Here is a link that might be useful: LX info

Wow, fast response.
Thats for the feedback.

The LX 'seems' slower than my Craftsman, but it is a WHOLE lot smoother (as you would expect), and the 48" deck and tighter turning radius made the time go by fast.

This website has one of the better forums for Tractors that I found when I was cross shopping for information.

I did not get the Manual and am looking to pick one up, but I'm finding the JD online parts catalog a bit hard to navigate. Any LX277/279 owners with a manual able to tell me the Manual Part # itself and the Mulch Plate (with nuts) Part #?

Here is an online manual for your LX277.. Just click on the link. Enjoy your new Deere

Here is a link that might be useful: LX277 Manual

Shopped the used market and JD dealers.
Had a choice between LX277 with 250hrs for $1800 or GX325 with 1500hrs for $3000+tx. Wife said no way she was going to let us spend $3k on a 15 year old tractor.
by bhshaman (My Page) on Mon, Aug 13, 07

Thanks. That will do for now. :)
There is just something about paper.
Tomorrow I'll call dealer and see what the cost is.
And the Plate, and maybe a spare key. Making friends with dealers is almost always step 1. *wink*

Update:
E-mailed JD with my model #.
Found out it is a 2003. HUZZAH!
Practically a baby in JD years.

Congrats! Good purchase at a great price! The hill should be no problem.

I'm surprised the JD is slower. I had a Craftsman before I got a JD GX335 and and had the opposite experience. According to the specs on the JD site, yours should be able to go 5.5 mph. The Craftsman I had went around 4 mph. But the double foot pedal, power steering and tighter turning radius on the GX335 made mowing a lot faster. I cut an hour off the mowing time for 2-3/4 acres. I also have a 22 degree hill that the Craftsman could not climb but is no problem for the JD even without the locking differential which I only use if the grass is wet.

Nice place you have too!

I think it is entirely just the "sense" of speed.
Kind of like the difference between doing 80mph in a Caddy vs 80mph in a Chevette. I did not time myself pre and post LX... but when I got done and came in, the wife asked me if it was Diet Dew Break time. I told her I was done and she sort of looked at me confused. hehe.

The only down side is with the Craftsman, I had no interest other than mowing. Now, I'm looking up the Mulch kit, the Cargo kit, looking to order paper manual.... thinking about perhaps a snowblower. This could get expensive. ;)

bhshaman-who did you email at JD to get the manufacture date? Was it just the customer help on their website? I know the age within 4 years on mine, but would be interested to have the actual year manufactured.

I used the Contact page on the JD site.
I gave them the machines serial # off the frame.
They got back to me within 1 day.

JD-Direct would not price stuff out for me, they referred me back to dealer. I've also e-mailed my local dealer asking for some prices of add-ons. Unfortunately, they are not as fast to turn around e-mails as JD-Direct.

Re: JD parts prices...
For parts, you can set up an account for yourself on the website. You pick a local dealer to associate with the account and after that, the website will give you parts prices for items you add to your shopping cart. It will also tell you if they are in stock at the dealership. It takes about minutes to set up. It's a great tool and resource.

Congrats bhshaman on the LX purchase. It's a good choice, I am really pleased with my lx280. It's an 05. It also has the K62 trans, my front yard has a hill that looks more than twice the pitch from what I can see in your picture, and it poses no problem, it is smooth and accelerates without hesitation if needed. You'll be really pleased over time.

Another manual option is if you check e-bay there is currently an aution for an lx200 series tractors manuals

Update:

Did an eBay search and found a closed, but unsold Manual (always search closed auctions for leftovers *wink* ) and contacted the seller.

The accessories look-up on the JD site does not include things like the Mulcher Kit, Rear Weights Holders, Trunk.. etc. It pretty much only list attachments.

Since I do not have the Mulch kit (yet), I'll have to make time to swing the sweeper around the yard and pick up the larger areas.

I wonder how it would work just making a plate to close off the side discharge, instead of the full mulcher kit.... anyone try this?

Snowblower in a local trade paper for $350.
Tempting.... hehe.

It's been a while but I've seen others post pics on another forum of home made mulch plates that (according to them) seemed to do the job. I don't know about your model but on my GX335, the mulch kit consists of much more than a cover for the discharge chute. It includes large plastic baffles that attach to the underside of the deck to make it mulch more effectively.

Yes. The Mulch kit is dedicated blades and the plastic baffles. I was hoping there was an alternative to a $100+ kit.

Congrats on your new machine (to you), take care of it and keep up the maintance it should last you a long time. And ain't it nice to be able to enjoy a job you used to just want to hurry up and get done&over with? Oh, if the neighbors see you waxing it and they start shaking their heads, don't worry , their just jealous!

"Yes. The Mulch kit is dedicated blades and the plastic baffles. I was hoping there was an alternative to a $100+ kit."

I was fortunate......the mulch kit was the final negotiating point when I bought my GX335. After all was said and done, I told the salesman that it was a deal if they included the kit and they said okay!

Yea, but mine private sale. No chance to dicker over accessories.
The local Deere dealer had an LX178 for the same price as I got the LX27 for, but the 178 had more hours as well.

Just did a look up of the transaxles for the Lawn Tractors (as opposed to Garden Tractors). The K46 looks like a toy compared to the K62.
Glad I got away from looking at HP and started looking at the Transaxle this time out. With my slopes and hauling sweeper and stuff.
I think it will make all the difference.

TT K62:
- http://www.tufftorq.com/prods.asp?PID=10
Sears HydroGear:
http://cgi.ebay.com/CRAFTSMAN-RIDING-LAWN-MOWER-HYDRO-GEAR-TRANSAXLE-166768_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ82238QQihZ012QQitemZ220136616944QQrdZ1#ebayphotohosting

The HydroGear looks robust. When a tractor has a hitch plate, I assume you can haul a sweeper and/or roller behind.
Maybe I just abused it. Maybe the K62 won't hold up any better. But at least then I'll be able to convince my wife to let me get a Garden Tractor. ;)

Where did 'edit' go?

Not that I knew I was getting a K62 when I got it, as evident in my first post. But someone I talked to said I would want to get a used lawn tractor that cost over $4k when it was bought new to get the heavier transmission. I had looked at JD, Kubota, and Toro (for our area). It appears I got sound advice.

bshaman: How does one find out the model number of the transaxle? I have a GX335 and an LT160 and under "Specifications" in the operator's manual it just says Kanzaki/Tuff Torque.

I would start a new thread and ask the great people on this board. Forums are invaluable. I know a lot of Archery, but just about zilch about lawn tractors. I learned more in a week of posting online than I could have a year of asking around local shops (local here being 30 minutes away).

I was really tempted to get a Garden Tractor, but the cost was just too high for what I really use it for now. In the end, I got an older LX for the better transmission (later confirmed specifically on various boards), and figure that if it last 10 years the house will be paid off and I can get a nice G/X Series Ground Engaging model or subcompact.

Now if I could find a good online source of discounted attachments like the tractor trunk I would be golden. eBay is just about retail now for everything. *sigh*.

You might be able to determine the model number of your transaxle by getting on your hands and knees and looking up under the hitch plate at the transaxle. They come with part mark stickers. Most I've seen are clearly visible once you get down there and look.

machiem:

Thanks a lot! I looked everywhere else but did not even think to look on the transaxle itself! Like you said, it was clearly visible....once I got a flashlight and a magnifying glass! ;o)

I guess that the GX335 has a 71C tranny and the LT160 has a 46C tranny. Now I know!

I'm glad you found it.

The stickers can fall off over time.

I'll be checking for myself when I get home.
Not that I don't believe the people here. ;)