Sorry for the long post but tried to be at detailed ss I could.

A long time friend (30+ years) called me last night asking if I knew anyone needing a riding mower.
Well I live on a big steep hill so i was interested. His aunt bought this this and it is a 2007 model. All was fine till late this spring/early summer when a part called a spindle was damaged. They didn't know how to fix it and my friend, who is a long term mechanic was in the hospital for a long time, so they went out and bought a new one (actually 2). He fixed the spindle today and did a few other things. Stll wants to do a few more things like grease it ,change oil, add a battery tender, touch up the cutting deck. I test drove it for about 1 hour at my house an it ran fine. It WILL take some getting used to dealing with my hills but I think I can do it with time and practice. Unit did not look show room new but also looked like it had been kept inside and was in good shape.

Now what I need advice on;

This mower is called a John Deer LA 150 with 52 in cutting deck. The engine is a brigs straton V twin 26hp.

Don't know anything about John Deer and just a little about brigs. I know they are supposed to be decent but not maybe in the same league as Honda (what I have for my self propelled mower). Would synthetic oil help with engine life?

Financially I am going out a limb (Christmas bonus) to buy this thing if do.
They asked 700 and and I offered 500. It looks like we both can agree on 600. Wil know for sure tomorrow, but friend says aunt called back and it's a 99% deal at this point.

But is this a good unit and is it worth this much?

Friend is good about helping me keep it maintained so I have that going for me as well.

Thoughts? Let me know as I need to decide soon.'

Thank you in advance,
Fletch

Over the next couple of days he is going to service it and did mention needing to grease some areas.

Unless I back out..it is a done deal...
Crossing my fingers..and thanks for the info...

Fletch

I have read complaints about the 140 model and I understand it uses the same unit as the 150 (Tuff Torq K46AC)
One complaint claimed there is a manufacturing defect in these units and that "Turff Torq" forgot (or maybe intentionally) to include a drain plug so there is no way to change the oil so the unit eventually self destructs. Hype or any truth to this?
I did see an online youtube video where the 150 owner said they had weak transmission but it was unclear if he meant weak as in pulling attachments or weak as in what I mentioned above. I don't plan on pulling anything but i wlll be going up hill...no way around that. So are these transmissions time bombs or is this just internet hype?

I got till tues or Wednesday till purchase.

Thanks, Fletch

question: why does friend want to sell this machine?

I guess it is good to know there is a round about way to change the oil if it ever comes to that. Car companies are doing the same thing. I had a tundra truck and a year or so after mine they made it so you could never change the transmission oil. ...really stupid idea....same with timing belts...glad those are going away.

A mutual friend who repaired my push mower (when the local shop could not and in fact made things worse) just went and checked out the mower. He thinks it is in great shape and is a good deal and I won't go wrong buying it. His girlfriend has the lower model (130) and has never had any issue with it. He said the spindles are problematic if you hit things....and there is no way around that. He also said you must have throttle around 1/3 before you engage blades or you will destroy the clutch. But other than that he thinks it should be reliable.

I wish I could buy a new one but just don't have the $$$. Only way I can buy this is because of a Christmas bonus we are getting next month.

Now one more silly question: How in the heck do I get underneath the thing to service it? My friend is servicing now using chain lift but i don't have that. Car ramps or something like that? Or can you turn it on the side?

Thanks...
Fletch

Also maybe a silly question but I like my machines to look at new as possible. On the very bottom edge of the plat form where you feet sit- e I can see where some of the green paint is wanting to peel a bit. It's not a big deal but again, just want it as new as I can get. Got the paint tonight and thinking best way would be just to cut off that area with knife, do some sanding in case of any rust..mask it off then hit it with a coating of John deer rustloeum.
Anyone try this and did it look ok? Again just want it to look new and I don't want it to start rusting. I am a decent painter and can even do a bit of feather to blend the old with then new...

Thanks,
Fletch

P.S. thoughts about the oil change tube? My friend changed mine out because the stock unit uses a plastic cap but now has a metal cap along with a valve. He does this to his own mowers as he doesn't like the plastic caps. Also added a a fuel shut off valve.

I think the spindel issue was miscommunication..he would have kept the mower longer and done it if he knew I really wanted it done, but really thinks I have time. But for $80, I would have done it just for piece of mind. He had to borrow a trailer to deliver, but I can borrow one from another friend no problem if it really needs it NOW.

I started on the paint peel simply because it is something I have learned and know how to do. Match came out better than expected..but there is more paint peel than there should be as there is not much rust, just peel. Should not have happened. Chips and like spots on deck, but no peel ...you'd think that is where the peel should be.

I saw the current model of my machine at Lowes Sat when picking up the paint. It looks 99% the same and I think I can live with some repairs and fixes considering what they are asking for these machines.

The fuel cut off is due to ethenal gas so carb can be run dry, though I have read some conflicting advice on that too as some say it can damage the fuel pump depending on it's location, so I will probably just shut it off during the winter- I do have stable .

Thanks for all the advice and I will try to do a video but it will probably be next weekend before I can do it...
Have a nice week,
Fletch

Meanwhile, I continue to fix the paint peel wherever I find bubbles. To be on safe side using primer made for lightly rusted areas before topcoat as I don't want to have to deal with this again anytime soon. Machine is already starting to look better at least.

Used it for about 30-1hour on Sat to mulch some leaves and it ran fine, pulled up my hill fine. After I put it up and started getting ready to paint again, I remembered that I was going to record a few min with my camera so I could let you hear how the spindles sound,,,,will try to do next weekend..

Thanks ....

Only other issue is lighting. The plastic lens is slightly yellow. Anyway to clear that up besides replacing it? Also any LED replacement bulbs that will get me some more light as I prefer to mow at dusk.

Over the winter I repainted the pan and most of the deck. The funny thing is *underneath* the deck looked brand new....no rust at all so I did not hit it with rustoleum. Funny how the pan and to a lessor degree the deck had peeling but bottom of deck looked brand new.

Another friend with truck and trailer is going to pick it up early tomorrow pm so I can do a test mow. So ready for summer now..thanks for all the help!!!

Fletch

IF the engine is equipped with a Voltage Regulator- likely 2 Yellow wires from under the shroud and 1 Red wire output, then no problem.
LED lights don't seem to get that favorable of reviews it seems. Apparently the light isn't "focused" well. No experience myself, however.

As far as cleaning goes..yes my friend told me to only wash it when there is direct sun= also to never cut when wet. I used leaf blower this pm to clean it. I think it took longer to clean it than to mow it...mowing time went down from 30 min to about 5 with those three blades. With spindles replaced...it is much quieter now. Only noise is some kind of rattle at times inisde muffler...otherwise running good. We found there is a recommended front wheel bearing replacement ...we may do that soon as well..since it doesn't cost much money and we can do that here at my house. Thanks for all the help!,
Fletch

Any kits that you know work in particular? I have a drill so that is no problem. Yes I am doing this for looks, but I really do need as much light as I can get as I like to mow at dusk during the summer, Not confirmed yet, but I believe alternator is 16amps . Not sure if headamps are 1156 or 1157 but should be able to find led equlents that are brighter, but won't kill my charging system. Thanks...

Another possible option is to mount ONE higher powered spot light and leave the other lights off. Or unplug one of the headlight bulbs & use w/spot.

Lights work with engine off so they are DC. I did not see your reply in time so bought some thing like it, but not the same. Parts counter guy told me that despite instructions say use cloth by hand, it works much much better with drill/buffer.

So I pick this stuff on the way home from work. Take hood off and begin to disassemble. Wait, it may not be sun fade at all, but rather just loads of dirt that someone never cleaned. Head light reflectors were dull, took a hose to it and now look brand new. Right headlight bulb was covered in dirt . Lens dirty too but that point I was running out of daylight so not 100% sure that it doesn't have any sun fade. Have to get home sooner to be sure.

Bill,
What are the name of these high powered 1156's? Autozone and the like have them?

Also side ? Have any of you done the optional front bearing conversion? My freind that did all the work says we might want to do that. It doesn't look too hard, just wondering if it is worth it?

Thanks,
Fletch

You might just use Google for high power 1056 bulb

I went ahead and ordered the bearing upgrade kit tonight.
I can probably do this myself but my friend could probably do it much faster and thinks it's a good idea. Sharp turns + light front end makes tractor plow which can't be good for bushings.

Thanks again for all the advice,
Fletch

P.S. with rebuilt deck it is much quieter now. There used to be a huge difference in noise between pto on vs off. Now not much difference.

What are caps exactly?

When I ordered the bearings it had 2 items that were suggested:

John Deere Snap Ring - M40514

and

John Deere E-Clip Ring - R27434

I was not sure if these were needed or not so I left a note with my order telling them I had an LA150 and to add those parts to the order if needed.

Front grill looked fine once clean, but shot a fresh coat on it anyway as I was headed out the door for work.

For some reason the only real fade was rear fenders and to a lessor degree the steering wheel

Previous owner was a girl who took care of it and always kept it in a garage. But when she went off to college, she basically loaned or gave it to her mom who only kept it under a lean-to and I am guessing that is how the sun only got the rear..

In a way it's kinda funny that a kid would take better care of a mower than her mom.

I spend half of today just cleaning the engine, hitting the frame with a little touch up paint- there is a metal plate on top of the muffler that was starting to rust..probably heat..so I hit it with barbecue paint . I used to use high temp engine paint but it never would hold...and a freind who restores vintage motorcycles taught me that trick. As I was putting the hood back together, i cracked the left corner of the reflector. It would have been fine as is and you would not even notice it unless I pointed it , but I would know . So I used some thick CA glue (for radio controlled helicopters) that fixed it up in about 15 min .

It is not even dark yet, but just cleaning the lens, reflector and bulbs seems to make a very noticeable improvement. Before they looked dim yellow even at night. Now they look bright white. I would not think dust could make this much difference, much less fool me into thinking the lens had sun fade, but it did. And while the front grill did not really need painting, I am glad I did as it does make it look much newer.

Got to get some bearing grease for the kit that will be here next week. I will try to take pics of that...I say try because it depends on if i do it or give it to my friend to do. I think I want to try it myself as it doesn't appear too hard to do.

All going well but then grease gone did not work, so went out and bought a full sized one alone with mobile 1 syntetic grease. My be overkill but don't want to keep having to do this.

So caps have been off for about 2 hours now and now they won't fit. Then I remembered what Tom said"Sun makes these vinyl caps hard. Much of the time they are ok. If they seem ok, but are hard to put on- soak them in hot water, dry them and install." So hot water here they come. Just glad I only did 1 wheel today...but hopefully second one will not be such a pain. Ok let me try the hot water trick and see what happens..

Oh I did take some pics..will post em when all done.

I wonder what freezing the caps would do?

Even thought this upgrade turned out to be harder than expected , I do think it will be worth it as I found groves on inner part of axle (what I think JD calls a spindle). Right side is still pefect. Before I removed the right wheel I compared the 2 and new left side has less play than right .

If you are on flat land this may or may not be worth it to you. But going up and down a steep hill I figured it was cheap insurance. Updgrade parts from greenpartstore and they have been helpful with advise as well.

Pics when/if ever finish :)

Next you take off the little clip shown in the pic. It is very easy..a screwdriver will pop it right off. Reinstall is just as easy- just use pliers on the non open end and it just pops right back on.

Do you know that there's a right way and a wrong way to install those E clips?

Oh and to see why these tractors need bearings and should have come with them in the first place, look at the left axial (spindle in JD terms) in the photo- see the groves- this should never have happened. After reinstalling the left wheel I compared to the right stock wheel. Left was noticeably tighter and had less play.

On the LA150 there is an inside and outside washer. Don't forget those before you reinstall the wheel. Here is what new bearing looks like once installed in the hub

Hope this helps someone as the instructions are NOT very detailed.

What I am talking about is that there is a right and wrong direction which the E clip faces. Do you understand?

The next time you want to move bearings or bushings try a little heat from a propane torch.

You can tell which side was facing out due wear of the paint but otherwise they are identical.

both of those pics are from the stock one that came off the wheel, not the new one I replaced. So if it was backwards, it came that way from JD. But considering they didn't paint it right ether, that doesn't surprise me :)

Also after restore, my JD sounds brand new EXCEPT when you first start up at ldile . Best me and a friend can tell, it is something inside the muffler. It goes away pretty quickly , but just wondering if this is a big deal or not?
Thanks, Fletch (yes the one's with the circles are the ones used on motorcycles..had that tool years ago as a kid.)

The sharp edge of the E clip should face away from the application of the load or in this case towards the end of the axle.

I've seen front axle clips cam or walk right off the stub axle on LT/GT pushed hard in a corner so there is a difference in every application whether the person with the clip in their hand knows the difference or not.

Since some people come here to learn let's teach them the right way and they can decide for themselves what to ignore...

As far as did Deere know... In over 20 years as a pro and some with large manufacturers I've seen more clips installed wrong than I could believe. When I posed the question to QC techs they looked at me like I was crazy. I escalated the question to engineering and so did they. Their answer was there's no specification so there's no right way or wrong way.

When I contacted ASTM they were in the know and so was the SAE. They were both definitive on the right way and that there was a wrong way.

I was so confused... but all my clips were installed correctly especially the circlips in gearboxes.

? for hopefully years down the road. Some people say that my JD comes with a poor quality brand transmission. I have had zero problems as of yet, but thinking of the future.
For about $1500 you can get a kit with a better transmission that is supposed to be much more reliable. But I have also read for about $1500 you can get a used tractor that doesn't have this issue in the first place. Is this true and if the day ever comes, would you put in the better transmission or find one of these older but goodie JD's?

Thanks,Fletch

I have continued to do small improvements like painting the deck and more recently, adding more lighting for night mows. The existing lighting is working fine, but still needed a bit more.

My friend that has helped me with the mower was working on a another friend's boat and was installing some Led lighting and that gave me the idea. I added the optional front bumper and installed 2 leds. These fit recessed behind and inbetween the 2 bumpers so no worries if you hit something.

I am sure many will work but I saw these on the boat so I went the same : Optronics TLL52FBP. Each light has 3 led's inside and at 12v draw .64 amps so no worries about overloading electrical system. Lights are black so they already matched bumper. But I painted everything else flat black to match. By that I mean the bracket, SS hose clamps, nuts and bolts.

For the switch I wanted it to look factory and not homemade. I removed and disabled the reverse cut out switch. Looked up real manufacturer of that switch and got specs. Took specs and switch to RS and matched it up. They have a flat black rocker that matches perfectly both in appearance and size so it fits the existing hole perfectly. Already had trailer light wiring loom so it matches existing loom perfectly

If it gets really hot where you live and you do night mows, this will def help out.

This board has been a great help- that is for sure! Couldn't have done it without you guys. I am still much a newb when it comes to the mechanical stuff, but I have a bit more experience with the electrical side. Here is a recent pic with the lights installed. The pic was taken during day so you can't see how bright they are but they do make a difference. Thanks again for all the help!

Kevin,
Kevins Small Engine service,
South Berwick ME. 03908

The statement was similar to the one below (recently posted here).
***"It was the voltage regulator putting out too many ohms at the clutch."***

My point is : We members who have various amounts of professional experience in the field, try to convey accurate information to people who might happen across this forum.

I'm not ridiculing anyone for posting misinformation or off center remarks.
I just feel that it is not a good thing to perpetuate misconceptions or misinformation stated on a board that people refer to when wanting to learn something.
I hope to spur people to try and understand the (sometimes confusing and obscure) details of how all the technology and principles really work by noting errors, much like how a teacher would call out a student's mistake if a wrong answer was given aloud in the class room.
And to be sure, I too have been called out by other members of this forum for making inaccurate (read bonehead) statements.
I applaud those who keep me re-thinking my remarks and cause me to research a little deeper.
I encourage folks to debate topics where there seems to be a misunderstanding of the facts, terminology, or concepts pertaining to machines targeted by the forum.
I ignore spelling and typos as those don't really diminish content. Besides, with all the new texting language coming into widespread use.................how would you know it was spld wrng?

Thanks for the info. With my LED's I am doing fine now. However I may still give them a try, nothing wrong with a little more light. Now what would be great is if they had super brite led's that fit in the 1156 base.

But regardless, I iive in the south and it is already very hot here so those knight mows sure makes things less miserable!

But I do understand and applaud the thrust of your comments. Such will be a never-ending process, methinks.