I’d bitched before about the issues I’ve had with the pumps on my zero turn mower leaking. The input shaft seal had failed on each side. Twice. The first was at less than 100 hours of use. Well in 2016 the fifth blown seal happened and I was so fed up with my local dealer I just kept topping off the fluid.
James River Equipment in Harrisonburg, VA are frauds and liars.
After each seal failed the second time I let my displeasure with their work be known. Never hateful or threatening but they knew how I felt. They kept swearing that they’d never seen anything like this and told me to bring it in again. Bullshit, I’ll never set foot on that property again.
A few weeks ago I was looking at gun safes at a gun store about 30 miles south of me. I needed filters and oil for the mower so I stopped at the James River location there (Fishersville). On a whim I asked to speak with the service manager about my problem. A service tech was there when I started describing the problem and he immediately knew what happened. JD used that seal in quite a few models and it had a very high failure rate. A new seal had been in use for a few years already.
Got the mower back this week. They didn’t charge me for the work and actually got it charged back to the Harrisonburg shop through Deere corporate. The cost of the work was almost half what the crooks in Harrisonburg charged me the first time they used the known bad part.
I’ll be using a good bit of my time off each week trying to make trouble for these local jerks. I feel like I’m owed something for my trouble. If I go all season without another leak the guys at the Fishersville shop will be getting a few pizzas delivered one day.
Posts: 13882 | Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA | Registered: October 16, 2008
Kinda similar experience, but with a vehicle. Making a strange noise in engine. Took it to 3 shops - no clue. Took it to dealer (I know, I know) because I needed answers. They knew exactly what it was and repaired it for a reasonable price. Two dozen donuts were delivered the next day as a thank you.
I owned 3 JD mowers. They went from partial garbage to total garbage over 10 years. I bought a Kubota Zero Turn 10 years ago and it has been flawless. I mow 2.5 acres.
I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown ................................... When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
The local shop has access to the same info as the shop that finally did things right. The local place is run by liars and con men. If you can’t see that then get the fuck out of this thread.
Posts: 13882 | Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA | Registered: October 16, 2008
My FIL bought the 52” Turf Tiger I use on the farm - used - well over 20 years ago now.
I change the oil, air filter, and grease it up every season. Usually put on a fresh set of gator blades. Other than that, maintenance over the past 2+ decades has been replacement of ONE hydro, belts as needed, and... nothing else.
In all fairness, it will get a new battery today and I think the clutch will probably need to be replaced this season.
However, there’s nothing on this mower that can’t be fixed by me. At least, not that I’ve found yet. Everything is easily accessible and the Kohler engine is bulletproof.
Yep. You shoulda bought a Scagg.
-Rob
I predict that there will be many suggestions and statements about the law made here, and some of them will be spectacularly wrong. - jhe888
A=A
Posts: 16331 | Location: Maryland, AA Co. | Registered: March 16, 2006
Originally posted by Leemur: The local shop has access to the same info as the shop that finally did things right. The local place is run by liars and con men. If you can’t see that then get the fuck out of this thread.
Don't get all worked up. It's just Captain Canoe doing his normal thing.
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Posts: 31695 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010
Originally posted by Leemur: The local shop has access to the same info as the shop that finally did things right. The local place is run by liars and con men. If you can’t see that then get the fuck out of this thread.
Don't get all worked up. It's just Captain Canoe doing his normal thing.
If only we were all that good eh?
I didn’t buy this mower, my father did and I got it after he died. He bought it because every Deere product our family ever had was bulletproof. When the brakes on his truck failed while he was hauling his JD tractor it threw the tractor a good ways. Only thing broken was the ignition. The lawn tractor JD lasted until parts were no longer made for it. He beat that thing up like it owed him money and it didn’t stop til everything was just wore the hell out. Other than that stupid seal this mower has been great.
Posts: 13882 | Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA | Registered: October 16, 2008
Originally posted by Leemur: The local shop has access to the same info as the shop that finally did things right. The local place is run by liars and con men. If you can’t see that then get the fuck out of this thread.
Don't get all worked up. It's just Captain Canoe doing his normal thing.
Captain flying lawn mower, do you have nothing better to do than do a search every single day and deliberately read every single post I make to try to find one out of 2 dozen to make a snide comment on? Are you some sort of stalker?
Right. I'm sure the dealer used the o-ring out of the John Deere package with the John Deere part number that the computer says it takes, like they've always done. Do you think every John Deere mechanic might know there is an updated o-ring, if it is even a JD o-ring the other dealer used, if they even used a different o-ring than the last place did at all?.....of the million parts they sell and 100's of different models of equipment they work on. Leemur makes it out like they're deliberately installing faulty O-rings so they have to keep changing them every 2 months, just to con him of all people. Inspect it with a microscope because they might have filed the o-ring down or put a few knicks in it before installing it, because they knew it was your Deere and not anyone elses.
By looking at their website, a zero turn mower looks like the smallest thing they'd work on and they specialize in big stuff.
Typically if O-rings fail, it's either because the shaft has a lot of play and worn bearings and the sloppiness wears them out prematurely or the shaft itself has some minor damage and is not perfectly smooth.This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,
Originally posted by Excam_Man: I guess all those 'brand new' Cub Cadets have lots of end play or worn bearings, since they have problems with leaking seals!!
Not all service centers provide quality service, as Leemur has learned first hand.
And since when, is a seal considered an o-ring?
I should have said seal, not o-ring.
Some things are just a faulty design. Some things the quality of the replacement parts just keep going down and down as they're made origionally in the US, then later made in Mexico, then later made in China, etc.
Case in Point. The majority of yachts use Rule bilge pump float switches, it's a major safety component as it turns the bilge pump on to pump out the water, and turns it off when the water level goes down so the pump doesn't burn up. They were made in the US and lasted 5-10 years. 10 years ago they moved manufacturing to Costa Rica, initially they were going bad 3-6 months, then after a year the Costa Rican ones were lasting 2-3 years. Now they just moved manufacturing to China, so guess where the quality is on them now, yet the price has doubled in the last 10 years on them. Problem is on many yachts, where they're mounted, that's all that fits. You can convert to an Ultra Switch at twice the price, but then have a bit of changing things around to make it work, which takes a lot of time to get the right associated sized hose clamp, adjusting the height, etc. So most of the time you stick another crappy Rule switch in there. But most boat/yacht mechanics that don't work on a lot of bilge pumps/float switches, won't know the Rule switch quality is now garbage just because they don't see a bunch of them. But I have seen this trend on most marine parts over the past several years. I'm sure it's the same in most other industries.
Originally posted by Excam_Man: I guess all those 'brand new' Cub Cadets have lots of end play or worn bearings, since they have problems with leaking seals!!
Not all service centers provide quality service, as Leemur has learned first hand.
And since when, is a seal considered an o-ring?
My CC blew the shitty transaxle after 30 hours. I have no idea where it was manufactured, but CC sent me a brand new mower.
Yesterday I was asked to look at a JD lawn tractor and the piece of shit was made in China. The deck had cracked in a weld at the rear mounting point and it would shift enough for the blade to make enough contact it chewed through.
____________________________
Eeewwww, don't touch it! Here, poke at it with this stick.
Posts: 34566 | Location: North, GA | Registered: October 09, 2002
Right. I'm sure the dealer used the o-ring out of the John Deere package with the John Deere part number that the computer says it takes, like they've always done. Do you think every John Deere mechanic might know there is an updated o-ring, if it is even a JD o-ring the other dealer used, if they even used a different o-ring than the last place did at all?.....of the million parts they sell and 100's of different models of equipment they work on. Leemur makes it out like they're deliberately installing faulty O-rings so they have to keep changing them every 2 months, just to con him of all people. Inspect it with a microscope because they might have filed the o-ring down or put a few knicks in it before installing it, because they knew it was your Deere and not anyone elses.
Any Deere shop has access to the tech line where they can inquire regarding special cases or the online portal where parts lists and TSB's are available.
If they tend to service heavy equipment on down to residential mowers, then there is no excuse to not contact the tech line regarding a part and it's continued failure. They would have been instructed to use the updated part and resolved the issue.
Sorry guys but jimmy is right and we’re all wrong as usual. Tell me jimmy, does Chuck Norris come to you for advice on all things? Does God pray to YOU? Tell me what the winning lottery numbers are please. You’re the most arrogant know-it-all piece of shit I’ve ever encountered.
Posts: 13882 | Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA | Registered: October 16, 2008
Originally posted by Leemur: Sorry guys but jimmy is right and we’re all wrong as usual. Tell me jimmy, does Chuck Norris come to you for advice on all things? Does God pray to YOU? Tell me what the winning lottery numbers are please. You’re the most arrogant know-it-all piece of shit I’ve ever encountered.
Aw, come on, that's just Jimmy being Jimmy. You're being little harsh? On second thought, maybe not.
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Posts: 31695 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010
