I bought a nice X540 today but it appears to be one JD's infamous transition tractors where the old line of 540's was meeting the newer models on the assembly line. It has the black plastic engine covers that none of my older ones had. They cover the sides of the engine. And the deck came with the old style gauge wheel pins but the newer style spring pins holes were in the deck. It also had the garden hose fitting which none of my older ones had. I haven't checked the serial number because it was dark when I got it home. Have any of you had a 540 with this combo of parts? The seller bought it from a dealer who said it was all original. Pics tomorrow.
Picked up an X540 today and need some advice
inspectorudy
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I bought a nice X540 today but it appears to be one JD's infamous transition tractors where the old line of 540's was meeting the newer models on the assembly line. It has the black plastic engine covers that none of my older ones had. They cover the sides of the engine. And the deck came with the old style gauge wheel pins but the newer style spring pins holes were in the deck. It also had the garden hose fitting which none of my older ones had. I haven't checked the serial number because it was dark when I got it home. Have any of you had a 540 with this combo of parts? The seller bought it from a dealer who said it was all original. Pics tomorrow.
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Well congrats on the new machine Rudy. Sounds like you could be correct on that, once you get to serial number just go to the JD parts site and see where those different items show up in the diagrams. That should tell you if they were as you say right at one of the switchovers.
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I checked out the serial number and it is a '09 mid-year model. It has everything that the decks on all of my X3xx series have but uses the little pins with the circle clip through them. And it has the garden hose bib. I guess I have never owned this late of a model because I do not remember ever having seen either of these on an X540. It's in nice shape with all of the powder coating intact and the HYDAP rear wheels. It also came with the front brush guard which is another $130. It had been stored for about a year so the seller went and bought a new battery for it before I came to see it because it would not turn over! That was a nice addition. It does have a small crack just below the JD hood "Handle" which I tell everyone to NEVER use. He repaired it two years ago and it has held very well. Has anyone discovered something to aid in sealing the crack and also that looks like it belongs on the top of a hood? He did a nice professional repair underneath and the crack is not flexible but it can be seen. I was thinking of putting a piece of aluminum, painted green, to fit between the two ridges and along the handle edge and use rivets along each side to give it a factory look. Any other ideas? It's raining here today so no pics.
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I went looking online for the year differences of the X540 and found that the deck change came in 2010. They went from the small pins and ring clips with the hose bib on the 2009 model to the spring pins and no hose bib in 2010. I guess my model was the newer deck but the old pins and bib. JD has done this on all of their models as they change over to a new design. The plastic cam Kawas are the same way with no one actually knowing the exact model number that the plastic cam ended.
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Rudy I bought my X520 ( same thing basically) Oct 30 2009. The deck has the washout port and the stupid ring type clips. the engines are the same so here is a pic of the covers you speak of ???
My 2014 X540 has the spring clips, which work better when they aren't bent.
The little glue thing with the blue light cure, can fill a very small crack then be painted after.
Don't know of a perfect cure but a new hood shell $316 @ JD.
![2445791]( "2445791")
![2445792]( "2445792")
My 2014 X540 has the spring clips, which work better when they aren't bent.
The little glue thing with the blue light cure, can fill a very small crack then be painted after.
Don't know of a perfect cure but a new hood shell $316 @ JD.
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Wow! That must be a new one. I found several pictures online and 2010 was the change over for the spring pins and eliminating the hose bib. It's funny that JD had already planned to use the spring pins because the deck on my tractor had all the holes already in it. But we all know old JD and how they won't throw away anything! I've used that blue light stuff with mixed results but it may work for a cosmetic fix. Thanks.
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Yes, those pics were when it was new ( couple of days ) so you could see a new "09" AND
right you are about the the holes for the spring pins You can clearly see them in this pic, even though it used ring clips.
BTW that X520 is still mine and is running great, with 44 blower and mower. Battery lasted 8 years. Hard to believe it's 10 years ago !!!
NOTE : My join date to MTF is when I bought it.
![2445813]( "2445813")
right you are about the the holes for the spring pins You can clearly see them in this pic, even though it used ring clips.
BTW that X520 is still mine and is running great, with 44 blower and mower. Battery lasted 8 years. Hard to believe it's 10 years ago !!!
NOTE : My join date to MTF is when I bought it.
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the easy adjust idler setup isn't cheap to buy, my 08 doesn't have them and my 14 does. I was going to add them to the 08 but decided I can live with the rings and keep the money in my pocket!
now you guys have me curious about those side engine covers, but my 2014 x540 is tucked away at the resort 5 miles away, may have to jump on the sled and go see what it has or doesn't! I know it came with the washout port hose adapter which is still in the bag with the cd!
Good luck with your x540, mine has been flawless,only 450hrs and the only addition to it has been a sunshade and boot for cyclone! The x500 has many mods ,underbody led lighting,chrome hubs,rear lights,leds installed in rear reflectors,3500lb. superwinch,quick attach brackets for PF,texas front bumper,soft cab,tach,high low headlights,anderson plug for boosting vehicles,2" receiver/weight bracket combo/18x8.5x8 front tires.
now you guys have me curious about those side engine covers, but my 2014 x540 is tucked away at the resort 5 miles away, may have to jump on the sled and go see what it has or doesn't! I know it came with the washout port hose adapter which is still in the bag with the cd!
Good luck with your x540, mine has been flawless,only 450hrs and the only addition to it has been a sunshade and boot for cyclone! The x500 has many mods ,underbody led lighting,chrome hubs,rear lights,leds installed in rear reflectors,3500lb. superwinch,quick attach brackets for PF,texas front bumper,soft cab,tach,high low headlights,anderson plug for boosting vehicles,2" receiver/weight bracket combo/18x8.5x8 front tires.
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I suppose that explains your user title!
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I went ahead and ordered the spring pins for two reasons. One, they will be bright and shiny and two, they are so much easier to use. Just trying to undo the wire circle spring and then trying to pull that tiny pin out of the hole with the rust and crud is almost impossible without a set of pliers. I have learned many small things that sell a mower and the spring pins being new is one of them. When I put a mower up for sale there are no visible flaws. There may be hidden flaws but I do not know about them. In all of my sales, I have had only one person who didn't buy the tractor they came to see and that was the 445/40 because he said it was too small for his needs. His wife loved it, however!
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your right! it's kind of a neighbourhood contest to see who has the craziest additions, I forgot the exhaust outlets in the side of the hood and the electric lift for the blower and the seat heater and the, I know stop it!
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After several tries with different mediums, I ended up with truck bed liner paint on the hood hump. I ordered some vinyl yellow tape that would have been perfect but the shape of the hump was too compound for it to work. I guess the wrap guys could have done it but for a novice, it wasn't gonna happen. Then I tried JD green on it and that didn't work out and didn't hide any of the scratches or the small crack. I went back to my original idea and that was truck bed liner paint. I put on a couple of coats and then put the two went strips back in and it looks mean! It is now nonglare and should resist any future scratches and the crack has disappeared. It's funny about the crack. You cannot feel it by dragging a fingernail across it and when I went to open it up a little to add a filler the razor knife would not follow the line of the crack! It is totally closed up but still visible until the bed liner got it. Also, that JD seat on the 540 came from eBay after a guy upgraded his OEM seat to a newer model. It was $100 including shipping. It is like new and it is $222 from JD. I now have $2500 in it and am just waiting for the weather to warm up to put it online. It is really shiny now but when I bought it the hood was really dull and full of tiny scratches and the body was faded too with several stains around the gas cap. A couple of hours buffing and polishing and it came back really good.
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I'm not sure what you mean KATT because the older 540's came with the two-piece seat. Your seat is great looking but my 540 came with the two-piece and of course, the two pieces were unglued! Here is a tractor data picture of the X540. I like yours better but I also like to be as close as I can to OEM when it doesn't cost too much.
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How did your glue job hold up? What sort of glue did you use? I have two good seats with both cushions in good shape except they are unglued. I would love to know how you did it and if they held up. I have one where the back cushion is still in place and only the bottom one is loose.
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