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2013 John Deere D105

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Discussion starter · #44 ·
vivithemage said:
Neither did I :)...figured replacing the CVT is cheap enough if it comes down to it!

My only question is, should I be full on stopped (IE hold the left pedal) and then put it into F/R?
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You should be stopped, yes when you want to shift. It's not necessary to hold the brake (left pedal) to shift unless you are on a slope.
 
#45 ·
Goon Commando said:
Just picked up this tractor as well.

Figured I'd write up why I picked it versus the comparables in case others are searching for the same info.

I was comparing in the $1499 range, I had a Bolens 14.5hp that Lowes sells before with the "Shift-On-The-Go" (which is a lie, its a straight manual) and wanted something bigger with an automatic function.

Models in the range:

Husqvarna YTH2042 $1499 (Home/Lowes)
Cub Cadet LTX1040 $1399 (Home depot)
Craftsman (same as husky above, just red)

What I looked at but didn't rank in the top 3:
Poulan Pro: sat on one, it might have been the twin to Bolens - quality is lowest it could possibly be and that was just sitting on it.
Troy Bilt: copy of the Poulan but in black. slightly better quality but nothing like the top 3
Ariens: didn't dig much into this one, they make good snow blowers but I wanted to have compatible accessories and never seen much for Ariens tractors. Possibly made my AYP which would mean its a copy of the above two.

These are just my thoughts when comparing, I'm sure people here will have different feedback and their X model lasted X years in the worst environment, yep.

So the top 3, what made the difference:
Service: I liked the Husky, but the one thing that set JD apart was the service. I was at Lowes and asked about the tractor the day before, they had to check to make sure they had one they could sell because they have to have a local JD dealer come out, unbox and do the initial setup on the mower. That's a level of quality you just can't find with the other mowers.

Transmission: The JD D105 specifically has a new CVT transmission, which get away from the Hydrostatic which over time needs filters and can have issues, the CVT is sealed, a belt on top drives it which (from what I can tell) looks easy to replace if need be. After driving it around it doesn't have that "whine" that Hydros have and it is extremely smooth, for me Hydros have a feeling where you have to build up pressure then they kind of jerk into motion. this one just gently moves the more you press the pedal and no extra noise.

Build quality: the JD and the Husky both sat the same, both had good quality - and what I mean by this is the how the hood sits on the frame (snugness), seat quality, the controls are more than a piece of steel with a plastic ball on the end of it (ala Bolens) they both passed this mark well.

SO by now your asking what happened to Cub Cadet? Well I'm a member of consumer reports, and unfortunately they gave it a really bad rating, in fact Cub cadets entire line was given the "brand with the most service issues" and that knocked it out of the line up for me - I don't need 'more' issues, which sucks because growing up for me it had a great reputation and now its owned by MTD/AYP and they have brought it inline with the Bolens/Poulan/etc lines for quality. It's like the monster that eats competitors unfortunately.

So for now, that's that. The Service and new transmission in the 105 made me jump on it, and after 1 cut, its been awesome. Set it up for mulching and with the stock blade I can't even tell any clippings were left on the lawn.

10 out of 10.
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don't wanna change topic much but I feel incase anyone who isn't real informed reads this and gets wrong information. Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt and bolens tractors are made by MTD. Ariens and Poulan tractors are made by Husqvarna and AYP no longer exists Husq is now its own company when it comes to tractor production. their models have nothing to do with mtd. Husq branded tractors imo compare similarly IMO in quality and use some of the same engines cub cadets use but the similarities pretty much end there. your bolens is a troy bilt twin not poulan pro altho poulan riders are built equally as cheap as the riding mower MTD makes under the Bolens name. I work for the blue box and while its true JD dealers do set up mowers they don't do much. the dealer we use rolls them off the crate, pulls all the protective plastic off, snaps the bumper onto the D130/170 models and asks us to pay up. back when i first started working there they took a little more pride in setting up the equipment. it has gone downhill unforunately. that said i see customers who buy john deere 100 series mowers have few problems if any at all over the first few years of ownership. i handle phone complaints seemingly daily over customers having issues with there 1,2 or 3 year old troy bilts or husqvarnas whereas I can count on one hand the amount of john deere tractor problems i've run into. quality wise for box store mowers the deeres beat everyone imo. you will pay. bit more and you're not going to get all the bells and whistles the others provide but you get better reliability for sure


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Discussion starter · #48 ·
vivithemage the grill guard looks great ! :fing32:

klz will do !, so far so good with 13 hours on the clock. I'm still trying to adjust to the cvt transmission. Found if you are on a grade and stop, don't be thinking you can just take your foot off the brake and push the go pedal down to start off easy like a hydrostatic. You need to let off the brake while subtly applying pressure to the go pedal to achieve an easy forward motion. You hit the go pedal too hard and it will jerk you hard and bring the front end off the ground. Not a nice experience for an old guy like me :fing20::D.
 
#49 ·
Jim you have a nice looking Deere! I like that they have the oil drain piped out and you're
fabrication on the oil filter is great. Gives me an idea for next time I change oil on my mower.:fing32:
 
#51 ·
good stuff here! nice to hear support for entry level equipment instead of the normal bashing. i suspect loading the tires will help immensely on the hills good luck and keep us up to date!
 
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#52 ·
has anyone developed any play in the shift lever? comparing to a car it feels just like a loose/stretched shift cable on a straight drive. when looking at the components and manipulating the lever, you can see a little play in it. goes into forward fine, but when shifting to neutral a little more force is required or else it appears in neutral, but isn't. going to reverse sometimes doesn't want to go in, or when i press the pedal when it appears to be in reverse it clunks then engages. the shifter never had that much of a positive feel, but this just started between 12.5 and 13 hours.
 
#53 ·
No play in the shift lever.... I only have 4 hours on it though....mowed at least once a week, only takes about 30 minutes to mow my yard now :D.

I just got through the first tank of gas, it was just about empty.... so 4 hours = 1 tank (2.5 gal if I recall)...doesn't seem too bad.
 
Discussion starter · #56 ·
Beer Belly said:
Great review...Thanks. How do you think this machine would handle towing a Log Splitter, or a cart full of splits ???
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Good question, not really sure how it would handle these. I may have an answer for you later this fall though as I am thinking of seeing if it will pull my 17 cubic ft. yard cart with firewood up to the house. The CVT transmission is really light weight, so it does'nt take much to cause wheel spin on a sloped yard. I don't have much problem mowing grass with it, but the jury is still out when it comes to seeing how it performs with towing a cart of firewood :).
 
#57 ·
Question for yall. I bought a d105 auto last year and it has 12 hours on it. While i was mowing I heard a slight pop in the rear end. The go pedal dropped all the way down, it will no longer shift, and I can not even roll it forward or backwards. Has anyone else had this problem? If so is it a simple fix or do I need to take it to a dealer?
 
#59 ·
Fikes09 said:
Question for yall. I bought a d105 auto last year and it has 12 hours on it. While i was mowing I heard a slight pop in the rear end. The go pedal dropped all the way down, it will no longer shift, and I can not even roll it forward or backwards. Has anyone else had this problem? If so is it a simple fix or do I need to take it to a dealer?
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Not that I have your machine but following the linkage underneath will lead you to your problem. Now, for making the tractor roll while not under power, you'll need to pull the freewheeling lever in the back of your tractor which disconnects it from the transmission and it will roll real easy.
 
#60 ·
My only issue with that is my local dealer recently closed so I have to take it almost an hour away to the next closet JD dealer. I was hoping someone else may have had this issue and could point me in the right direction of the problem.
 
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WVHagan
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