1994 vs 1999 JD 425

Lexmark500ho · Mar 3, 2015

From what i understand it cost a lot less to do the cam upgrade before it goes if you wait until it goes im not sure you can ever really plan what extra damage will be done and you can bet that it wont let go at a convient time . I would push to have it done now , i have a 445 that needs to be done just waiting till snow season is over so if you do have the dealer do it i would be curious to the total cost

ricky racer · Mar 3, 2015

If I understand correctly, you still have no idea if the 425 has had the cam gear upgrade yet. If you agree to the upgrade and it's already been done, you'll end up with nothing out of the deal. All they'll do is pull the water pump off, verify that it's been upgraded and button it up.

techie1961 · Mar 3, 2015

Their cost for parts will not be very high and like others have said, if it is done prior to failure, you don't have to worry about contamination in oil passages, oil pump, etc. Considering the hours, I highly doubt that it has been done.

Jimbochap · Mar 3, 2015

techie1961 said:
Their cost for parts will not be very high and like others have said, if it is done prior to failure, you don't have to worry about contamination in oil passages, oil pump, etc. Considering the hours, I highly doubt that it has been done.

Did you mean hasn't been done? meaning it has alot of hours on it so it probably was already been done?

techie1961 · Mar 4, 2015

Jimbochap said:
Did you mean hasn't been done? meaning it has alot of hours on it so it probably was already been done?

It only has just over a thousand hours on it and most seem to fail just past that at about 1,400 from what I have heard. I suspect then that it still has the plastic geared cam.

jimbo316 · Mar 4, 2015

sorry, joining this a bit late, my thoughts,

5 years off, 1999 to 1994, come on... hard to believe they missed that one accidentally.....

deal or no deal, I think the dealer owes you much more given:
- all the components on your 425 are 5 years older than they advertised and that you agreed to buy
- plus now you have to deal with the plastic cam issue since it's not a 1999

i'd push it up the line to the manager and or owner. tell the owner you've consulted with your lawyer and that you are awaiting their final offer to make this right before a decision is made to take legal action

your dealer SEMA has 8 dealerships, http://www.semaequip.com/, they have plenty of contacts/resources to make this right

better yet, tell them to make it right you and your lawyer suggest they find a nice 1999 425, then deliver it to you and pick up the 1994.

or tell them you'd consider the following for the agreed upon $

1998 445 at the same st charles dealership, blower and deck
http://www.semaequip.com/equipments/1998-john-deere-445_3595600

or

2008 X720 at st charles, heated cab, blower, deck
http://www.semaequip.com/equipments/2008-john-deere-x720_3792156

"go big, or go home"

J

__________________

1986 John Deere 316, 38" deck, G6 Gator blades - original owner, purchased jan 1987
2010 Cyclone Rake Z10 w/dual wheels

jeep65glen · Mar 4, 2015

jimbo316 said:
sorry, joining this a bit late, my thoughts,

5 years off, 1999 to 1994, come on... hard to believe they missed that one accidentally.....

deal or no deal, I think the dealer owes you much more given:
- all the components on your 425 are 5 years older than they advertised and that you agreed to buy
- plus now you have to deal with the plastic cam issue since it's not a 1999

i'd push it up the line to the manager and or owner. tell the owner you've consulted with your lawyer and that you are awaiting their final offer to make this right before a decision is made to take legal action

your dealer SEMA has 8 dealerships, http://www.semaequip.com/, they have plenty of contacts/resources to make this right

better yet, tell them to make it right you and your lawyer suggest they find a nice 1999 425, then deliver it to you and pick up the 1994.

or tell them you'd consider the following for the agreed upon $

1998 445 at the same st charles dealership, blower and deck
http://www.semaequip.com/equipments/1998-john-deere-445_3595600

or

2008 X720 at st charles, heated cab, blower, deck
http://www.semaequip.com/equipments/2008-john-deere-x720_3792156

"go big, or go home"

J

__________________

1986 John Deere 316, 38" deck, G6 Gator blades - original owner, purchased jan 1987
2010 Cyclone Rake Z10 w/dual wheels

Thanks for your views. I never have been one to threaten...and likely never will. Like I told my salesguy....not ticked off, like the tractor and components, but we have an error to fix and how we go about fixing that is what's important to me.

Funny you selected that 720 as it was traded in by the same guy/business...note the bald *** front tires. My 425 is actually to the right of that 720 in the picture....was taken at the previous owners shop prior to pickup.

The previous owner stated that they DID NOT have any engine work done.

Other than this hiccup, and it is just a hiccup as there is little difference in value between 94 and 99, the unit is clean and appears to have been well maintained. Both the deck and the blower have minimal wear and everything on the tractor seems tight and operating as designed.

I provided them with a complete list of parts as snagged off of the jdtechtalk page and they are going to provide me with the parts. Might be a good project to tackle before lawn season starts.

Thanks again for all of the input folks.

Glen

Jimbochap · Mar 4, 2015

It looks like quite a job to me , not something I would want to tackle.

techie1961 · Mar 4, 2015

Jimbochap said:
It looks like quite a job to me , not something I would want to tackle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8uXu-kB50U

I didn't look at the video but from the opening shot, it shows that the heads are off and it is out of the tractor. For the cam replacement, you can do it in the tractor and the top end stays on.

When you're ready to do it, there are lots of us that have done it and can provide you with guidance. We have made the mistakes so you don't have to.:hide:

6.2Blazer · Mar 4, 2015

I got my '97 425 with around 950 hours on it and the previous owner said the plastic gear had already failed and been repaired. He showed me the receipt from a JD dealer and it was around $900.

jeep65glen · Mar 4, 2015

Thanks!

I have decent mechanical skills and am set up pretty well at home to do about anything on an engine...short of machining anything...and have reviewed quite a few threads/posts/pages on this repair....so feeling pretty good about it....BUT I also know when to lean on folks who are smarter than I!!!

Just talked to parts guy and everything should be in tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Glen

ricky racer · Mar 4, 2015

With the hours that the tractor has, you may want to consider re-ringing it as well. You'll already have the motor halfway torn down. My 425 had about 1600 hrs. and the rings had huge end gaps. Pulling it down, checking all bearing fits, honing, re-ringing and grinding the valves got me a good motor that should be good for another 1600 hrs. with no problems. Just something to think about since you'll already be into the motor and you seem very capable.

Do a compression test on it. If I recall the manual says the low limit is 170 PSI. If you get a reading less than that, add a little oil into each cylinder and try it again. If the reading improves, you're losing compression past the rings.

jimbo316 · Mar 4, 2015

guess i came on a bit strong, must be the years of battling health insurance claim denials. have learned to swing big so to get their attn.

seems like a lot of work considering the 1999 year 425 that you agreed to buy does not have the plastic cam

good luck, hope it works out for you, take pics along the way, we all like pics

J

__________________

1986 John Deere 316, 38" deck, G6 Gator blades - original owner, purchased jan 1987
2010 Cyclone Rake Z10 w/dual wheels

6.2Blazer · Mar 4, 2015

jimbo316 said:
seems like a lot of work considering the 1999 year 425 that you agreed to buy does not have the plastic cam

That is the best point I have heard and would be a good bargaining chip assuming the '94 model has not been upgraded/repaired. Tell them you bought it specifically because it was a '99 with no concerns of the cam gear issue.

techie1961 · Mar 5, 2015

6.2Blazer said:
That is the best point I have heard and would be a good bargaining chip assuming the '94 model has not been upgraded/repaired. Tell them you bought it specifically because it was a '99 with no concerns of the cam gear issue.

:ditto: and the fact that resell later on will be compromised. A machine that is the second year of production is a lot harder to sell than a machine that is at the end of the production run. I know it mattered to me when I was looking at some 455s and was specifically comparing a '99 to a '93.

Mark W. Ingalls · Mar 5, 2015

jeep65glen said:
<snip>I have decent mechanical skills and am set up pretty well at home to do about anything on an engine...short of machining anything...and have reviewed quite a few threads/posts/pages on this repair....so feeling pretty good about it....BUT I also know when to lean on folks who are smarter than I!!!<snip>

I can identify...

My best advice is to take the engine out of the tractor and split the crankcase on a clean bench. If you had done several of these procedures, you might could do it in the tractor, but since this will likely be the first & only, you will want to be able to turn the engine round and round to get the best perspective on things.

Additionally, taking out the engine will give you a chance to inspect some other things normally hidden from plain sight on the tractor. Good for cleanup and familiarization if nothing else.

Finally, some people (including my pretty good dealer) don't replace the valve springs, but I opted to. The steel cam ones are evidently heavier. Borrow a valve spring compressor, for example from O'Reilly's, and use the

to keep the valves up in the head.

All the best to you,

Mark

techie1961 · Mar 5, 2015

Mark W. Ingalls said:
I can identify...

My best advice is to take the engine out of the tractor and split the crankcase on a clean bench. If you had done several of these procedures, you might could do it in the tractor, but since this will likely be the first & only, you will want to be able to turn the engine round and round to get the best perspective on things.

Additionally, taking out the engine will give you a chance to inspect some other things normally hidden from plain sight on the tractor. Good for cleanup and familiarization if nothing else.

Finally, some people (including my pretty good dealer) don't replace the valve springs, but I opted to. The steel cam ones are evidently heavier. Borrow a valve spring compressor, for example from O'Reilly's, and use the rope trick to keep the valves up in the head.

All the best to you,

Mark

Some good advise Mark. For the valve springs, once they are un-seated from the keepers, the springs are easily compressed by hand. I pushed mine down with my fingers and put in the keepers when I did my engine.Certainly easier with a compressor but not necessary.

Mark W. Ingalls · Mar 5, 2015

Cry once- Borrow the tool!

techie1961 said:
<snip>For the valve springs, once they are unseated from the keepers, the springs are easily compressed by hand. <snip>

I started doing mine that way, techie1961, but then one of the tapered half-washer thingies flew away and went rattling down an oil passage. At that point my focus immediately shifted from replacing valve springs to... :thSick: ...not losing breakfast.

I went to O'Reilly's and borrowed a valve spring compressor, and also bought a telescoping magnet retriever. Returning home, and after some deep breathing and prayer, I was able to retrieve the part and finish the job.

Not fun, even in retrospect...

isgus:

1994 vs 1999 JD 425

Lexmark500ho

ricky racer

techie1961

Jimbochap

techie1961

jimbo316

jeep65glen

Jimbochap

techie1961

6.2Blazer

jeep65glen

ricky racer

jimbo316

6.2Blazer

techie1961

Mark W. Ingalls

techie1961

Mark W. Ingalls

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities