Diesel yearning.

6367 Views 70 Replies 26 Participants Last post by Locoelectrician, Oct 26, 2015

Locoelectrician

Discussion Starter · Oct 17, 2015 (Edited)

Insanity at its finest so please move along if you have any sense.

I'm a 42 year old single father of 2 (3 actually but the oldest is grown and gone). Just bought a new (to me) house in July with 3/4 acre of hilly yard with a long gravel driveway. Bought a LX176 before I even closed and love(d) it. Last month I picked up a LX188 cheap and so far love it. Problem is, I'm a nut for diesels. I have a TDI Passat (that's part of the huge VW emissions scandal) and my older son has a TDI Jetta. Seriously thinking about selling the 2 LXs and buying a diesel garden tractor. The style and features of the 455 speak to me, along with the fact that most in my area come with the snow thrower (can I even use a snow thrower on a gravel drive?). I know logically it makes no sense, but hey, it's a forum where people talk and so far here, the results have been mostly positive. Other than potentially dropping 5 grand on a new toy, are there any real drawbacks to this quest for fulfillment? Both tractors I have now do great, although I greatly prefer my 38 inch deck over my 48 (too much blowout, even with the anti blowout kit). I have a snow plow for them (that I've yet to use). At the end of the day, I want something I will be happy with year round, whether it be mowing, of removing snow, or hauling cut down trees to the back yard (128 trees on 3/4 acre, yes I counted them). If you're still reading this, and haven't fallen off of your chair laughing hysterically at me, is there any justification to going diesel? Any real benefits I will see other than the sound of it? Thanks, and take it easy on me, I'm on I think my 4th mid life crisis.

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990Guy

· #2 · Oct 17, 2015

Nobody's laughing at all. Some of us have upwards of 5 machines for under a half acre. As for downsides of going to diesel, 99.9% of people here will tell you there are none, and I'm part of that percentage!

But seriously, it sounds like you could really use a good GT. Hauling wood is one of the best things to have a GT for. The transmissions are rated better for the heavy load. They're hard working tractors for their small size and the diesel powerplant makes them all the better, at least that's what I hear.

CADplans

· #3 · Oct 17, 2015

I have had GT's since 1979,,,,

This summer, this fell into my lap,,,,

Well, I thought (almost) that I did not want it,,,, :hide: I was going to give it to my daughter.

WELL,,,, it is so much fun, I gave one daughter a GT, and I bought this for the other daughter,,,

(BOTH daughters live "next door", one on each side)

NOBODY runs my 650,,,,, it is mine!! :fing32:

I would find a 655 LONG before I would consider a 4XX machine,,,, even with a half acre,,,,

Locoelectrician

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 17, 2015

990Guy said:
Nobody's laughing at all. Some of us have upwards of 5 machines for under a half acre. As for downsides of going to diesel, 99.9% of people here will tell you there are none, and I'm part of that percentage!

But seriously, it sounds like you could really use a good GT. Hauling wood is one of the best things to have a GT for. The transmissions are rated better for the heavy load. They're hard working tractors for their small size and the diesel powerplant makes them all the better, at least that's what I hear.

Any particular model recommended? In all honesty, I would love to spend as little as possible. 5k would be the top of the mark and I would probably have to drink quite a bit to commit to that. Still trying to figure out the John Deere model hierarchy, but didn't see any GTs that were diesel.

Whirly

· #5 · Oct 17, 2015

I have a Craftsman GT with a 46 inch blower that stays on it year round.. a dedicated machine.. live on a 1/2 acre place but my sheds r all full of tractors.. around 45 of them.. presently I'm takin a MF 14 "gas powered .. dropped in a 2 cyl 'Perky' engine & will b addin a FEL to this..

we average 24-30 inches of snow a year.. but sometimes it's a blizzard.. with 6 foot deep drifts..

just hope ur not laffin at me now... lol

Whirly

· #6 · Oct 17, 2015

Locoelectrician said:
Any particular model recommended? In all honesty, I would love to spend as little as possible. 5k would be the top of the mark and I would probably have to drink quite a bit to commit to that. Still trying to figure out the John Deere model hierarchy, but didn't see any GTs that were diesel.

look at the X700 series for a great 'smokey Joe'

Locoelectrician

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 17, 2015

Whirly said:
I have a Craftsman GT with a 46 inch blower that stays on it year round.. a dedicated machine.. live on a 1/2 acre place but my sheds r all full of tractors.. around 45 of them.. presently I'm takin a MF 14 "gas powered .. dropped in a 2 cyl 'Perky' engine & will b addin a FEL to this..

we average 24-30 inches of snow a year.. but sometimes it's a blizzard.. with 6 foot deep drifts..

just hope ur not laffin at me now... lol

Not laughing at all. Lol

Todd_D

· #8 · Oct 17, 2015

I like my diesels for lots of reasons. In the NW, the 455 is the sweet spot if you are a buyer. There's 2 for sale for around $3700 and no takers for the past month.

They made a 355D and GX355. I think those were the last two models in diesel Deere made except for the larger X series.

990Guy

· #9 · Oct 17, 2015

Locoelectrician said:
Any particular model recommended? In all honesty, I would love to spend as little as possible. 5k would be the top of the mark and I would probably have to drink quite a bit to commit to that. Still trying to figure out the John Deere model hierarchy, but didn't see any GTs that were diesel.

I myself can't recommend a specific model, as I don't have a diesel GT and never have had one, but I see a lot of good threads about the X series tractors. But I'll let the guys who really know their stuff take over from here. They'll get you into the right tractor.

Diesel Powered

· #10 · Oct 17, 2015

Sounds perfectly normal to me. The only potential drawback is your checking account bleeding a bit in the future after you figure out how handy it is (other attachments, etc). :fing32:

Lots of people use a blower on gravel (myself included); there's several ways to minimize/avoid picking up rocks. If you do throw some rocks in the grass, that's just a good excuse to pick up a power broom for the tractor so you can easily sweep them out in the spring.

Chris279

· #11 · Oct 17, 2015

"Cause you want one" is a darn good reason in my book. Especially as a single dad, anything that makes you smile while doing chores is worth it. I forget who has it, but I've definitely seen large, wide shoes on a model 47 on this site. If my memory serves me, he had them for gravel. And as Diesel said, brooms are cool too

89420

· #12 · Oct 17, 2015

no bigger diesel fan then me:thThumbsU i saw a 300 in TN cl for 2200$ i think. in good shape also there is a 97 455 on ebay right now for 5500$ love the yanmar
you can also look for a 332 and 430. :fing32:
get what you want before your in a nursing home thinking of all the things you always wanted

MowJoe

· #13 · Oct 17, 2015

My wife's jetta is part of the scandal also. Good thing about the older John Deere diesels is, emissions doesn't matter!!! ?

aquist06

· #14 · Oct 17, 2015

To me, the X595 and X748 are the premium diesels of the JD line. Plus you have the four wheel drive option which is something I will never not have again. At first I thought it was a little hokey having a gt with fwd but after trying it out I knew I had to have one. See if you can give one a try and you will be hooked.

Adam

TJR345

· #15 · Oct 17, 2015

aquist06 said:
To me, the X595 and X748 are the premium diesels of the JD line. Plus you have the four wheel drive option which is something I will never not have again. At first I thought it was a little hokey having a gt with fwd but after trying it out I knew I had to have one. See if you can give one a try and you will be hooked.

Adam

:ditto:For the money you want to spend a X495/x595 would fit your price range.A 455 would be less but with the x series it widens the attachment availability,and 4wd just sweetens the deal.I have two,so getting 4wd for the second was a no brainier.You will see these large GT's are in a class all their own and the 4wd just maxes the beast in them.:fing32:

Rydplrs

· #16 · Oct 17, 2015

A 430 will fuel your inner Tim Taylor like no other model. A 455 is great, all of them are.

I keep a minimum of 3 tractors with 0.18 ac

tmcalavy

· #17 · Oct 17, 2015

I think the 330 is diesel, as are the 430's and 455's...maybe others, too. I got my 430 with a lot of attachments/toys for less than $5K. Start shopping...you should have lots of good used options cause you're up in Ohio.

mopar65pa

· #18 · Oct 17, 2015

No laughing here.

Just decide what you want and get it. :thThumbsU

Like Whirly, I'll be doing a Thermo-king diesel swap to my 300 next spring.

jlwag777

· #19 · Oct 17, 2015

Well, just gotta jump in here. We have a 425 & a 455. The 425 has a 54" deck and we mow 2 of our 6 acres with it and it is a mowing monster! The foot hydro control is so much nicer to use than the hand control on our 318! The 455 is at 2000 and came with a 47 snowblower, cab, (with radio) weights, chains, 54" blade, and 48" deck and had 450 hours, for $ 5k. Just got a 40 loader for it a few weeks ago. This is areal work horse!!! Blowing snow is one thing the diesel power really shines at. The winter of 08 we had about 7' of snow, and I think it was 09 we had 8'. Since then, haven't got to use it much for snow...sad face! ( nasty global warming anyway! ). I am pleasantly surprised how much work it does with the loader. I jacked the pressure up to 1450 psi and it will dig in and lift a full bucket of gravel!
For me, it's worth every dime I spent on it! A 4 X 4 would be fun but I really don't need that as this baby does all I need to do.

One of the big things for me ( other than the power ) is not having to worry about gas going stale and plugging up the carb. I've had that happen with our 318, even using "Stabil"izer. It is louder and vibrates more at idle than the 425, but at full throttle it is very smooth and seems to me much quieter, as in the mower deck is louder than the engine? Can that be possible?

If you find a good one (right price and all), I can't imagine you would EVER REGRET buying one...only thing is, you might never get to buy another one because I am told with proper maintenance they'll last 9000 hours or more! And, REALLY, a guy with a diesel car...how can you possibly NOT have a diesel GT? ENJOY!

Sent from the MTF Free App

Locoelectrician

Discussion Starter · #20 · Oct 17, 2015

Wow, this is like therapy I would imagine. Took hours of thinking to even make the original post as I was sure I would get laughed out of here. Looks like the quest begins. I'm in northeast Ohio if anyone runs across a good deal.

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