I'm finally getting around to working on this machine now. I've worked on many different brands of tractors, John Deere is the only ones that make you pay for their manuals. Everyone else, allows you to download them for free. Sears and American yard products are the best about it. That site has records going back 30+ years, Ariens too. In my opinion John Deere is very greedy in this aspect. I contacted them and let them know it one time too. If they wanna make you pay for their manuals, fine, but if people wanna share them with each other, they shouldn't be allowed to stop us. If the 170 is up on Google, why cant we share it, you cant even send the link to the already listed manual on google? Yea its pretty ridiculous. All I really need at the moment are part numbers for those 2 long pins that go thru the front mounting bars on the deck. Although I always said, if they wanna limit access to the operators manuals for these machines, so people can read how to operate them and someone gets hurt and John Deere gets sued, they deserve it. My overall impression of John Deere, most of them are descent, but they get an F in product support.
Especially machines 20 years and older, they should be releasing those manuals to the public free.
Stihl, not only provides you with their manuals, but they also mail out paper copies free and pay the shipping. So yea, John Deere, very greedy in this aspect and they need to rethink their policy on that. If anyone wants to PM me, so were not breaking their ridiculous policy, please do, thanks. Thats my rant on John Deere manuals. Some can be found, glad to hear the 170 is 1, many cant. I gotta D130 next after that, doubt I'm gonna find that manual.
1 last thing, a fellow by the name of Zippo Varga who works on many of the older classic Simplicity's and other machines said it once. John Deeres are over glamorized, over priced machines for what they are compared to many other machines just as good. I'm inclined to agree, the man knows what he's talking about. Everyone else shares their manuals, Deere is the only exception. Not sure if Ivwould wanna own a Deere. This things getting fixed and flipped.
This 170 came with a front dethatcher and front wheel weights, John Deere did not stamp a model onto that thing anywhere, so I don't even know what to look up for that thing, no model is provided. Does anyone know what the model of this thing is? Thanks.
How do I determine what year this machine was made? How about the Kawasaki FB420V manual can that be shared? Its not John Deere.
Model numbers provided, if anyone knows how to decipher this things year, please let me know.