La mower

3759 Views 25 Replies 16 Participants Last post by Brett-JDX748, Sep 28, 2010

manofsteel

Discussion Starter · Sep 10, 2010

have a question, a friend of mine at work is looking at picking up on of the la series at lowes. We was talking and I told him that I would probably get one of the LA series with the manual transmission, becasue if you read on here, there seems to be a lot of issues with the hyro tranny in the LA series.
I had a older MTD with the manual tranny and used that thing for over 20 years and never had a issue with the tranny.
Any thoughts on this, is the manual tranny in the LA series a good choice. We went and looked at the LA 105 and Lowes had it on sale for around 1200, seems like with the gear tranny at this price, should last a long time.

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

tballard

· #2 · Sep 10, 2010

I just purchased the LA105 almost 2 months ago, I love it. My first mower and I bent a spindle or the deck by hitting a stump, but other than that, it's a great machine. I wanted the hydrostatic one but I could only afford the 105 at the time. Speaking of which, mine was $1600 so if Lowes has it for $1200, I'd go for it.

But now that you mention problems with the hydrostatic transmission in the LA series, I'm glad I got the 105.

manofsteel

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 10, 2010

what i have a hard time understanding if you listen to some of the folks on this site, if for say the 1600 that you said you spent, you can only expect to mow with it for a couple of years due to fact it not a good quality, then how does JD expect to ever sell any mowers in a few years when all the LA type start breaking and word gets out that you gotta spend 4-7 thousand to get a decent JD that will last more than a few years. I know the old MTD that i used for at least 15-20 years was one my dad had for years and gave to me when I got my own house and i am not even sure how long he had it. Its just hard to believe that a new JD, even say the LA105 is not as good as older MTD built 20-30 years ago.
My neighbor has a old sears that it looks like it a rust bucket, but i been living in this house for 25 years and I think it is the same sears he has always used, just hard to believe that JD builds a mower such as the LA105 and it want last 1/5 as long.

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tballard

· #4 · Sep 10, 2010

It's not just JD, everywhere you look nothing is made like it was 30 years ago. Everyone wants to cut costs so they're using cheaper materials, cheaper labor, cheaper everything. It's about the bottom line these days not the quality of the product. At least in my experience anyway but hey, I'm only 26

61woody

· #5 · Sep 10, 2010

Get whatever type tranny you want but I would try to get it at a JD dealer, see if they can match the price. You will get better service in the long run.

Jim_WV

· #6 · Sep 10, 2010

tballard said:
It's not just JD, everywhere you look nothing is made like it was 30 years ago. Everyone wants to cut costs so they're using cheaper materials, cheaper labor, cheaper everything. It's about the bottom line these days not the quality of the product. At least in my experience anyway but hey, I'm only 26

You're wise for your age and have pretty well summed it up with this post :fing32:.

The L series machines were made to compete in todays market with other brands out there being sold at Lowes and HD and other Box stores. This has been a source of contention on this forum for a long time and seems to crop up here every so often.

manofsteel, you asked "is the manual tranny in the LA series a good choice ?". Good question, one that I can't answer, so perhaps someone that can will be along to keep this on topic

.

Brett-JDX748

· #7 · Sep 10, 2010

You can still get a high quality JD just the same as always.. You have to pay for it... JD has always had "cheap" lawnmowers in one form or another and they were never intended to compete with the premium machines, that's just the way life is.. Deere makes 30 year machines all day long.... They also make 5 year machines.

Windlake

· #8 · Sep 10, 2010

manofsteel said:
have a question, a friend of mine at work is looking at picking up on of the la series at lowes. We was talking and I told him that I would probably get one of the LA series with the manual transmission, becasue if you read on here, there seems to be a lot of issues with the hyro tranny in the LA series.
I had a older MTD with the manual tranny and used that thing for over 20 years and never had a issue with the tranny.
Any thoughts on this, is the manual tranny in the LA series a good choice. We went and looked at the LA 105 and Lowes had it on sale for around 1200, seems like with the gear tranny at this price, should last a long time.

I've had my LA105 for about a year now and simply love it. Not one speck of trouble with anything on it.

Engine_Tech

· #9 · Sep 10, 2010

LA's will outlast anything in the same price range today, and any Craftsman, MTD, etc from the past 20 years. You have to keep in mind that a lot of those older tractors were gear drives, so there technically is less to go wrong than on a modern hydro. Hydro to hydro, or gear to gear, LA's will out last and especially outperfrom them. No question.

Yes, and LA105 is a good machine and would serve him well if he's cool with a gear drive. $1,200 is a very good price.

JD has been making these since 2003, so they are going on eight years old. If they were dropping like flies you'd know it. JD has built something like 4 million of them, so you'd know. The amount of griping on here is miniscule compared to the number still alive, kicking, and making folks happy out in the real world.

moondawg

· #10 · Sep 10, 2010 (Edited)

Engine_Tech said:
LA's will outlast anything in the same price range today, and any Craftsman, MTD, etc from the past 20 years. You have to keep in mind that a lot of those older tractors were gear drives, so there technically is less to go wrong than on a modern hydro. Hydro to hydro, or gear to gear, LA's will out last and especially outperfrom them. No question.

Yes, and LA105 is a good machine and would serve him well if he's cool with a gear drive. $1,200 is a very good price.

JD has been making these since 2003, so they are going on eight years old. If they were dropping like flies you'd know it. JD has built something like 4 million of them, so you'd know. The amount of griping on here is miniscule compared to the number still alive, kicking, and making folks happy out in the real world.

Counterpoint:

According to "local wisdom" here on mtf, LA-series mowers have the following "black marks" on their soul.

1. Thin decks. Deck manufacturing process includes pressing rice paper between two sheets of aluminum foil. Decks are then aneeled in a 1950's Whirlpool wall-oven for 13 minutes set to 185 degrees.

2. Lack of grease zerks. Proper JD maintenance calls for every grease zerk on a mower to have grease applied after every 15 minutes. Excess grease is to be removed by gentle buffing with a size 2 Huggies. If you're using Pampers, you're doing it wrong.

3. Thin frames. The frames are actually made of tin-plated cardboard (recycled) and can barely support the driver's weight. In fact, it is recommended that you don't even sit on the mower while driving.... just push from behind and pray you don't fold the frame in half.

LA-series mowers have also been known to:

- Spread disease and famine.
- Make your ice-cream go melty.
- Cause your neighbors to whisper and point behind your back.
- Other nefarious deeds too nefarious to put in writing.

Buy with caution!

Full Disclosure: 2007 (Purchased spring 2008) LA150 owner for ~70 hours of trouble-free mowing of 1.65 acres.

(Edited to fix spacing after I got modded. Sorry mods, didn't think it was that bad!)

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Brett-JDX748

· #11 · Sep 10, 2010

moondawg said:
Counterpoint:

According to "local wisdom" here on mtf, LA-series mowers have the following "black marks" on their soul.

1. Thin decks. Deck manufacturing process includes pressing rice paper between two sheets of aluminum foil. Decks are then aneeled in a 1950's Whirlpool wall-oven for 13 minutes set to 185 degrees.

2. Lack of grease zerks. Proper JD maintenance calls for every grease zerk on a mower to have grease applied after every 15 minutes. Excess grease is to be removed by gentle buffing with a size 2 Huggies. If you're using Pampers, you're doing it wrong.

3. Thin frames. The frames are actually made of tin-plated cardboard (recycled) and can barely support the driver's weight. In fact, it is recommended that you don't even sit on the mower while driving.... just push from behind and pray you don't fold the frame in half.

LA-series mowers have also been known to:

- Spread disease and famine.

- Make your ice-cream go melty.
- Cause your neighbors to whisper and point behind your back.
- Other nefarious deeds too nefarious to put in writing.

Buy with caution!

Full Disclosure: 2007 (Purchased spring 2008) LA150 owner for ~70 hours of trouble-free mowing of 1.65 acres.

:sidelaugh:sidelaugh:sidelaugh:sidelaugh:sidelaugh:sidelaugh

:trink39:

I'm a very "visual" person...

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ericstromberg

· #12 · Sep 10, 2010

moondawg said:
Counterpoint:

According to "local wisdom" here on mtf, LA-series mowers have the following "black marks" on their soul.

1. Thin decks. Deck manufacturing process includes pressing rice paper between two sheets of aluminum foil. Decks are then aneeled in a 1950's Whirlpool wall-oven for 13 minutes set to 185 degrees.

2. Lack of grease zerks. Proper JD maintenance calls for every grease zerk on a mower to have grease applied after every 15 minutes. Excess grease is to be removed by gentle buffing with a size 2 Huggies. If you're using Pampers, you're doing it wrong.

3. Thin frames. The frames are actually made of tin-plated cardboard (recycled) and can barely support the driver's weight. In fact, it is recommended that you don't even sit on the mower while driving.... just push from behind and pray you don't fold the frame in half.

LA-series mowers have also been known to:

- Spread disease and famine.

- Make your ice-cream go melty.
- Cause your neighbors to whisper and point behind your back.
- Other nefarious deeds too nefarious to put in writing.

Buy with caution!

Full Disclosure: 2007 (Purchased spring 2008) LA150 owner for ~70 hours of trouble-free mowing of 1.65 acres.

:sidelaugh

Grateful11

· #13 · Sep 10, 2010

Well I'll tell you this we had a an LA130 for 3 years and it never missed a beat but our
X720 has already been in the shop for 4 days and it's only 1.5 yrs old and a 100 hrs.

Brett-JDX748

· #14 · Sep 10, 2010

Grateful11 said:
Well I'll tell you this we had a an LA130 for 3 years and it never missed a beat but our
X720 has already been in the shop for 4 days and it's only 1.5 yrs old and a 100 hrs.

What is your 720 in the shop for? Specifics?

homepukes

· #15 · Sep 10, 2010

Grateful11 said:
Well I'll tell you this we had a an LA130 for 3 years and it never missed a beat but our
X720 has already been in the shop for 4 days and it's only 1.5 yrs old and a 100 hrs.

You must be mistaken because according to many on this site the only newer JD tractors that ever break are ones with the K46 transmission.

KATT

· #16 · Sep 10, 2010

"I'm a very "visual" person..." Gee Brett that LA105 is clearly bigger!! with a less confining seat and some slick hood shapes and black plastic accents. and doesn't need weights to go up hill either.
Put me down for an LA105 !!! and if i turn in a 175 I should get money back right?? It's 70 times the model !!

Grateful11

· #17 · Sep 16, 2010 (Edited)

Brett-JDX748 said:
What is your 720 in the shop for? Specifics?

They claimed it had water in the fuel, not sure I believed it. It would run fine
until it was ran for an hour or so and then it would not start. It had been
sputtering just a tad when first starting it up when cold but was fine after a
few seconds, then it started the not starting up thing, I figured it was an
electronic ignition module or something. It seems to be fine now whatever
they did to it. It's got 100 hrs on it now.

Believe me the top JD's ain't perfect. Our 425 we had for about 3 years smashed
the wiring harness in two because someone at the factory left off a clip and
the harness got down between the frame and the gearbox of the mower deck
and they had to replace the entire wiring harness, at least that problem was
under warranty. Then the hydraulic steering cylinder came apart inside the
cylinder. They wanted $365 for a new cylinder, out of warranty, machine
shop parted the weld off, I put the right amount of Loctite on the nut that
held the piston on the cylinder rod, had a certified welder weld it back up
and away we went, cost $0, I knew everyone that helped with it.

Nothing is perfect. Just wish I bought the X740 diesel.

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MXZRXP

· #18 · Sep 16, 2010

seems the problems start when someone buys a mower intended for one purpose and use it for another, all JDs are NOT created equal, my brother tried to get away with a flatland model JD rated at 1 acre for his 8+ acre HILLY land. It worked well for a few years but finally the abuse was too much, he then bought a GT235 and has not had a problem since, it even blows the 1200' driveway!

right machine for the job is paramount! (but the manufacturer gets blamed regardles of the facts)

and while quite understandable... folks with problems scream WAY LOUDER than satisfied customers...

just my take -:trink40:

pigsitter

· #19 · Sep 16, 2010

MXZRXP said:
seems the problems start when someone buys a mower intended for one purpose and use it for another, all JDs are NOT created equal, my brother tried to get away with a flatland model JD rated at 1 acre for his 8+ acre HILLY land. It worked well for a few years but finally the abuse was too much, he then bought a GT235 and has not had a problem since, it even blows the 1200' driveway!

right machine for the job is paramount! (but the manufacturer gets blamed regardles of the facts)

and while quite understandable... folks with problems scream WAY LOUDER than satisfied customers...

just my take -:trink40:

:ditto::ditto: very well put.:fing32:

manofsteel

Discussion Starter · #20 · Sep 16, 2010

very well put.
My friend has a small, mabe 1/2 acre lot that is mostly flat, so I told him that I did not think he would ever have much problem with the la105 as long as he maintained it and kept everything greased and change oil and fuel filter regular. I know others may think different, but i told him that if tried to never mow wet grass, the deck should last a long time, since he was concerned about how it would hold up. Told him I had a old rear engine JD that i purchased in the early 80's that has never mowed wet grass and everything on it is still originial, so take the plunge and go ahead and get the deere, then he will becomed a fan.

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