[otiscohillbilly]

I have been on here for about a month now researching everthing under the son and I had decided on cut, but out of the blue this bargain came alon. I am still plaining on buying a cut or a gt, but for the mean time this will tide me over. I wanted to thank everyone for passing along their knowlege, I have learned alot.

So last week my neighbor that I have never even met since we moved in two years ago pulled down my driveway and asked if I was interested in buying a riding mower for $100. He had recently found out that he had been transfered to NJ for his job. He had two mowers and couldnt take both of them with him. I was skeptical at first, but 100 bucks bought me a gently used and very litte use 185 hydro with a bagger. He upgraded shortly after he bought the 185 in 1987. The tires do leak some air so I am debating about purchasing new tires, any recomendations? I will be mowing about 2 acres regularly and 4 every so often. The land is relatively flat, but I want the cool factor.I am also planning on buying a snowblower if I can find on eand using it for snow removal.

I adjusted the deck wheels so they are at the highest setting, but now the deck will not raise or lower? It's almost if the deck raising handle does not lock in, the handle moves when mowing. Any ideas what could be wrong?

I have the purchased the maintenace kit and will be doing that this week. I was going to change the tranny fliud, but a dealer indicated that this was a sealed unit and made it sound like a pain in the *** to change if you could even do it. Anyone ever do it? Is it worth changing the machine still runs well, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. Is it worth the hassle of changing?

Thanks,
Hillbilly

 

[SuperSport396-375HP]

I have had a couple of 185s, they are durable machines. I always liked them.

If the deck wheels (aka 'guage wheels') are touching the ground when you are mowing then the deck handle will probably move as the deck contours the terrain. I think if you push it all the way forward it will lock in, but then the deck will not 'float' and may scalp some areas.

For the record everyone I know around here that uses Deere mowers always say that the deck/guage wheels should be all the way up and shouldn't touch the grass. I always found that the lawns look the best when the wheels do contact the ground, at least on the high spots and dips.

 

[JDFANATIC]

Guys,

Thanks for the posts and I'm not trying to steal this thread, we have another new poster who has had little input -- can we help Bill out too?

Here's the post: I was hoping I could get some help with my problem(s). I have a John Deere 185 Hydro drive. My father got it used from a freind. Ran great but would occasionally shut down after an hour or two of use. I brought it up to my place in Maine, got abut 1/2 hour of use then it died. When it dies it goes suddenly but will run rough or on choke enough to get it out of the way. I brought the mower home, bought and installed new oil filter and oil, fuel filter, spak plug, coil, and cleaned carb. Still same problem. Runs now for about 3-5 minutes starts to run rough then suddenly dies. I have put a spare tank on top and gravity fed the carb thinking the feul pump may be the problem. I am at wits end with this thing. I have spent in excess of 20 hours since I brought it home and still in the same position. Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank You
Bob

 

[SuperSport396-375HP]

Check to make sure the vent on the gas tank isn't plugged up. He has cleaned the carb, the only other possibility really is ignition related, maybe a bad ground or fuse needs to be replaced. Might want to clean the carb again, it might have been gummed up and after it was cleaned some more crud broke loose and is jamming it up. Any smoke when it is dying out?

I used to have similar problems with several of my kawasaki single cyl air cooled engines in my smaller JD's.....usually I would just pull the bowl off the carb and clean it and the engine would run fine after that.

 

[SuperSport396-375HP]

Some clarification-I would also clean the needle and seat when I removed the bowl, usually fixed my problems.

 

[2008 Impala]

I adjusted the deck wheels on my 165 according to the manual which is this.

On level ground with the deck down adjust the wheels so they are about 1/4 inch off the ground. There should also be a diagram right on the deck which tells you where these wheels should be at a given cutting height. Mine cuts great doing it this way. I dont know if the Hydro fluid was evfer changed on mine either. But it looks clean and it runs like new so I chose to leave mine alone.

 

[JDFANATIC]

Oops guys, I just meant to post the link to Bob's post and not the text. http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=87259 Thanks for the responses.

 

[KeithB78]

Congrats on your new to you 185

 

[2008 Impala]

Let us know how the 185 is doing. That is a better Lawn Tractor than most of the Lawn Tractors made today. I can certainly tell the difference between my 165 and my Craftsman.