[MowerDude]

Hi and welcome, nice to see someone else from the 'Cold North'.:OHCAN
Nice rig there. :fing32: I also have the exact same machine with a 17p cart. Here is the link.
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=151398

It's a fantastic machine! Great engine, reliable, fine fit and finish. Very well made for a lawn tractor. Better than anything else you can buy from a 'Big Box Store' like Home Depot (I got mine from JD). But, that's my point. It is a lawn tractor. Yes, it will cut grass on 4-5 acres, no problem, but I hope it's flat and that's ALL you want to do with it.

You have much more land than I do, and I'm getting ready to jump to an X700 series or probably even a 2305 SCUT, because, well as nice as the LA130 is... well you'll see in time. Not to say the machine is bad, not at all. It's a wonderfull machine, so long as it's used within the manufactures intended goal. It is a lawn tractor, not a garden tractor. It's not up to par with the Select series in terms of durability, by far. The select series are orders of magnitude above the LA series. If you're planning on towing some weight (you mentioned a larger mower setup) like a roller, aerator etc. over your 4-5 acres, the transaxle might/will give you grief in the long term. Sorry, just the facts.

Based on your size of land, in my honest opion and experience, you might have been better with at least an X500 Series for, if anything at all, the transaxle.

My biggest gripe with the LA series is how difficult they made it to do simple things like take the deck off to clean it. Lots of pins, washers, arms and grunt work. The guage wheels don't rotate sideways so you have to have to tug the deck out against the wheels. The spindle grease plugs are set at an angle that makes it hard to reach with a grease gun (had to change mine to 45 deg angle). The front wheels use plain bearings (bushings). For $20 I replaced them with real ball bearings from JD on day 1.

As for adding a blower, If I was you, I would run (not walk) to JD and upgrade to a Select machine before dropping some coin on an LA blower. It will eventually come down to this, so either do it now before machine starts to age or do it eventually. But it will happen, just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

Just my 2 cents of advice.

Again, nice rig and welcome.:trink40: This forums got a ton of usefull stuff and great people.

-John

 

[MowerDude]

...I bought my JD used on Kijiji...

...(bearing) Part # was on those?...

Here's an idea, put 'er back on Kiji with 25 hours on her (keep the cart). Think it over, seriously. You'll really be pushing the envelope of an LA series, and might end up chewing it to death in a season or two and how much will that then have cost you in retrospect? An LA series blower WILL NOT work with a select series machine.

I'll dig up the part number for the bearings. Actually, they're the front wheel bearing from the X300 series. And to be honest, they're standard bearings you can get from any bearing supplier. You'll need access to a hydraulic press to press out the old bushings and press in the bearings. If you don't have one (yet) a trip to Princess Auto might be in your future, unless you know someone with one.

See, you're already spending money on it!
It's starting....

I did mine with a 20 ton press. One wheel took nearly 3 tons to pop the old bushing! When it finally gave, it sounded like a pistol report. Bang!

 

[MowerDude]

...the x300 is much more expensive. Why is this?

Not being mean to any LA owners (I'm one of them), it's like comparing a Yugo to a Lexus LS460L. There is a reason for the $100,000cdn dollar gap (for the cars, not the mowers).

Build quality, stronger frame, ball joints on the steering, engine mounts better transaxles, bearings instead of bushings everywhere, thicker mower decks, Kawasaki engines instead of Briggs... etc. As you move up the ladder, the all of the above increase exponentially. By the time you arrive at the X749, you're talking quiet liquid cooled 3 cyl deisel, 5/16" thick frame, K92 cooled transaxle, full time 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steer, tilt steering, ultra comfy suspension seat, power steering, shaft driven everything, hydro deck lift, rear pto, front pto, 3py hitch, full instrument cluster, crazy towing capacities essentially it's a luxry car that cuts grass, takes a front end loader, mid mount blade, post hole digger and just about anything you can think of. With an average lifetime measured in decades, not years.

The LA series was introduced to get the JD name in the garage of people whom would have bought an MTD or something like that, because the 'real' Deeres were simply too 'dear' (pun fully intended).

Consider a select series as a fine meal served at the best resturants. An LA series is fast food like McDonalds.

Tear apart an X300 and LA side by side and compare the components. Nuff' said.:trink40:

-John

 

[MowerDude]

Luc,

I saw your post on my other thread. Your first house! Now I understand, 100%. Take your time, a 'newer' JD lies in your future, but not now. Makes perfect sense to wait. Priorities are priorites. I thought perhaps, you were on maybe your 'third house', retired and your beard was white as mine! Ha Ha.

Good luck, my 'young' friend.

 

[MowerDude]

Luc,

Here is the part # you asked for: AM127304

You'll need four of them. You can find them here: http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet_Alt?search=catalog&catalog_no=9519&grid_no=A16&section_no=20&page_no=2

Look under "Wheels, Frame and operators station" then "Front wheels and tires". Item #7.

This is what I used in 2007. I don't believe there has been any changes in this regard, so you should be good to go.

-John

 

[MowerDude]

... JD X300 complete with 2-stage snowblower!

Now yer talkin'!

Nice setup, it will make a world of difference in the long run. Just look at the tie rods. Notice the X300 are adjustable, not the on the LA130. Not to be mean, but the tranny on the X300 is the same as the LA130. It's sort of a 'bridge' model, a step up every other way, but the tranny does not change until you go higher in the X300 series. Some say it's a more beefed up version of the K46 (hardend gears and stuff), they might be right, I'm certainly not able to confirm that (don't have an X300 lying around). Perhaps others with more knowledge can confirm that (stladrill??)

But anyway, your on the right track.

Congrats!:fing32: