Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss John Deere L130

Has anyone had any experience with this model? I'm looking to buy a riding mower for 2 acres and this seems like a pretty good deal. The tractor is 5 years old with 197 hours on it. It runs good, and doesn't have any unusual visual defects. It has the 48" deck with a mulching adapter and the guy is asking $1000. I've never owned a riding mower before, so any advice or questions to ask would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Check the condition of the rubber on the pedals and the wear on the seat. If they look like they match the hours on the hobbs meter, then it's a good deal. Take an overall look at the machine, and look close at the deck to see if it's been run into anything hard and bent.

I'd grab it if it was clean. There's a lot of attachments available for it thru Deere, or aftermarket and it will make owning acreage a lot easier to deal with.

One last thing. Sit on it and make sure that you are comfortable with the seating position and how your legs are bent at the knees. You will be spending 2 hrs or so on the machine mowing if you have 2 acres to mow, so you better be comfortable.

I've got a 345 w/52" deck and really like it. I think that machine will be due for a fluid change (engine oil & filter, coolant and hydrostat trans) at 200 hrs.

Great, thanks for the tips. I tried getting some reviews for this specific model online, but they all seem to be negative. I would imagine the reason for this is that only people that are pissed off want to warn the world about buying it. I have heard nothing but good things about JD so I guess I'll make that 90 minute drive to check it out.

Thanks again for your advice!

LR, I have a John Deere riding mower, it is a L135. It is a 42 inch cut. I love it have great luck with it, except when I hit a big rock. I mow around 4 acres and wish I had gotten the 48 inch cut. I paid over 2 grand for mine new. We have a local John Deere dealer and it has been good having them close and they are nice to deal with. Service is important because they ain't made a riding lawn mower that won't break.

A few words of caution: I believe that the mowers sold by Home Depot and other retailers with the John Deere name on them are not the same as the high quality mowers sold at the John Deere dealers.

I currently have a John Deere L130 with 290 hours on it. I mow about 1 1/2 acre but very little of it is flat.
It's been a good mower until lately I can't get up hills anymore after mowing 30 minutes. then I have to let it sit and cool down for an hour and then go again for 30 min.
According to my John Deere dealer, the hydrostatic transmission needs to be replaced at $850.00 Transmission is a TuffTorq K46.
This is a common problem with L130. I changed the oil in the transmission and that helped a bit; not an easy job since you have to remove the whole transmission.
I'm looking for a supplier where I can get a new transmission cheaper. Let me know if you know anywhere I can get one.
I would not buy this mower again, but I'm stuck for the moment with this POS.

I'm sorry i didn't see this post until now. That is one hell of a mower. from the "L" or the old "100" series of JD's, that one is by far the best. Don't expect much more than a mower and some light-duty towing, but if all you are looking for is a mower and maybe use it to plow or tow a trailer, then in my opinion the only better thing you could do is get a JD with a kawasaki engine instead of a kohler (but i love that kohler, don't get me wrong!)

That 23hp kohler is a monster of an engine, fully pressurized oil system, so you can take it up & down hills, sideways and backwards with no expectation to put extra wear on the engine. Also, they are easy to repair....most american small engine mechanics will be pretty familiar with that set-up, unlike some of the more complicated ones (see the kawasaki above, a much better engine, but maintenance costs are higher)

The stock mowing decks on those things were really meant to last, too. they tend to weep lube out though, so make sure you keep a grease-gun handy, and the first time that it won't accept grease, get it into the shop to have the fittings changed and the hoses cleaned out, and you'll be all good.

When i was selling JD's and people would come in looking at the lawn tractors, they would always start with the L100 or L110, and an upsell to what you are looking at wasn't hard at all. It is just that good of a machine.

We serviced them for a long time after selling them too, and the most frequent thing to go wrong is the hourometer connections, so don't be surprised to hear that that is a replacement hourometer. Like an above poster said, make sure to look at the wear in the seat, the pedals etc before buying to make sure that the hours listed appears to match the hours of wear on the machine.

An easy upgrade you can get for that machine is to put a standard hitch on the back. Its pretty cheap to buy (you're looking at a hundred bucks or so for a used one) instead of the pin hitch that is there now. There are plenty of things to run with a pin-hitch, of course, and that kohler can handle it, but the standard 3-point hitch is just plain better.

Thanks
Skinny

Skinny:

What about the reports of the front axle breaking, and the hydro trans needing to be removed to change the fluid?

I've got a 345 with the 18hp Kaw motor, and while the timing gear failed at the estimated hr meter reading, that's the only service that it's required other than your normal stuff.

I read about guys complaining about the motor backfiring upon shut-down. Well, stupid, bring it down to idle before turning off the key and the problem will go away!! Honestly, some people don't have a clue.

Thanks for the input. I did end up purchasing it, and have made my first rounds with it. So far it seems great! The 2 acres I have is almost entirely flat, so hills aren't really a concern. I would like to eventually pull a plug aerator and find some kind of front mount dethatcher, but I've got bigger fish to fry this summer. I read about the transmission issue, and have read that there are quite a few people ordering the K66 to replace the K46. There is a forum out there that describes it in detail and a guy on eBay that's selling a kit that includes the transmission, all the misc. parts needed, and a step-by-step color photo guide to help the less-than-handy complete the project. If I'm ever in such a situation I think I will give it a try. I've got a few family members that are mechanically inclined, so it might be a good way for me to see the guts of this thing for the small price of a case of beer.

I've purchased the home maintenance kit and will be changing out the oil and all of that this weekend. I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to preventive maintenance, so I'm hoping for the best.

Thanks again for your input.

Now what about gator blades? I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people with an opinion on these.

I tried the gator blades on mine one year and really didn't see a difference vs. standard blades vs. hi-lift blades. I have really sandy soil and I have to sharpen the blades 2x-3x/year or the grass tips start to look like paint brushes. I might get 2 years out of a set of blades before they're worn out.

Esshup:
I must have gotten out of the JD biz before that came to the head as a frequent problem. I do remember front axle problems on a similar model, come to think of it, so i wouldn't be surprised to hear that the l130 had similar issues. I suppose that people who dropped the extra change for the kohler instead of that POS briggs that was in the cheaper models probably took better care of their machines, too.

There is a plug aerator that is made for that pin hitch, yes, and that 23hp engine & tranny should be able to pull it. You have to put a lot of weight on the aerator to get it to pull plugs of any useful size.

I hope the purchase works out for you, Bob. Yeah, don't go for the gator blades. A good set of standard mulchers will do just fine, they all pretty much tear up the same way.

Thanks
skinny