Help! John Deere 525E Deck Repair!

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Help! John Deere 525E Deck Repair!

Рет қаралды 2,215

Heritage Farms Texas

Күн бұрын

This video showcases a major deck repair to our John Deere 525E Mower

Пікірлер: 38

@LarryShank-on6ng 5 ай бұрын

My mower has 88 hours on it and the spring tensioner tore completely out of the deck. The mower has never been abused and I WILL NOT buy another John Deere! Thanks for posting this video!

@HeritageFarmsTexas 5 ай бұрын

Thanks Larry.

@ncsuduke 2 жыл бұрын

That exact pulley broke off my deck. I'm about to disassemble as you did here and figure out what's next. Thank you for your post.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 2 жыл бұрын

Sorry to hear that Tom. Hope you can fix it. Mine has worked good so far. I hope it holds up. Thanks for watching and commenting.

@okiebsooner Жыл бұрын

I have a Z525 and my left spindle broke just the same as yours did. My spindle dug into the deck and froze. However, mine didn't crack the deck or blow off the spindle covers, like your mower. I'm in the process now of removing the deck (hence why I searched for a deck video on the Z525), and your video helped me out! Thanks and we'll see how much the weld job on it costs. Then, I've got to buy new spindles and replace those. I just hope this one spindle holds up after the weld, as it takes all the deck pressure...so we will see! Thanks for the upload!

@HeritageFarmsTexas Жыл бұрын

Wow, you’re walking in my shoes. Good luck with your project. Mine is still going strong. So far so good.

@okiebsooner Жыл бұрын

@@HeritageFarmsTexas Yeah, good to know...I feel like I'll be up in a couple of weeks, if the weld is good! I think I avoided a cracked deck because the engine was running wide open and I was cutting when it happened, it immediately forced my spindle down into the deck like a blade when it failed, and it must have seized it before it cracked the deck....because that spindle's bore in like a tick into skin! I might not have fully pushed it as far either...The sparks alerted me to it so I might have gotten a little more alert as it was just before dark when mine happened.

@okiebsooner Жыл бұрын

I've replaced spindles on the other JD I have right after this happened. Both of my zero turns have some miles on them tho. Spindles are not too hard...just need the right big socket and wrench or impact driver. Lemme know and I can go look at the one I bought too. Finding the part numbers were easy tho as I went to my local JD dealer. They have schematics online too. I definitely think you shouldn't let the spindles go for years on these..I'm thinkin of changing the spindles every three years. I hope your deck holds up because i heard they are like 1200+ for the deck only. Thanks again!

@russswanson5761 Жыл бұрын

Exact same problem on my Z525E, bought at Lowe's 3 years ago. I took the deck off and hope to get a welder to reattach the spring tensioner. Mine literally tore out of the deck. This seems to be an ongoing problem with JD from what I've seen on KZfaq. Thicker plate around the stress point could have prevented this bs. JD of today is not the JD of earlier years!

@HeritageFarmsTexas Жыл бұрын

Amen brother. I’ve walked In your shoes. Thanks for watching.

@brockmitchell3989 11 ай бұрын

I have constant issues with my Z525E. I constantly have to fix it. Currently, I am having an issue with it backfiring through the intake while running at full throttle. From what I found out is that these 22 horsepower engines have issues with the valve guides on the exhaust valve moving from engine heat and the exhaust valve getting stuck or the push rod coming out. I guess I'll find out when I pull the rocker covers.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 11 ай бұрын

Knock on wood, I haven’t had any issues so far with the engine. Good luck.

@johnuzzle5688 Жыл бұрын

The more expensive ones are junk too. My x380 deck cracked too with 200hours on it. $6500 for a unit that is no better than a box store one.

@HeritageFarmsTexas Жыл бұрын

That’s disappointing. I would have thought the more expensive models would have held up better.

@JoLynch0 2 жыл бұрын

This exact pulley mount just tore out on my Z525E. 200 hours old. :(

@HeritageFarmsTexas 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. They definitely cut some corners on the deck design. For very little money they could have made it a lot stronger.

@waynerockley9965 6 ай бұрын

Mine done the same at 340 hours , I rewelded it back in . Left spindle collapsed , drive pulley on collapsed after 50 hrs , seat has cracked and always garaged so not overly happy with it, in the process of chasing a new seat for it I have the Australian John Deere rep on to it I WONT BUT ANOTHER JD !

@frankdavidson9675 3 жыл бұрын

those cracks are usuall caused by an unbalanced blade when you rebuild thsat deck make sure those blades are blanced use a5/8 rod in vise hang blade on rod should set level grind on back side of low end till she hangs level

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the feedback. Appreciate it.

@de9231 3 жыл бұрын

Thata boy chris, way to be alert!!

@mtrcycldude 3 жыл бұрын

I don't know but when things go wrong and we start looking into what happened and we are told "it just broke". Usually more to the story. In this case it sure looks like the operator ran over something. I think that one blade is bent. But - you are on the right track IMO. I would weld both sides of every crack. That thin sheet metal will be a challenge. Hope you have a TIG welder so you can turn down the heat. If a wire welder you will have to keep adjusting till it works. Kinda like those guys installing body panels on old trucks and cars. Washers every place you can is a great idea. And remember - it aint no good the way it is so you might as well give it a shot - repairing it. Most important of all - good luck you gonna need it.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Earl Allen- thanks Earl. You’re probably spot on. 😀. We have another video coming shortly. Spoiler, it turns out OK. Really appreciate you watching. Thanks.

@okiebsooner Жыл бұрын

I had the same left spindle lock up problem with the deck of my Z525. I can assure you I didn't drive over anything but flat grass, and my mother saw it happen at the time. Sparks flew out from the deck as the spindle dug into the deck, which prompted her to come out of her house to warn me. So, I just wanted to clarify to those with a Z525 and the same problem reading this- you didn't drive over a branch and nothing obstructed your blades...the spindle just failed and dug in. Cheap stock spindles is the cause imo...or a bad deck design...but nothing causative from a driver's standpoint...all John Deere design issues.

@justmike57 3 жыл бұрын

You were right, most people don't know buying from a box store may be cheaper, but don't realize that the mower is cheap for residential and not commercial or farm strength. If the rider itself is in great shape, and you could buy a new deck that was a stronger, thicker deck, then I would say to buy a new deck compared to buying a new rider that would cost over $5,000

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike. I think I’m going to be able to repair it, but we will see. Perhaps I can get a few more years out of it. I understand the marketing with all the different models. They really want people to buy the commercial models to get something more durable. You get what you pay for.

@mikejoyce7157 3 жыл бұрын

Is this not covered by JD warranty? 01:36 I removed both of my covers for easier and better cleaning of the debris. 12:36 These mowers are made to a specific price point for the residential market. A lot of companies do that. Also, this model was being sold by my local JD dealer. 13:51 The last blade looks like the wing is worn very badly. Usually, that is caused by sand. Odd how the others did not have that much wear.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. Definitely not their best model. It’s made for the box stores. Good news is repairs are holding up and it’s running.

@lifebehindacow5999 3 жыл бұрын

That's really disappointing. I was thinking of buying a 500 series mower next spring now maybe not. I have a Cub Cadet with similar issues and every time I reinforce one area something else breaks and all it takes is a wad of wet grass. Having said that it's entirely possible once welded your deck may work for years and this was just one of those things. You might consider boring a small hole at the end of each crack. It can help stop the crack from restarting. Best of luck.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of drilling a hole at the end of the crack.

@Drifter5.7 3 жыл бұрын

That is an awful lot of stress cracks. Just looking up close in this video, I see big differences in Genuine JD metal thicknesses on brackets, hardware and pulley assemblies. I have the 2 genuine's and the newer JD genuine has some deck problems as well. I think someone else makes the decks for JD genuine and economy model now. Enough to make me buy a Cadet next round. I'd be beyond PO'ed.... my BP went up just looking at this. Weld er up!

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Yes frustrating. I get their marketing. That’s why they have good, better and best models. You get what you pay for I guess. They could have easily improved this deck for very little money. Thanks for watching.

@HamiltonvilleFarm 3 жыл бұрын

Stinks man. That is crazy how it cracked. Knowing my welding skills, I'd probably just buy a new one😂😂

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

Hamiltonville Farm - Thanks Hank, I know what you mean. You’ll get to see my ugly welds in a upcoming video.

@bhardy5017 3 жыл бұрын

I would share this video to John Deere and take the deck to the JD shop and show them the deck failure was due to their poor construction. You can tell that it is not fro hitting stuff.

@HeritageFarmsTexas 3 жыл бұрын

bhardy501 - Appreciate you stopping by. I get it, JD has multiple “models” from cheap to expensive. I’m sure they fix these issues with their commercial models. But they could have made this a lot stronger for a few extra bucks.