Used John Deere X300 - Advice

[Oldswagon]

My 30+ year old JD LX178 is getting very tired so I am looking to replace it with a newer tractor of similar long term durabilty. I found a couple of X300s with about 200 hours. Does anyone have any advice on the long term quality of this tractor? Any common trouble areas to look at?

I know it has a K46 transmission which is not a HD unit. My property does have some mild slopes, but my LX178 has never given me any transmission issues. Is there anyway I can check the condition of the transmission?

 

[JayhawkRoy]

I purchased a used X300 at 56 hours in Aug 2017 from a John Deere dealer. We mow two acres with it. All we have done is normal maintenance. It does well for us, with some mild slopes and ditches. We are now at 227 hours with no signs of anything going wrong.

 

[redhat]

How much property do you have to mow? The X300 series aren't a terrible unit, but perhaps the lowest I'd go of the newer Deere L&G. X500 is probably where I'd personally start.

For checking condition, I'd probably get it on a grade and slightly go forward and reverse and see how it acts. Beyond fluid condition... I do know you have to pull the transaxle and spill it from the plug on top. Perhaps you could use an extractor to pull fluid out? Wish they had a drain plug.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

My 30+ year old JD LX178 is getting very tired so I am looking to replace it with a newer tractor of similar long term durabilty. I found a couple of X300s with about 200 hours. Does anyone have any advice on the long term quality of this tractor? Any common trouble areas to look at?

I know it has a K46 transmission which is not a HD unit. My property does have some mild slopes, but my LX178 has never given me any transmission issues. Is there anyway I can check the condition of the transmission?

The K46 transmissions aren't that bad IMO. It is probably the most used transmission in the lawn tractor industry. They get a bad wrap but there is a simple fix, change the oil with a synthetic 5w50 oil. I just changed the oil on my 2002 LT150 tonight. It has a K46 in a machine that cuts grass in the summer and blows snow in the winter. The thing is still going strong. I used Castrol Edge 5w50. YouTube has several videos to help you out.

Just curious why your LX178 is getting tired. What needs fixed? The nice thing with Deere is service parts are available for a long time...

Just my $0.02

 

[gman2304]

My 30+ year old JD LX178 is getting very tired

Of course depending on how tired your LX178 is, the JD LX series is one of the best lawn tractors ever built. The liquid cooled Kawasaki is hard to beat and parts are still readily available. My 1998 LX188 has been stellar for 25 years. If your transaxle is tired, The TT K61 has a drain plug and is easy to change the oil. I’ve serviced mine a couple of times and used Mobil1 15w50 and it still runs nice and quiet. Hopefully, your LX is not too tired to fix as it is a much more robust mower than the x300.

 

[userfriendly]

My 30+ year old JD LX178 is getting very tired so I am looking to replace it with a newer tractor of similar long term durabilty. I found a couple of X300s with about 200 hours. Does anyone have any advice on the long term quality of this tractor? Any common trouble areas to look at?

I know it has a K46 transmission which is not a HD unit. My property does have some mild slopes, but my LX178 has never given me any transmission issues. Is there anyway I can check the condition of the transmission?

Watch FB Marketplace. Sometimes gems show up, like an X350 with 20 hours for $3,000. Likely estate sales.
Dealerships snap those up on day one.
The price on new JD500 series is getting nuts. 33%$ increase in one year.

 

[Oldswagon]

My property has maybe 1/2 an acre I need to mow. It takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours to cut, but that includes triming and some push mowing around tight sections. It has lots of irregularity, some slopes and a ditch. There are also some rough sections. I am not a lawn tractor enthusiast, I just want a reliable machine that will last a long time. Further, I don't want a big tractor, I like the size of my LX178. It seems many of the better JDs now are considerably larger and heavier.

My LX178 is just well worn. I bought it used about 17 years ago and it was used commercially for both lawn and snow removal. I have only used it for lawn care. The engine is burning oil, the hood is falling apart the hinges are completely broken, the deck is rusting out from inside out and has a fairly large hole due to the rust. Even of the the belt tensioner arms was so worn the spring wore completely through the steel hole. The transmission is good and I have serviced it multiple times. Bottom line, it's just old, beat up and every year something breaks on it and I need to fix it. So it would be nice to have something newer.

I found a 2015 X300 locally with 213 hours that looks okay, but not mint. He is selling because he relocated to a small property. If I can get it at about 60% of the cost of a new X350, I thought it might be a good purchase.

If the X3s are not as durable, maybe I need to look at other brands, because I don't want a big tractor. I just want a decent durable but basic lawn tractor. My FIL swears Kubota and his old 1993 has held up well, mind you it saw easier service.

 

[cptbarkey]

I have been using and abusing a x354 since new from 2016 to date and only now thinking about changing the transmission fluid. Probably going to use M1 15w50, and drill some drain holes in the 2 boss areas for next time. Not sure of the hours. It has mowed semi rocky terrain, smacked a bit of limestone with the blades, and I think has the original air filter. I just changed the oil a few weeks ago with 10w60 and a tough guard oil filter. It needs a new battery every year has been the only non issue.

 

[Cujet]

I know everyone's lawn is different, but I do not like garden tractors with small wheels. With my properties, the larger wheels are beneficial for the rough and tough stuff. I have a 20+ year old GT235 and it's been epic good.

Not mine, but the same.