# JD 318 or New Tractor?



## bsislow (Nov 1, 2021)

hi all, first time post!

quick question - difficult decision...

my wife and i are moving into a new home with a 1.5 acre lot. i do not yet have a mower.

my aunt has a John Deere 318 in great condition sitting in her lake house garage; unused (but starts fine) for some years with ~300 hours (yes, LOW) on it. it's a 1990 model. 50" deck. hydraulics seem to work fine. i replaced the oil on it to drive it around a bit and it seems to work just fine... no smoke (a quick puff) upon startup either. 

she's asking $2000 for the JD, a leaf sweeper, and tractor trailer. i think this is a solid deal.

however...

i'm not sure i want to work on an old tractor and spend the exorbitant amounts to purchase replacement parts - and they'll just get harder to find over time. i'm really leaning towards a new tractor (or ZT.. but i realize tractors are multi-function while ZTs are just for grass essentially)... either a JD, CC, or Husq.... something along those lines. it'll be NEW and i _shouldn't _have to worry about anything for some time.

however...

the JD 318 is one of the best tractors of all time for it's realm. i also love all of the possible attachments - IF i can find them, LOL.

what would *you do?*

thanks ahead of time.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Biggest problem with a JD318 is they usually came with a B48 Onan. Onan parts are getting pricey and hard to find, although 300 hours on an Onan is nothing. The $2K is about right for the attachments and a 300 hour JD 318. You'll pay a lot more than that for a machine that has the capability of that 318.


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

bsislow said:


> hi all, first time post!
> 
> quick question - difficult decision...
> 
> ...


What would I do? Ask for a family discount and offer $1,800 for the whole JD318 package.  I don't understand why families charge fair price or more to family members. 

You would do better not going the Husq path. Those parts soon will become harder to find vs. the JD. Husq exited the petro fuel lawn care equipment a few years ago. Once the parts in the supply chain are gone, that's it. Husq wants to sell ELECTRIC ROBO mowers instead. That's their newest mission statement for ecogreen climate initiative. 

Besides, there are repower engines for the JD318. From Honda's (GX630), Kohlers, B+S Vangard, Harbor-Freight Predator, to diesels. And with a Honda upgrade, should petro gasoline be non-existent or just price un-obtain-able, then convert to run on CNG. Really simple in a Honda engine. 

You got options. With a ZT, what do you got then?


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

bmaverick said:


> What would I do? Ask for a family discount and offer $1,800 for the whole JD318 package.  I don't understand why families charge fair price or more to family members.
> 
> You would do better not going the Husq path. Those parts soon will become harder to find vs. the JD. Husq exited the petro fuel lawn care equipment a few years ago. Once the parts in the supply chain are gone, that's it. Husq wants to sell ELECTRIC ROBO mowers instead. That's their newest mission statement for ecogreen climate initiative.
> 
> ...


Re-powering from an Onan to anything else has an additional expenses outside of just the engine that a lot of people overlook.... Onan B series engines ran a 1 7/16" crankshaft. With all the late model Briggs, Kohler, Honda, and Kawasaki 1 1/8" is pretty much standard for the big bore, horizontal, V-twins (new clutch)

In addition, there is no way to make the Onan exhaust system work on anything else (top of the head discharge), so exhaust manifold & muffler.

With 300 hours, you're a long way from having to worry about a re-power on that Onan. As long as you're comfortable with maintaining a point ignition system, adjusting valves, and understand an Onan needs to have the heads decarboned every now and then, that Onan is routinely a 2,000 hour engine


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

bmaverick said:


> What would I do? Ask for a family discount and offer $1,800 for the whole JD318 package.  I don't understand why families charge fair price or more to family members.
> 
> You would do better not going the Husq path. Those parts soon will become harder to find vs. the JD. Husq exited the petro fuel lawn care equipment a few years ago. Once the parts in the supply chain are gone, that's it. Husq wants to sell ELECTRIC ROBO mowers instead. That's their newest mission statement for ecogreen climate initiative.



When did you hear that Husqvarna got out of the gas powered riding lawn mower business? Who ever told you this is flat wrong.......They still make them and have dealers selling them......


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

unsquidly said:


> When did you hear that Husqvarna got out of the gas powered riding lawn mower business? Who ever told you this is flat wrong.......They still make them and have dealers selling them......


Maverick is right.... Husqvarna is on the way out the door with gas powered lawn equipment and lawn tractors. They've been slowly heading that direction for the last 3 years. They've already closed one of their main plants in McRae GA. They did the tillers, walk-behinds, and snow blowers

Husqvarna Heading for the Door


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## unsquidly (Jul 13, 2021)

Bob Driver said:


> Maverick is right.... Husqvarna is on the way out the door with gas powered lawn equipment and lawn tractors. They've been slowly heading that direction for the last 3 years. They've already closed one of their main plants in McRae GA. They did the tillers, walk-behinds, and snow blowers
> 
> Husqvarna Heading for the Door


They might be headed for the door but he said that they got out of the business a few years ago. Not trying to split hairs or be a pain but they are not dead yet. I still have one that I am trying to keep a few more years......It is only a couple of years old.....LOL......


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

_"but they are not dead yet" _

When the McRae, GA plant closed, it put 1,100 people out of work in a town of 5,500, so those people have already been to the 1st wake for the ultimate demise of the "Big H"....


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

unsquidly said:


> They might be headed for the door but he said that they got out of the business a few years ago. Not trying to split hairs or be a pain but they are not dead yet. I still have one that I am trying to keep a few more years......It is only a couple of years old.....LOL......


They sold it to AYP. They already exited, just the name is held for a certain duration of time. When the first announced it in 2017 or 18, those Craftsman owners were pissed because who would support their machines?


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

I believe AYP is owned by Husqvarna.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

pogobill said:


> I believe AYP is owned by Husqvarna.


Correct.... It's a subsidary and has been since the early 90's. It looks to me like they're just actually shifting stuff around internally to show a better balance sheet for the parent company (Husqvarna). That way they can also virtue signal to investors they've gone "green" to help save the planet from those evil gasoline engines.


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## bsislow (Nov 1, 2021)

so this got a bit off topic...

one comment i left out was - when i changed the oil on the 318, it was quite black and thick. could this adversely affect the longevity of the Onan?

thanks.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

bsislow said:


> so this got a bit off topic...
> 
> one comment i left out was - when i changed the oil on the 318, it was quite black and thick. could this adversely affect the longevity of the Onan?
> 
> thanks.


A critical design feature you need to understand about an Onan is that it is a horizontally opposed engine. Sometimes call a "Boxer Engine". There have been several successful Boxer engine designs, Volkswagen bug, Porsche, Honda Goldwing, and many small aircraft engines. A huge difference between these examples and an Onan lawn tractor engine lies in the fact that the exhaust ports are on the top of the heads and not the bottom. 

All IC engines generate some level of carbon. With the exhaust port on the bottom of the head, gravity natural makes the carbon flow out of the combustion chamber and into the exhaust manifold. The Onan, with it's top discharge exhaust ports, is much less efficient at discharging carbon from the combustion chamber. That is why Onan engines are prone to carbon build on the heads and will always carry more of a "soot" in their oil than other small IC engines. What you saw in the oil of that Onan is "soot load" and is pretty much normal for all Onan engines. Onan has been one of the few OEM engine manufacturers to ever recommend running straight 50w oil when ambient temperature is above 80 degrees and actually suggest using "C" rated oils (diesel engine) to handle the soot load of a top exhaust discharge port design.


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