# opinions on repairs vs buying new



## rob311 (Jul 18, 2021)

first time post, so thanks in advance for the help. i have a d105 john deere lawn tractor. very basic for my size yard which i thought was too large for a simple push mower. i also have the aftermarket bagger system on it. bought it in summer 2015 so thus far, 6yrs of use. experiencing problems recently where it takes a very long time to get it to start and finally this weekend it wouldnt start at all. every time i turned the key it would make a "grinding" sound....not clicking like a dead battery might do, plus the lights still come on but the engine wont turn over. I tried jumping the battery using my car and that didnt do anything. a friend of mine who works in lawncare said its most likely a seized starter.

my question- does anyone know approx how much it would cost for a john deere dealer to replace the starter? at what point does it make sense to just get a new mower rather than dump more money into a lawn tractor. im very new to equipment like this so i dont know the life expectancy of consumer models like this and im also tired of having this thing in service nearly once a year for random issues.


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

Starters are easy to replace and it's probably the Bendix that is hanging up and that is an easy fox too. Tale it off the starter and lube it with some grease. Not a big thing.

If you take care of it and do periodic service yourself (changing the oil, putting in fuel stabilizer when not in use and keeping the blade sharp) (I replace mine every spring, they are cheap). The mower should las at least 10 years or more and clean the underside of the deck before you quit using it as stuck on grass on the underside promotes rusting out of the deck as well.


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## BigT (Sep 15, 2014)

Hello rob311, welcome to the tractor forum.

Here is a u-tube video showing how to replace the starter gear on your starter. If this doesn't resemble your starter setup, there are many other u-tube videos on the subject.


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## rob311 (Jul 18, 2021)

SidecarFlip said:


> Starters are easy to replace and it's probably the Bendix that is hanging up and that is an easy fox too. Tale it off the starter and lube it with some grease. Not a big thing.
> 
> If you take care of it and do periodic service yourself (changing the oil, putting in fuel stabilizer when not in use and keeping the blade sharp) (I replace mine every spring, they are cheap). The mower should las at least 10 years or more and clean the underside of the deck before you quit using it as stuck on grass on the underside promotes rusting out of the deck as well.


thanks for the reply. glad to hear that it shouldnt be a costly repair


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## rob311 (Jul 18, 2021)

BigT said:


> Hello rob311, welcome to the tractor forum.
> 
> Here is a u-tube video showing how to replace the starter gear on your starter. If this doesn't resemble your starter setup, there are many other u-tube videos on the subject.


cool..thank you! admitedly, some of the repairs ive had done are my own carelessness and not having ever owned a riding mower before, so hopefully i can get some more good years from it


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

That 17.5 Briggs is about as easy to change a starter as it gets. Two bolts, the battery lug, and you don't even have to pull the blower shroud. Starter runs about $30 on Amazon and the job should take less than a 1/2 hour, even if it is your 1st time.


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## rob311 (Jul 18, 2021)

thanks everyone. i called the local dealer and they were trying to charge me $350 plus transportation fee to bring the mower in for an oil change and service. i went to home depot, spend $98 on oil supplies and a new battery and the mower fired right up on first try. im guessing the battery i bought last year off amazon was a dud and that was the issue. side note- i never realized how ridiculously simple an oil change is on these things. im never paying to have it done again


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

I'd NEVER buy a battery on the Internet unless it was a dry charge battery. I always buy batteries from volume dealers that have steady turnover.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

I charge $15 retail for parts (filter and 2 qts oil), 1/2 hour labor ($25), $1 a mile round trip if I got to go get it, for seniors and single women. If it's a guy that's less than 65, and he's just to damn lazy/good to change his own oil...... $20 parts, $50 in labor, and $1.50 mileage.

I do a lot of "Spring Services", so I buy filters by the case (3/4-16 threads on 95% of all mower engines), oil by the gallon, and try to schedule two mowers on the trailer at the same time for the pickup/delivery runs. I learned a long time ago the hazards involved with pulling drain plugs for oil changes on customer machines, so I use the tool below (holds 8 quarts). Takes about 2 minutes on a V-twin, there's no mess to clean up, and it has a built-in "auto-gurgle alarm" when it's done. Autozone takes my waste oil for free....


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

Bob...

If it's a single pretty gal and she bakes you cookies, do you charge less? 

Both of my mowers have the extended drain hose / cap. {Pretty easy to change but I like your 'sucker', where did you buy that at?

I get my oil in 5's actually and my hydraulic fluid in 55's.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

SidecarFlip said:


> Bob...
> 
> If it's a single pretty gal and she bakes you cookies, do you charge less?
> 
> ...


All of my current female customers were sent to me by a local Church and are either widows, or single moms with 2-3 kids, and the account is approved by the Operations Manager (Wife). Besides, this old dog stop chasing those kind of cars a long time ago, but I did get some nice garden tomatoes and a homemade cheesecake this month.

I bought the LiquiVac wholesale through my Stens account for $35 (part # 051-703), that's the 8 quart model. Once you've used one, you'll never go back to pulling drain plugs again, especially on a car/pickup truck. Got enough damn trouble getting up/down off of a creeper, much less motor oil running all over my hand, dropping the drain plug in the pan, and worrying about hitting the oil drain pan with the rest of it. Shove the hose down the dipstick tube, give it about 20 pumps, and wait for the "auto-gurgle" signal. I put a ziploc bag around the oil filter when I unscrew it, so no mess and I don't even get my hands wet..... Here's the 8qt on Amazon $45. Your favorite... Agri Supply has them for $55, but that's only the 3 quart model. Amazon says gallons in their listing, but it's actually quarts

8qt LiquiVac


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

You are quite a salesman Bob, as well as a teacher. I'm gonna get me one of those oil sucker uppers and start using ziploc bags on my filters. Definitely a 2 thumbs up post!!!!


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

Joe us old guys have to work smarter not harder..... Besides that, I've got all the scar tissue I need on my knuckles/forehead from wrenches slipping off of an over torqued drain plug. I don't even cuss customers anymore because they rounded off the drain plug with a crescent wrench, or torqued it to 200 ft lbs, and that's why they came to me for an oil change in the first place. The best part is knowing their "free repair" plan failed and they'll be back.


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

I find it always interesting that people rely on a 'Crescent' wrench instead of using the correct sized socket or open end / box wrench. All they are is rounder offers....lol Around here they are called 'West Virginia socket sets'....

Kind of wish we had switched over to the 'metric' system like the rest of the world did / has instead of SAE. I have 2 roll around tool boxes, one, all metric tools and the other all SAE.

Ordered up the 'Stens' sucker this morning btw. Never have enough tools....lol


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

SidecarFlip said:


> I find it always interesting that people rely on a 'Crescent' wrench instead of using the correct sized socket or open end / box wrench. All they are is rounder offers....lol Around here they are called 'West Virginia socket sets'....
> 
> Kind of wish we had switched over to the 'metric' system like the rest of the world did / has instead of SAE. I have 2 roll around tool boxes, one, all metric tools and the other all SAE.
> 
> Ordered up the 'Stens' sucker this morning btw. Never have enough tools....lol


I thought for years the metric system was a communist plot, but then I recognized the benefits. You only need seven (7) sizes of wrenches/sockets to work on about anything.... 8, 10, 12, 14, 17,19, 21.

Crescent wrenches were invited for guys that can't recognize the difference between a 9/16th and 11/16th bolt head/nut. If you're looking through his toolbox, you'll notice a guy like that also likes to use it as a hammer and sometimes a pry bar. I used to "ban" crescent wrenches and 12V "test lights" from the shop floor. I told my guys.... "We pay you a monthly tool allowance, go spend it on tools a professional mechanic uses and use that crap to screw up your own stuff"


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

Crescent Tool made a fortune on those wrenches....lol Problem is, there are so many low quality knock off's today that are 'guaranteed' to round off anything they are used on....lol I have a couple that collect dust. Real McCoy's though.

Think my 'favorite' adjustable wrench I have is my Ridge Tool 5 foot long forged steel pipe wrench I picked up somewhere. It's so heavy just getting it on a pipe is a chore. Hangs on the wall waiting to give you a hernia...


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

SidecarFlip said:


> Crescent Tool made a fortune on those wrenches....lol Problem is, there are so many low quality knock off's today that are 'guaranteed' to round off anything they are used on....lol I have a couple that collect dust. Real McCoy's though.
> 
> Think my 'favorite' adjustable wrench I have is my Ridge Tool 5 foot long forged steel pipe wrench I picked up somewhere. It's so heavy just getting it on a pipe is a chore. Hangs on the wall waiting to give you a hernia...


Yep.... My Rigid pipe wrench is a 4', but then I also have a 36 inch Rigid "chain wrench" just in case I ever need to take apart the piping in an oil refinery.... Flea market $20 and I couldn't walk by it. I actually used it a lot at one time to take the collars off 300", telescoping, transfer trailer cylinders for repacking


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## SidecarFlip (Mar 25, 2021)

I have a few vintage Ridge Tool calendars somewhere. They were the original 'cheesecake' ones. Probably long gone but they used to be in Elyria, Ohio I have one of their rare stubby ones too. Never been used either.


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