# New to me John Deere 400. I have some questions



## bnelson1980 (May 16, 2019)

I just brought home a 1981 John Deere 400 today. The previous owner worked at Kohler and restored the entire tractor about 5 years ago. A couple years ago he said he put a brand new Kohler K532 Engine. Not a rebuilt one, but a brand new engine. It has 4 hours on it. He said a new K532 is extremely hard to get. Anyway, I have a couple questions. The tractor also came with a tiller. I gave it a good cleaning and it’s looking good.

1. I ordered a new belt for the deck. It was $80 off amazon and a JD OEM part. Are there other places or brands that have the same quality, but cheaper? 

2. I would like to replace the spindle bearings on the 60” deck and was wondering what part number, size and brand I should get?

3. Where is the best site to get a complete manual for the tractor? 

3. I also ordered Hydrostatic fluid, filter, oil and oil filter and plan of changing all the fluids this week. Should I drain and refill the hydraulic fluid or just leave it? 

4. I noticed that when the tiller was on the drive shaft of the PTO slipped off where it connects to the engine. How do I prevent that from happening? 

Any other tips or things I should do? I appreciate your time and help. I’m really looking for to working with this tractor. 







































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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Wow, a dandy looking tractor!


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## dozer966 (Dec 30, 2014)

Nice tractor. I see there is half of the PTO shaft still hooked up to the tractor. There should be a quick release on the end. I would remove it in case the PTO switch is accidentally activated. Will cause damage and maybe hurt someone rely bad.


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## bnelson1980 (May 16, 2019)

Thanks guys! Does anybody know the part number for the 60” deck blades? I seem to be finding conflicting information and just want to make sure I am buying the correct blades. Thanks again. 


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## Sandpiper270 (May 19, 2019)

bnelson1980 said:


> 4. I noticed that when the tiller was on the drive shaft of the PTO slipped off where it connects to the engine. How do I prevent that from happening?


If you mean that the driveshaft came loose when the tiller was attached, it would mean the PTO drive shaft on the tiller is too short. You would need to make it longer. You may be able to just remove one end of the shaft and replace it with a longer section of the shaft tubing.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

I use PIX Kevlar belts on all of my commercial lawn service customers machines. They last 3 times longer than OEM black belts and are usually cheaper. The only thing that John Deere is prouder of than their belts is deck spindles. Depending on machine, genuine JD spindles start at around $40 and most of them aren't even cast iron like your more expensive commercial mowers use. Why change the entire spindle? You can usually get both upper and lower bearings for around $10. $30 for all three bearing sets versus $120 when all you're really gaining is a nice shiny spindle housing. If your housing bores are good, just change the bearings....


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## jerryh20 (Dec 18, 2019)

i buy a lot of jd parts and search jdparts.com, enter model number and browse parts section. find the part number and do a google search using that number. ebay, amazon, greenfarmparts etc.
i owned a 400 for years, great tractor but attachments are hard to find. you have a beauty there.
as Bob says "kevlar belts are what i use," never a problem.


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