# New to Compact tractors



## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

Hello, 

I have just bought a 1992 model John Deere 855, 4x4. It came with the 70 FEL, a 60" belly mower, and a John Deere 48" (I think) rototiller. The 855 has 1025 hours on it.

A year ago last spring, I bought a new JD L120 to replace the old Lawn Chief that finally died. I have used it for two mowing seasons. My plan is to sell the L120 and use the 855 to mow the lawn. I would like to buy a rotary cutter for the field, but the funds are lacking. 

I mowed part of the field this week using the new finish mower. Except for the fact that the blades are really dull, it seemed to handle the 4' tall mix of orchard grass and timothy fine. Does anyone else use their belly mower like this? It did not seem like I was abusing anything. It did not mow real clean, but I attribute this to the dull blades.

Thanks,
Doug


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

*Pics of 855*

I tried to attach a picture in the first post, but the file size must have been too large. Here is another try at this.

Doug


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

Here's another pic.

Doug


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## ducati996 (Dec 27, 2003)

Welcome aboard !! sounds like I nice machine with low hours!! 

We love pictures as well !! as for 4' high grass, I guess any finish mower will have a hard time making on pass clean and clear....If you plan on using the MMM for finishing mowing, I would use it just for that and get new blades, keep them sharp and the deck maintained....Then I would look for a 3pt brush hog or rotary cutter for the tall grass. They are real inexpensive but durable

Duc


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Doug_V welcome to Tractor Forum! :friends: :cheers: Great to have you aboard. 

I have the Deere 72 inch MMM on my 4410 and use it to cut pasture and grass up to about 18 inches high on occasions. I do however VERY carefully walk the area first and remove any rocks or other items that could damage the mower. 

I use the standard Deere mower blades and keep an extra set on hand to rotate each season so I can install a fresh sharpened set. I am going to try a set of Gator blade this season to chop up leaves. I put a set of Gator blades on my F525 last week and they did seem to improve the cut and reduce the windrow effect after each pass. 

I set my MMM to cut at about 4 1/2 inches tall. This reduces the chance of hitting rocks, scalping, and leaves enough grass shoot left to prevent the grass from drying out during dry spells. 

I have found that setting the castor wheel antin scalp spacers so 3 of the 4 are on the bottom of the castor spindle gives the best anti-scalp protection as well as good looing cut without constantly dragging the wheels on the ground. 

Nice looking machine you have there! Feel free to jump right in and be a regular poster and participant! As Duc mentioned, we love the pictures and feedback!


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

Chief and Duc

So far, the machine seems really tight. I serviced everthing before I did any work and was able to tell that it has not had much use, especially in the last couple of years. I opened the air cleaner up to check it out and the previous owner had marked the air cleaner with the date and hours of service. It said "both air cleaners replaced - 6/02, 1013 hours". It only had 1025 when I bought it, a total of 12 hours in over two years! All the bushings on the loader were real thirsty, but still tight. The MMM bearings sound real quiet, too.

On the subject of blades, what does a set of blades cost for this MMM? I don't think the blades have ever been sharpened, cause they are REALLY dull. 

I can sharpen them myself, but I don't have a bench grinder and would just be using my little peanut grinder, unless I brought home a big disc grinder from work. I think this would take a long time to do. I guess I could take them in to be sharpened and buy a set while I am there.

Thanks for the welcome, I'll be in touch.
Doug


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

$18.15 each. List price.


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Nice tractor! And very low hours for that kind of machine, you should be able to enjoy it for decades to come. Sharp blades may make all the difference in your cut.


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## JimK (Jul 19, 2004)

Doug,

Welcome to the TF! The 855 is a nice machine. I almost bought one, but wound up with it's bigger brother, a 955. Looks like it has 4WD too, no?

Best of luck with it.


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

Joe and Jim,

Thanks for the welcome. I am pretty pumped about the tractor. It seems like a real keeper. My brother in law has an older big JD, (don't know the model, but is app. a 70 HP machine, 2wd with FEL) and his brother has a 4600 4x4 with FEL. I can't wait for weekends even more now!

Oh Jim, yes it is a 4x4.

Doug


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

*Blades*

I bought new blades for the MMM today, $16.50 each at Barnett Implement in Lacy, WA. It seemed like a good price. I did not have time to put them on yet. I had to clean a fallen rotten alder tree covered in ivy from the driveway after work.

I finished the rock wall on the west end of my new garage/carport this weekend. A mini excavator with a thumb would have been the ultimate tool for this project, but the 855 worked nicely. It is not much of a wall, but rock is heavy any time you have to lift or move it. I'll try to get some pics of the wall posted.

Doug


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## Doug_V (Sep 14, 2004)

Here's the picture of the rock wall and the 855 under roof for the night.

Doug


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