THE JOHN DEERE UTILITY TRACTOR
A few years ago we had retired the well used John Deere lawn tractor that my mother had gotten back in 2006. Obviously for all intents this machine has long since outlived its normal life expectancy. It was having little issues that more or less continued to cost us money in the form of replaced parts several times a season. Not to mention the capability of the machine wasn't as great as the zero turn that we ended up picking up as the replacement for this old tractor. From there the machine sat in the front corner of the garage accumulating dust.
Fast forward to now and after looking at this thing enough, I decided I may as well do something with it because we wouldn't get much for the machine in the current state and I already know there really isn't much wrong with it short of being an old machine. My solution, turn it into a utility tractor for around the yard and grounds. I had recently picked up a utility trailer that can hitch behind the tractor and this combo would be perfect for those jobs such as yard work where we need to haul bundles of branches or other trash from a work site to a staging area for disposal. This machine could even serve as a mule for moving small cargo between neighboring houses in lieu of using a regular truck. The main thing is that we have to restore the machine to regular operation, while doing some other converting work.
The John Deere L108 lawn tractor.
The 18.5HP Briggs single cylinder engine that powers the machine.
This lawn tractor is an 18.5HP single cylinder front engine mounted machine with a 42" twin blade cutting deck. My first plan was to remove the cutting deck as it would not be used anyway. For where the tractor would probably travel, the deck would be a hindrance. After pulling the deck free from under the machine the next move was to start doing the typical service style work, such as changing the oil and filter, changing the spark plug, fuel filter and draining the old gas from the tank, changing the fuel hoses and replacing the carburetor with a cheap aftermarket unit along with the pulse pump. I also had to replace the seized up starter as well. The battery was of course trash so that had to go as it was probably 5 years old.
New fuel pump installed and carburetor. Note fuel filter directly underneath pump.
One of the things that we always had a problem with on this tractor was the steering. The steering shaft has a gear that meshes with a triangular blade of metal with a curved geared side that moves back and forth with the steering shaft's turning. Connected to this blade was the linkage to the steering knuckle assembly. What ends up happening is the bushing gets worn out quickly then the steering shaft and/or the blade gets too much play and the shaft gear skips against the splines on the blade, causing the steering to be crappy. I ended up having to add some washers and other stuff to reinforce the steering blade as well as stiffen the bottom end of the steering shaft so it can't bounce and skip off the splines on the blade. With that done, I was able to get the steering at least straight enough that it didn't skip anymore. The tires would still need to be addressed as they would lose air slowly and after a while the steering would be super tough.
While the tractor got some use afterward, just like many things around the lot, the John Deere sat. I would periodically start the thing to try and keep the engine loose and the battery juiced up but eventually it slipped my mind and as time progressed, I just didn't even touch the tractor. It sat in the elements for a few years until I decided that it needs to be resurrected and put to use in some capacity, lest I just get rid of the thing for whatever I can get for it. I ended up having to drain the fuel tank yet again and replace the carb and filter as both were trashed from old gas and moisture that sat within during those years in the elements. Luckily the engine was still good and the starter spun just fine after replacing the battery, again. This go around the revival was quick and dirty, with just the fuel system being addressed.
With the JD back online again I'm able to do low level work, but as is the case, I'll use the thing then it'll sit, and I'll have to periodically run the thing to keep it going. At this point in time we've gotten into small engine/powersports stuff, getting different gokarts and an ATV into service, modifying them in order to make them more fun and sketchy. Looking at the JD sometimes has me thinking about what I could possibly do with this machine. In its current state even with the 18hp engine the hydrostatic rear end has this thing only going about 5 mph, you can almost walk faster than this thing. Since hydrostatic transmissions can't be overclocked with a pulley change, I would have to think about an alternative way to spice this thing up while still retaining the ability to reverse the machine. I will be working on a racing mower at some point to add to the powersports machine collection so whether its this one or another specimen, we will see.
