Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > John Deere 1130 SE
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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Clay
Location: Wis
Joined: Dec 3, 2008
Points: 111
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John Deere 1130 SE
Original Message Jan 7, 2009 1:07 pm |
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I did a search and found a few references to this machine but no answers. Any one have one of these? 15.5 snow max engine, heated hand grips, 30" wide. I can't find a listing for auger diameter or impeller diameter. I called John Deere and the guy that was suppose to be the snow thrower expert didn't know either. What is the Easy Steer drive system? The literature says: Easy Steer® drive system giving continuous power to both wheels and auto speed adjustment Is it similar to the Ariens auto differential? I've heard that the units are built by B&S which translates to Simplicity. They do have cast iron gear cases like the Simplicity. The chute control is different than the simplicity and so is the turning method so they are not exactly the same. I'm trying to compare the Simplicity L1530E to the JD 1130SE. Any help would be appreciated. Rick |
Paul7
Joined: Mar 12, 2007
Points: 452
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #16 Jan 9, 2009 2:36 pm |
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I'm driving my wife crazy. I have never returned this much stuff in my whole life and this is not standard operating proceedure. My old snow thrower lasted 21 years and I didn't want something that wouldn't be around. Truth is for under a grand that Craftsman 14.5 is still a heck of a machine. This was 50% more than the first one. The problem is that each machine has become more expensive. The first one was around a grand, the second one $1200 and the third one $1500 after tax. By the way Lowes does have a 30 day return policy and if this thing treats me like crap or I have 3 service calls in 3 weeks you don't even have to guess where it will end up. So yes, I will take all of the ribbing anyone wants to give me. I have had a very unique selection process but I don't recomend it to anyone else. The first unit I bought out of state, but was able to return it locally, the second unit was bought out of state and returned out of state and the third unit was bought about 30 miles away. Luckily gas prices have been down too. The first unit I did an oil change with synthetic oil and lubed up the wheels with grease etc. While it might sound fun to some, this has been a royal pain in the rear. I just want a machine that works and I can get parts for after the warranty ends. Is that really too much to ask for $1500 of my money? If I wasn't going through this myself and I was reading my threads, I would be laughing my rear off at me, so I don't mind the friendly poke in the ribs. I probably deserve it. I did turn on the heated grips and they made me smile tonight. More to follow after we get some snow and I can play with it for real. Clay, I for one will not poke fun at you. You just want to make sure you get what you want for the money. I, on the other hand am truly messed up. I have an unhealthy infatuation with outdoor power equipment. When I got married I was young and so broke I couldn’t even afford to buy a lawnmower...had to borrow one from neighbors. I lived in an area that got lots of lake effect snow and had to shovel a long double wide driveway because I couldn’t afford a snow thrower. And I had a big garden that I had to till by hand. I used to say that someday I’m going to be able to afford power equipment. Well its years later and I made my money. Now I have a big 2 stage 11.5hp Ariens snow thrower...and I just bought a 7hp Ariens single stage blower for lighter snows. What’s messed up is that I have a small driveway and I now live in an area that rarely gets snow. We’ve only had two plow-able snowfalls in the last 4 years. But if a storm like the Nor’easter of 1996 ever comes through again. I’m READY. To make matters worst I have a John Deere rider, a Snapper Ninja SP mulching mower and three Ariens SP walk behind mowers (one is a commercial Ariens) all to mow a yard about the size of a postage stamp. And to top off the insanity I have 4 tillers...a Troy-bilt, a Sanpper rear tine, an Ariens front tine, and an Earthquake mini tiller...all ready to go in case I actually decide to put a small garden in someday. So yeah...I know it’s twisted...but my local outdoor power equipment dealers love me.
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embury
Joined: Jan 11, 2009
Points: 8
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #18 Jan 11, 2009 9:03 pm |
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Has anyone had problems with their units losing forward or reverse drive? I Purchased one from Lowes (Model 1130SE). Within ten minutes of first using it in 10 Inches of light powdery snow, the unit would no longer move forward. I promptly returned it to Lowes. They did not have another unit, so I stopped by one of our small local Deere dealers. I spoke to their service tech who said some of the units in our area were shipped without the correct belt cover shield that mounts on the engine. OK, that sounded logical. So I decided to purchase another 1130 from the local dealer who installed the shield before the machine was delivered. I used my new 1130 today, and It has the same drive problem as the first one. Any time the chute is aimed to the right snow accumulates on the belt cover and frame. After about 5 minutes both forward and reverse drive fails. I believe there is a major design problem with the 1130 SE. It will be interesting to see what B&S and John Deere will do to rectify this problem.
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pvrp
Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #19 Jan 11, 2009 10:24 pm |
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Has anyone had problems with their units losing forward or reverse drive? Looks like there's some sort of plague hitting snowblowers this year. You're probably not in the mood to hear someone talk about this lightly but there's sort of a club forming here made up of owners who have lost partial or total drive to their new machines. There are various suggestions to solve the problem. Mine is to take the machine indoors to a heated place and let it dry thoroughly then perform all adjustments in your user's manual before trying again. Do the work yourself so you can be sure it was done properly. Paul
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Clay
Location: Wis
Joined: Dec 3, 2008
Points: 111
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #20 Jan 12, 2009 8:33 am |
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Has anyone had problems with their units losing forward or reverse drive? I Purchased one from Lowes (Model 1130SE). Within ten minutes of first using it in 10 Inches of light powdery snow, the unit would no longer move forward. I promptly returned it to Lowes. They did not have another unit, so I stopped by one of our small local Deere dealers. I spoke to their service tech who said some of the units in our area were shipped without the correct belt cover shield that mounts on the engine. OK, that sounded logical. So I decided to purchase another 1130 from the local dealer who installed the shield before the machine was delivered. I used my new 1130 today, and It has the same drive problem as the first one. Any time the chute is aimed to the right snow accumulates on the belt cover and frame. After about 5 minutes both forward and reverse drive fails. I believe there is a major design problem with the 1130 SE. It will be interesting to see what B&S and John Deere will do to rectify this problem.
Embury, there are two adjustments that control drive engagement that I know of on the John Deere 1130SE. One of them is an adjustable idler. This is easily accessed if you remove the plastic belt cover with two bolts. The pulley that is closest to the engine can be loosened and repositioned to allow more tension on the drive belt. My unit was slipping slightly and I asked the local service department since I didn't want to take any time in a service call, he just told me to put more tension on the belt. Many units don't have an adjustable idler these days and all parts are fixed. I took a screw driver to apply pressure to the pulley while I secured the pulley after first loosening it up and repositioning.
Their is also a linkage length adjustment on cable that actuates the drive lever. If you look at the bottom of where the cable comes off of the drive lever you will see different holes that adjust for different length. If this is too loose it won't engage the drive either. These are both assuming that your drive belt is not broken but can be easily checked when you check the pulley. Hope that this helps and again, I am very happy with my JD 1130 SE.
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trekguy
Joined: Jan 12, 2009
Points: 7
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #21 Jan 12, 2009 11:01 pm |
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Drive problems here, too. Brand new machine. Can stop at anytime. Starting forward or starting reverse... or even while in the middle of a long straight... it will just stop. I'll pull it and push it, fiddle with a bit, try forward and reverse a few times... then it will go again. No pattern that I could pick up on.... random stoppage. I was clearing an easy 3 inch fluff today... should have been an easy job.... but I was dead tired after wrestling with the thing to get it moving over and over and over. The drive engagement cable was a bit sloppy, so I adjusted it to the next hole.... didn't help a bit. Something is obviously slipping in there... can't believe it could be the friction disk, unless there's some grease or oil on there from the manufacturing/assembly process. ?? The traction drive belt has a spring tensioner pulley... no adjustment there. ?? I'm willing to try a couple of things before I bring it in. Any ideas? Disappointing.  |
trekguy
Joined: Jan 12, 2009
Points: 7
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #22 Jan 12, 2009 11:13 pm |
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Embury, there are two adjustments that control drive engagement that I know of on the John Deere 1130SE. One of them is an adjustable idler. This is easily accessed if you remove the plastic belt cover with two bolts. The pulley that is closest to the engine can be loosened and repositioned to allow more tension on the drive belt. My unit was slipping slightly and I asked the local service department since I didn't want to take any time in a service call, he just told me to put more tension on the belt. Many units don't have an adjustable idler these days and all parts are fixed. I took a screw driver to apply pressure to the pulley while I secured the pulley after first loosening it up and repositioning. Their is also a linkage length adjustment on cable that actuates the drive lever. If you look at the bottom of where the cable comes off of the drive lever you will see different holes that adjust for different length. If this is too loose it won't engage the drive either. These are both assuming that your drive belt is not broken but can be easily checked when you check the pulley. Hope that this helps and again, I am very happy with my JD 1130 SE. OK, I read this again. I haven't opened up the machine yet... but from the pictures in the manual... I don't see how that idler/tensioner can adjust... or even if it would matter. The pulley swings on that arm... and the tension is supplied by the spring, right? Would it even matter if the pulley could be moved one way or the other.... the tension is still supplied by the spring. ?? Help... I'm feeling quite stupid at the moment.
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trekguy
Joined: Jan 12, 2009
Points: 7
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #24 Jan 13, 2009 12:08 am |
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The weird thing is... it will go great guns for a while. The scraper will dig into a ridge, or whatever, and the tires will start digging like an 11 hp machine should. Then, two minutes later, it will slow to a stop for no apparent reason. Then it will go strong again. Makes me think that the cause is external... snow/water getting in and disrupting things. However, considering what the thing is supposed to be used for... that would be probably the most disappointing conclusion.
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Snowmann
Joined: Dec 3, 2003
Points: 494
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Re: John Deere 1130 SE
Reply #25 Jan 13, 2009 12:40 am |
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This may or may not help depending on if this is the problem or not.
Briggs' engines have a lot of bosses and standoffs on their PTO cover (behind the belt cover). The Tecumseh PTO covers were always very flat. Are all of the apparent problem units Briggs powered?
It's probably fair to say that nearly all contemporary 2 stage snow blower transmissions were designed with Tecumseh in mind. Even the Simplicity large and intermediate frame transmissions (and John Deere derivatives) are largely Murray in origin and pre-date both Briggs' latest snow engines and the acquisition of Simplicity Manufacturing (i.e. Simplicity and Murray used to use Tecumseh before they were acquired). That said, a Briggs powered snowblower may require special accommodation for sealing voids near the engine to keep moisture from penetrating to the drive plate and friction disk (especially for units that use an integral drive plate/pulley, which is most). As mentioned in this forum and elsewhere, similar problems may include Toro, Simplicity/John Deere, Ariens, and perhaps others. If a similar problem is experieinced, I would recommend checking parts manuals and with dealers to ensure that any intended accomodations are present and functioning.
Someone did mention some type of shield on the John Deere model. I'm not familiar with this shield, but the latest Ariens' model 921010 ST27LE and a few other models do have such special accomodation.
I hope this helps.
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