John Deere 1130 SE Original Message Jan 7, 2009 1:07 pm
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.
Location: Minnesota
Joined: Oct 16, 2009
Points: 196
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #223 Dec 30, 2009 3:30 pm
Another thing I noticed is that it will jump into a higher gear by itself. I think this is more of a problem with the spring and lever assembly. I will have to look under the dash to see if I can tighten up whatever holds the gear selector into the notches.
You are exactly correct. There is a bolt with a spring that needs tightening on the gear shift lever under the dash. It will hold it in the proper gear when adjusted correctly.
I love all power equipment from lawn mowers to snow blowers. My favorite pieces of equipment are 2 cycle Lawn Boys.
Location: Elburn, IL
Joined: Nov 21, 2009
Points: 65
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #224 Dec 30, 2009 3:33 pm
Update on my transmission changing gears on its own: Under the gear selector there are 3 13mm nuts that hold the gear selector in place. I tried just tightening the tension bolt for it (one that has the spring), but that didn't help. If you loosen the 3 13mm nuts it allow you to move the gear selector into the gear selector notches on the dash tighter. You have to take the bolt that adjusts the tension on the shoot height adjuster to get to one of the nuts. If you look under the dash, you will see what I mean. It works much better now and really holds itself in the proper gear. Catt: thanks for mentioning those dime-sized holes under the engine. I didn't know those could leak. They are all sealed up now. I also took a hair drier to the belt cover to soften it up a bit and pulled it out so it won't rub the belts. Hopefully it is enough. I don't think it was a problem with the thicker weatherstripping as much as it was that the plastic belt cover was a bit bowed-in.
My headlight has lasted 2 times after putting rubber between the headlight bracket and the machine and is still working. It may be just a fluke with the other bulbs. I didn't look at the original one that burned out very closely, but the last one the burned out has a little white spot on the bulb. Maybe I accidently touched it and caused it to burn out.
Catt: Thanks for posting all of those pics. I took my belts and pulleys off and forgot where a washer came from. Luckily you had a picture showing where it went.
I love all power equipment from lawn mowers to snow blowers. My favorite pieces of equipment are 2 cycle Lawn Boys.
Location: Elburn, IL
Joined: Nov 21, 2009
Points: 65
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #225 Dec 31, 2009 11:33 am
I think I solved the problem of my headlight burning out. Today when I was using the snowblower, the headlight wasn't working. CRAP, NOT AGAIN! A bit later I noticed that the headed handgrips weren't working either. I thought there might be an in-line fuse that blew. When I was done snowblowing, I was looking at the wires and thought I saw in-line fuses by the starter. They were just connectors that looked like in-line fuses. I followed the wires around and found one of them was broken. It is a wire that goes from the starter to under the carb and through the engine. Luckily it had broken off with just enough room for me to put a heatshrink crimp connector on. Problem solved. It must have been broken just enough to keep burning my headlights out, but not broken enough to cause it to quit sending power completely.
Location: Minnesota
Joined: Oct 16, 2009
Points: 196
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #226 Dec 31, 2009 7:58 pm
Good job Swoods! If you still have problems with the belt cover you can add a piece of angled sheet metal for strength. Mine was rubbing slightly and I added the galvanized sheet metal with two stainless steel screws. It doesn't flex now.Just make sure the sheet metal isn’t too big or it might interfere with the belts and pulleys.
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #228 Jan 3, 2010 10:15 am
I’m happy to say that my 1130 is working flawlessly.I got in Dec 2008.It started slipping within 5 minutes when it first was delivered. The addition of the correct parts from JD (Back Plate), some weather stripping on the front of the belt cover, and clear roof patch over all the holes and behind the bottom of the back plate resolved all the issues. It has not slipped at all this winter. What I can’t believe is that JD and Briggs shipped the units this year with the same problems.Very poor management and quality control! Hopefully they will get off thier butts before the go out of business.
Location: Minnesota
Joined: Oct 16, 2009
Points: 196
Re: John Deere 1130 SE Reply #229 Jan 7, 2010 9:37 pm
It's really too bad that Deer, Briggs or Simplicity didn't get the transmission water problem solved from the start on the 1130. Because now that mine is sealed, this is a very good snowblower. I used it again today and it's a joy to use.
Have you thought about adding some weight to the front of the 1130 to compensate for the cab? Most of the time it digs down to pavement, but some places (car's tire tracks, etc) it will ride up unless I pull up on the handle bars. 20#s up front couldn't hurt, but I wonder what would work but still look good. Maybe hang a 10# round weight painted green (like for a weight lifing bar) on each side of the auger housing would do the trick. It is better balanced with the cab, but I think it loses some of it's effectiveness from the weight loss up front.
By the way, mine is working great now too after sealing everything up. I just haven't had deep enough snow to use the drift cutters! You're up in MN aren't you?
I've thought about adding some weight too. My other snowblower has a cab too and it needs a lot more weight and is significantly more of a problem than the Deere. I've seen people add lifting weights to the front of the machine, but I think it looks terrible. The link below is an Ariens weight for this very purpose. I've also thought about adding weight by changing the drift cutters to much thicker steel since these are way out front. Maybe 3/8" thick would work. I'd paint these black just like the existing cutters.
Swoods, I think we have a couple options for additional weight. One is to add a weight similar to the Ariens. The 1130 already has a bolt hole for the auger support. We could use that same hole and add a steel weight at that location. The other option is steel plates which replace the existing drift cutters. The weight of the cab is 10-15 lbs. but keep in mind some of that weight is closer to the wheels than the weight we would be adding.
Here are some calculations for these, but dimensions can be changed if necessary.
Ariens Steel Plate or similar mounted with auger support bolt: Length = 22.5" Width = 4" Thickness = 3/8" Weight = 9.56 Lbs.
Drift cutter weights (This weight would be further forward): Length = 22" Width = 2.25" Thickness = .375" Weight (two total) = 10.5 Lbs.
I imagine I can make something just like that steel plate. It would look better mounted to the underside of the auger housing where it can't be seen as long as it doesn't interfere with the auger and snow movement. I would hate to spend $70 on a piece of steel :)
The heavier drift cutters is a good idea. Unfortunetly, I leave mine off to make it a bit easier to move around the garage since the most I have snow blowed is 8" deep anyways. But hey, I could just aim them down out of the way (straight down along the edge of the auger housing). That is a dang good idea you had. I noticed on the new 1130's they are held on with wing nuts, isn't our's with a single bolt? I have seen one snow blower that had very large wing nuts holding them on. The kind you can grab with your whole hand. That would be ideal if we were going to put on heavier driftcutters on and wanted the ease of movement without needing a tool. Just like these on Lawn-Boys http://cgi.ebay.com/LAWNBOY-New-Handle-Wing-Knob-Nut-607544-LAWN-BOY-Mower_W0QQitemZ400095363298QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d278ac0e2
