Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

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

Just finished up a phone call with a very pleasant and customer oriented gentleman in North Carolina who works in the marketing department at John Deere.  Talked to him about some of the mechanical issues with the snow thrower and then spoke about loosing sales over these issues with some people returning units.  If those units were returned and sales were lost because a $3.50 part was used instead of a $3.75 part being used, who did that benefit?  The numbers that I choose are just relative numbers and not exact but if one plastic cover fixes the issues, they should be using that cover on all machines not just the ones where people have the patience to take the unit into the service department.  Some people just get their money back and buy a competitive unit. 

I did tell him that many have noticed how Ariens machines are set up at Home Depot and many customers have not been happy with how their units were delivered.  I thought that John Deere was doing the right thing in that Big Box stores are a reality, but having a true John Deere service tech set the unit up was a good thing.  He was responsive to my needs as an end user and said that he would investigate further. 

I've been very pleased with the response that I have recieved from all of the John Deere reps.

Rick

I can only say I frequent Lowes and have seen the JD dealer truck parked there several times. At least now I know why. Last week I have been there and they just had five or six new JD 1130SE models assembeled parked in a row one behind another. I figured I must compare these against each other and now is my chance. So I picked on the chute control only because what else can you compare on a non runing machine. Results were as follows:
On all them the deflector portion worked both ways without hanging up. In the rotation part of the comparison they were all over the place. Only one worked flawlessly whatever you did with it. Another one did not work at all because the gear that comes in contact with the teeth on the chute was so far out in reality why and how could it work. The rest of them were all getting stuck and getting tough to move somewhere in the rotation due to IMPROPER adjustments made to them. So now we know its not a big deal to get home and spend some time and get it right but, if they brag that JD is behind the machines in lowes then I would expect much more when your not going to get it.
In 2005 I bought my Ariens in the big box store of "HD" and only in an unopened box due to the following. I was in the market for a blower and stopped by my local HD one evening about 9 pm only to have witnessed two part timers in they're late teens racing against each other assembling a couple of skids of boxed blowers. I observed lots of forcing,bending and to say the least they were using power tools which gives very little feedback of whats going on when you have'nt a clue. I watched for a while and nobody came to check on them so what are the chances of those machines being trouble free.

Allan

hirschallan wrote:

Allen, I initially had a concern about the chute control as well.  As you noted some in the stores were smoother than others.  Remember that it is a worm gear that meshes with a PAINTED GEAR.  When I used mine a couple of times it smoothed out very nicely indeed.  The other thing about the chute control that concerned me was that it wasn't a super fast rotation between one side and the other.  That is no issue for me at this time and I really like that there are no cables on this connection.  The chute rotation is a solid shafter with a knuckle linking the two portions and not a hi tech cable or other wiz bang thing that keeps freezing up on people.  I really like low tech on this because I think it will be durable.  I wish that I could post pictures on this site and I have some up of this connection.  It might not be for everyone and I am not saying that none of them were put together incorrectly of the ones that you looked at, just that my particular unit smoothed out very nicely with a little use between the worm gear and the painted gear.

<BR> Clay wrote: Clay,
Its not the paint that was the problem, as you have mentioned there were not one but two knuckle joints which means that what I have on my Ariens in one long rod was on those machines 3 individual rods. That being the fact you have more to fiddle with to get it right and none of them (non working) had it right. Besides, the teeth on the chute are very small which makes the gear lineup much more critical. Take a look at your chute I think only two teeth are in contact so not much room for error.

Allan

Fair enough Allen, I didn't see the machines that you were looking at I just know that my machine was stiff to rotate and not very smooth the first time that I used it and now it is as smooth as butter. 

I did pick up my machine today from JD at the promised time (day and a half total in the shop) and I am a happy camper.  When Matt from B&S Tech services called the local JD dealer for me to explain the possible solutions to my issues he had the local techs not only remove the oil from the hex shaft, friction disk and friction plate areas and replace that oil with a very think coat of grease that would stay in place better than the oil but he had them actually rough up the pressure plate area with 120 grit sandpaper to that the friction dsik has a better surface to make contact with.  They thought that the plate might be too smooth. 

When I picked up the unit I didn't load it up right away but rather went to the first area of the parking lot that had not been plowed.  There was 18 to 24" of snow that was HARD in this area.  I went right at it and while the pile of snow did stop of the forward motion the wheels did not stop spining.  With the full weight of the machine on the wheel and the forward progess stopped the wheels still turned.   I did find some loose snow and she plowed through it very nicely with no hesitation.  The forward motion was positive indeed.  Now, this unit just came out of a heated shop and not my frozen garage.  I ran it around the parking lot for a few short minutes.  What will make me feel better is using the unit at my house in a good 8 to 12" snow fall in which I plan on doing all of the neighbors drives and walks to put it through a good test.  After I do a couple of these and it behaves, I will feel better. 

I know I sound like a broken record, but good response time, good customer service and the problem SEEMS to be fixed.  Life is good and I feel like buying a John Deere hat.

Rick

Clay wrote: Rick
While your at it get the gloves too.

Clay wrote:
If I were you I would check that the bottom of the chute, underneath, is packed with grease.   It wouldn't be so bad
if you had a heated garage but you say it's freezing in yours.  What can happen is that if you blow some wet snow
it can build up around the base of the chute and then freeze solid when it gets really cold.  Then the chute will no
longer turn.  I had this happen to me last year and I had to use a hair dryer everytime to thaw out the base of the
chute before I could start using the machine.



To me this is a bit like tires on a race car.  In wet conditions they need grooves to let the water squeeze out so the
rubber makes contact.  In your case you're putting the grooves in the plate which has the same effect.  But there's
less traction to be had with grooves (or dimples or whatever) than there is with a completely smooth surface. 
Racecars use treadless slicks for dry conditions as this offers the most traction.  My older Ariens has a completely
smooth aluminum plate, kept dry by the design, and it has great traction.

A rough surface on the plate will also cause the friction disk to wear faster, especially in the low gears which includes
reverse. As far as oil goes, a rough surface will do nothing if you don't let oil get on the disk in the first place.

Rough surfaces and pulley covers are band-aids needed because they moved the drive plate outside the box.

Paul

Well I just got done changing the oil and stuff and I cleaned the drive plate with brake clean and disk also took the cable up one notch I will say I think I got a more positive feel when I tested it out hopefully we will get a signifigant snow so I can try it out reverse still feels a little weak but forward seems really strong .....

good morning, like i said in previous posts, my 928e has the intermittant drive issue, talked to john deere and explained what i did with blocking the snow from getting on to the drive pulley, which made a big difference with the slipping issue, the service department said that it wasn't needed, and that it was a set up issue, i told them that they were the ones that set it up, and that i had to readjust it after i brought it home, the cable was sagging right out of the gate, they made an appointment for me to bring it into the shop this morning, explained to the mechanic what was happening and that it was intermittant, went in the front while he worked on it, looking arround at the 4 prepped machines sitting on the floor, i asked the service manager if these were ready to go and he answered yes, i asked him if he was joking? all 4 had the cables sagging, the small wheel the cables go over were to tight, would not turn, i told him that was the way my machine was delivered, he looks at the machines, looks at me, goes back to his office gets a note pad and starts to write down the things that i point out to him, at this point the mechanic comes in,and tells me my machine is ready, he had it for 20 minutes, asked what was wrong with it, answered the cable  was out of adjustment and he had to clean the drive disc.  i told him again that it was intermittant, and that i had done that , and it did not solve the problem, but that i would give it a try, back my truck up to the door, hook up the ramps, start it up, put it in 1rst geer, drive it accross to the door, hit the ramps and it stops dead in its tracks, wiil not go up the ramps, the wheels dont even attempt to try, i look at him, he looks at me, i ask what he thinks the problem is,  he goes and talks to the service department, i walk back in the front to the parts department counter and wait, the service manager come over and tells me they had this problem on 2 out of the 60 machines they sold this season, it was the friction disc and they would replace it right now, 1/2 hour later no problem going up ramps, so hopfully it is fixed, waiting for the next dump of snow to find out, now if it turns out to be the friction disc, which i think is possible, was this only during a certain point of production, all those with this problem, take a look at the bottom right corner of the back of the machine, the production date is there, mine was built 062608, maybe we can nail this down to a certain production period?
thanks, Gary

Does the friction disk say "Made in Canada"? Should be stamped on the metal part.

PK