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

Thanks for the info.

 I guess my question is if the 1130se was shipped without these parts even though its a inexpensive fix shouldn't they be provideing these parts at no charge. As mentioned earlier I used metal duct tape looks like tin foil but much thicker sticks good in cold or hot applications. I taped both in front of plastic belt cover and back and the problem went away. Like another poster mentioned these are bandaids. John Deere should send out parts to consumer for free. My problem they have 2 year warranty but you have to bring the blower to them or pay in home service call on a snowblower with little hours on it. Management at lowes took 300.00 off my machine so my cost is 1200. I will live with the tape knowing I have a machine second too none at that price.

Don

You are correct.   Briggs who makes the 1130 has a kit that they will send to the dealer free of charge. They sent some to my dealer.  I don't think they know that the cover can leak where there is a small hole for the flexible hinge.  

Well, I tried to snow blow again today, only this time I thought I would try something EMBRY said... He mentioned trouble started when blowing off to the right, This is my main direction as well. I thought to try blowing to the left as much as possible and it reduced the slippage 70%. Another side note from that was there was 80% less accumalated snow on top the engine this time, a rareity... Looking closer at this I noticed when the impellor discharges the snow,  it rather slings it to the right side a bit, in its natural momentum. Some of it is coming straight up and it is never guided by the chute in its direction because the base of the chute is open... From the operators position, I can see the snow going straight up without touching the chute, this causes the snow to spray about. On the other hand, when discharged to the left it reverses the throwing direction of the snow by the impellor, and  it discharges cleanly. Some kind of sheet metal or plastic colar would likely clean up this spraying of snow all about....your thoughts!!!!!!!!

Yes I noticed the same thing about blowing right and you wear most of the snow ,I noticed also no slippage problem when blowing in forward position I go out to end of driveway and then blow across the eod and dont seem to have issues but start making passes up and down and the slippage will start so I am going to call local JD dealer and ask about what they are doing for the fix I got this machine at lowes so dont know how receptive to helping they are going to be but we will see and then might just order the plate and seal deal and fix myself and see what happens ..... 

I just bought a JD 928E at Lowes. The only complaint the I have is that, intermittently, the drive slips in any gear as soon as any real load is put on it. It is a pain to drag or push it to get it going again. Is this is going to be ongoing problem?  If so, I think I will return it. (Otherwise, it is great - thing can really throw some snow; also, the B&S starts first pull everytime and runs flawlessly.)

yes sir you will have issue probably  I returned my Jd 1130 today and bought a cub cadet 930 from a dealer not a big box

Hello Everyone.  I've been following this discussion b/c I have a 928E that has had the same slippage problems, and for around $2 in weatherstripping, I have a simple solution that might help.

 I was clearing my driveway in the last snowstorm, and it was raining/sleeting at the same time.  I almost immediately lost my drive.  Took it back into the garage, and removed the belt cover.  The problem is, the rear of where the cover seats, is where the metal from the snowblower frame dips down.  Water was going down this metal, and guess what?  The friction disc is right below.  It gets wet = loss of drive.  Once you take off the cover and see the relationship between the edge of the frame and position of the friction disc, you will understand why it so easily gets water on the disc.

So I dried up the water and cleaned up the friction disc using brake cleaner.  Then, I used a strip of weather stripping that I attached to the frame.  It is a little tricky putting this weather stripping in there, it goes behind the pulleys and the spring, and just lies flat on that metal edge that dips down.  Make sure it does not touch the engine.  Once on, it will help block water from simply falling onto the friction disc.  It works fine now, and the friction disc is able to do its job w/o getting wet and slipping.

It is part #46 in this diagram (but I just used regular weather stripping):  http://www.partstree.com/parts/?lc=snapper&mn=E115328E+(1695096)+32%22+11.5+HP+Two+Stage+Large+Frame+Snow+Thrower+Euro+Series+8&dn=11122

As mentioned in this thread, this part should of came standard with our blowers, but it didn't.  I suspect JD is fully aware of this problem, but doesn't want to pay a repairman to come out and apply a $2 piece of weather stripping.  There should be a better way to protect the friction disc from getting wet.  JD could have put a slight lip on the edge of the metal, to prevent water from just falling in.

I need a new snow blower.  Most dealers have sold out of snow blowers in the area (southern NH) and are now stocking spring equipment.  Up until now I've gotten by with a 1970 Ariens 7HP 24" model.  A local dealer quoted me out $230 just for the part that has broken with a potential $500 more if the augers or drive shaft break while they try to get them apart (they have rusted together).

While looking for a new snowblower I came across the John Deere 1130SE at a local Lowes.  They had several left but most had repair tags for "wheels slipping".  They supposedly have been fixed (the sales rep mentioned the oil/grease on the friction disk but did not mention the melting snow leaking onto it).  Now to the point - they offered to sell me a John Deere 1130SE for $1,000.  They went right to that price so I suspect there may be even more wiggle room than that.

Given the problems with this model, and what appears to be a known fix (install the missing parts or weather stripping) what do you think is a fair price for this snow blower?  Would you buy one for $1,000?

 Hello natf,

 I own the 1130se and was able to talk the management down to 1200.00 after mine had drive problems. I thought that was a steal 1,000 is a true winning price. Look at my previous post I sealed with tape problem gone. You will not find a blower with this kind of motor and torque for less than 1500.00. Just my thoughts others would rather pay 1700.00 and not put a small fix to there new blower. I do understand that some people feel you pay good money and there should be no problems.

Don

Aside from The Great Drive Problem, this appears to be one of the better machines out there. If you're willing to tinker a bit - or perhaps even talk the dealer into replacing the "missing" Part #46 mentioned above - that's an awesome price.

But if you're willing to tinker a bit you might consider taking one of the slipping-drive-repair-tagged ones at the dealers off his hands for, say, $700 or so. Find one that's otherwise as-new, fit the weatherproofing, and you'll have a hell of a machine for just over half price.

I'm not in the market for a blower at this time, but if I were I'd grab one that somebody hates because "they got a brand new machine with problems" - then fix it for a few bucks.