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

Catt,  it's nice to see someone take such good care of their equipment.  Most people nowadays just leave their stuff out in the rain and throw it away when it requires basic repairs. 

I too purchased the John Deere 1130 SE and have just experienced the drive problem for the first time tonight (and second, third, and fourth times).  I was able to get mine to re engage after pulling and pushing it around a few times but definately not acceptable.  All of this after my initial fuel blockage problem. 

Last year's models came with a reservoir under the gas cap for adding fuel stabilizer.  The cap on the reservoir fell off into my gas tank and blocked the fuel line.  The manager of the lawn and garden dept at Lowes told me several people have had this problem and they would have John Deere take care of it right away.  They did free of charge and I walked away happy.  This all happened prior to "The Great Drive Problem" exlained earlier in this discussion. 

Anyways, I plan on taking my blower back to Lowes (Rogers, MN) tomorrow with this entire discussion printed out.  I see a few previous posters had to pay arond $200 to get this fixed as it wasn't covered under warranty.  That is total BS that I will not tolerate.

I wil give Lowes/John Deere a chance to fix this free of charge before I get too worked up.  I will let you know what happened later this week. 

ccginmn wrote:

Welcome to the forum CCGINMN, Go up to http://jddealer.deere.com/scharber/ across 101 from Lowes. They can fix your machine. They did the fix to mine and my friends 1130SE. Tell the service MGR that its slipping and you want both updates! My 1130SE blows snow great, but it has slipped 3 times so far even with the updates. It only lasted a few seconds but WTF is this all about. It slipped after about 1 hour of use in the first storms snow. It was only slipping in 2 gear and was not a issue because it worked after I moved it up to the 3 gear. I love the way this blower is able to scrap the driveway down to tar. Talk about torque, this motor in the deep compacted snow really seems to be more than able to take care of business. I took the blower down the road after the plow came through, down to the mail boxes. It kicked ass in the heavy snow. Seems to like to drink the 93 unleaded no ethanol. Went through almost a gallon with several uses. I did get the gas cap that shows gas level. Easy to move around while under power, Like that you can reverse in free wheel and pull the blower back. The reverse gearing is slow and weak.

What does the clutch update consist of? 

I just called the local John Deere dealership (Schaber & Sons) and they are aware of the problem and will fix it under warranty for free.  The dealer was even aware of the multiple posts on this website. 

I do love this blower when it is working properly.  It's just the right size to muscle around -another 50 pounds and it would be too big.  I am actually looking forward to our next significant snowfall.  Hopefully it doesn't happen for a week or so as mine will be in for repair.  I will let you know if I run into any more problems as I am very good at belly-aching.

I'm not too surprised the slipping is still occuring.  Although Deere significantly improved the belt cover seal on the engine side, there is still a significant opening on the chute side.  When I removed my belt cover to see if water was getting into the belt area I definitely saw water and I know some of it was coming from that side.  If it gets on the pulley that drives the auger it will sling it around.  In addition, under the engine are many holes for mounting other engines.  I don't know if these are causing a problem but my concern would be melting snow running down the engine, getting underneath and then dripping into the chain case area.  At the very least my suggestion is to add the 1/2" foam on the chute side of the belt guard.  Beyond that, time will tell if other holes need to be closed.  I fully believe this can be solved, but it would have been better if Simpicity/Deere would have solved this.  Since I closed nearly every available opening, I will let everyone know if I have any slipping.  I just need it to snow so that I can play with my toy!

Catt, you know, although the water seal problem is a bit of a pain in the a*#, it is sort of fun trying to solve it on our own.  Do you know what the clutch update is?  Someone previously mentioned that there are 2 updates.  I assume that the water seal kit is the one, but what is the other, clutch? 

Swoods wrote:
Swoods, I agree totally.  I'm not sure what the clutch update is.  Maybe Lanningjw can help with this question.

Catt wrote:

Catt, I am gonna do that fix also with the weather strip on the auger side, I can see the belts through it now, gotta be leaking snow in that area. Seems like a good idea. Did you put the glue side on the plastic or metal? Love the gas cap you showed in a earlier post. OEM parts work great. The blower start on the first pull, have not use the electric start. Will change oil when it gets the 5 hours on the engine, are you going with synthetic oil? I think it snowed more on the western edge of the TC than STP. Thanks for the picture,

lanningjw wrote:
lanningjw, I used a black marker to draw a line on the plastic belt cover for reference.  Then I removed the cover and attached the foam glue side on the plastic.  I thought that if I need to replace the foam in the future, that I can take off the plastic belt guard and it might be a little easier to replace.  I will definitely use synthetic oil when I replace it.