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

Darn!  It hasn't snowed in around 2 weeks.  Maybe I should just move to Alaska during the wintertime. 

Hello, I had been following this forum with regards to buying the 1130 (of course I found the forum AFTER I bought it) :) Anyhow, this thing is amazing...got 8" of (extremely) heavy wet snow yesterday and I had no problems...save the 1 shear pin. Oh and my drive was slipping a bit...both reverse gears and the first couple of gears. I tried 6th gear and it went no problem, then back to the lower gears, and had no further problems. What I did... Wife needed to get out, so first thing in the morning I snow blew (past tense)? No problems except the one shear pin. I knew the snow was going to continue, so I had done the bare minimum, and waited until early afternoon to finish. Second attempt was when I had some drive problems. This is the 2009 model, with the heated handgrips and such...and I had read on these forums (or I thought I had), the water leakage was fixed on the new models? This is the second time I have used it, bought it a month ago new from Lowe's. Any suggestions? Mentioned it to the JD dealer where I got replacement shear pins yesterday, and he knew nothing about it, and suggested I go through Lowe's warranty. Issue is, I don't have a vehicle for carting around the blower. Thanks! Josh

The JD stores are the ones who service the units.  Lowes doesn't service them so I don't think it would do much good to bring it back there.  They would just end up sending it to the JD dealer anyways.

Here is what you need to tell the JD dealer:

I finally installed my hour meter.  I mounted it under the control panel out of sight and where it's a little more protected from the elements.

I made a steel bracket with opening for the meter and two mounting holes. The steel is .055" thick.



Painted with meter mounted. This meter has a compression fitting on the back to hold it in place.



Mounted under the control panel with two existing holes that were already on the 1130.



Another view.  It looks a little tilted in the picture, but it's just an optical illusion.

Another great modification, Catt.  By the way, I got another Lawn-Boy last weekend.  It is a 1989 model with the F engine.  Started up on the first pull after a shot of starting fluid even though it hadn't ran in around 12 years.  I keep a wanted ad on Craigslist looking for free Lawn-boys. 

Wow another Lawn Boy!  I might try that too. 

Just change 5 hour break in oil to Mobile one synthetic. I think the BS engine is running smother and quieter now with the new oil! Starts on the first or second pull after hitting the primer a couple of time. I only have to crank the choke one click and the engine fires up.

This is my first post here, hello to all!

I'm a mechanic at a JD dealership and I purchased a 1130se this year.  I have good luck with my machine, but like many of you, it would occationally slip in the lower gears (F or R). 

From what I have seen at my location in central ND, Deere doesn't have anything for solutions.

After reading the info posted here I sealed up the gearcase underneath the engine.  I used JD "combine sealant" (yes, that's what it's called).  I used it since it matches the green paint and it costs less than $10.  Once we finally got some snow I am happy to report that the slippage problem is gone.

Locally we have come up with another solution for the slippage problem.........there are two springs that actually press the rubber drive wheel into the steel wheel.  The are located at the very bottom of transmission housing.  Remove those two springs and take them to your local hardware store and match them up with replacement springs that have a larger wire diameter (they will be stiffer and will press the wheels together tighter), but are still the same length.  To get the springs installed you may have to remove the engagement cable (I did) and re-adjust the length of the cable once you get the new springs on.  The handle will be slightly stiffer, but not horrible.  Total cost for this mod is less than $5.

Hope this helps!

Welcome unrulee!  I also considered changing these two springs if the sealing hadn't solved my problem.  I never tried it but was wondering if the extra pressure would help.  I'm going to leave mine with only the sealant  since it's been working great, but here's a picture to help if anyone else want's to try unrulee's spring suggestion.  These springs are the limiting factor for the amount of pressure the aluminum disc applies to the rubber drive wheel. 

I've been doing a little experimenting with the chute.  I wanted to see if I can cut down on the amount of snow that drops on the machine from the chute.  The idea is to keep the snow stream going up the chute rather than some of it flying out due to momentum from the impeller rotation.  I'm not sure how well this will work especially with slush, but if it's a problem I can remove it.  I used the same plastic that I used to line the back of the chute.