Tate

My 2010 JD 1130 was a terrible machine!  What a mistake buying that machine.   Friction disk continued to slip despite many trips to the dealer for repair, sealing parts kits, attempts to seal it myself but still slipped.  Also use to break auger belts instead of shear pins.   Total junk!  Many moons ago I had a small Toro for years ... never a problem even taking on big snow and snow banks.  Then the best machine was a Bobcat that I had for 35 years.  Great machine, never never a problem with it, always worked and started with one or two pulls (B&S cast iron sleeve).  The only problem with that machine was the lack of any safety devices which is why I finally got rid of it and bought the worse machine ever, the JD. Criminal.... I paid around 1,500 for what I thought was a well designed well build machine.  Junk....  I wouldn't even consider selling it to anybody .... after pulling and pushing around during Nemo I had it.  Brought it to the dealer for another round of repairs and then went elsewhere and bought a Honda HS1332TSA which I pick up tomorrow.

So to answer your question .... " Did we miss out on 2005-2011 John Deere Snow Blowers?"   Yes you did and you don't know how lucky you are!

Three years ago when I bought my 1130 I thought I was buying what was a well built reliable machine and would be the last snowblower I would purchase for along time.  I was so wrong ..... for 3 years this machine has been nothing but trouble.  Neither the dealer nor I could stop the friction disk drive slipping issue.  First Lowes came out when the machine was new and readjusted and cleaned the disk .... still slipped.  The off to the JD dealer multiple times, they installed the seal kit and varies adjustments and still would eventually slip.  I tried sealing with silicone sealant still slipped.  The other problem with the machine is the auger belt broke with frequency.  The shears pins (JD orig part) sheared once and I bet the belt broke 4 times.  Dealer tried to adjust and fix but continued to happened. 

Mass just had the blizzard of 2013 ..... JD 1130 ready to go ..... after the typical 30-40 minutes of use the drive started to slip in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, r1 and r2.   In most cases putting it into 5th or 6th would dry the friction disk enough for reverse to work and the lower ratio but not all and found myself dragging the machine backwards many time over the 5 hours that it took to clear my driveway.  In addition I could only cut 5 or 6'' of 30'' high snow each pass and the auger couldn't even throw it across my driveway with only a little wet and heavy at the bottom.  This meant that after working my way across the driveway I had to double back and clear the 3 or 4 inches that couldn't get thrown out of my driveway which is not a  full double width. 

My son plows snow but my driveway can not be plowed due to pitch and no where to push the snow.  With the machine being so fragile I can't let either of my sons use due to concerns it will break AGAIN and then I am in trouble if my truck is snowed in and snowblower is broken. 

So long story short ..... I have had with this JD product once and for all.  Yesterday I went out and bought a Honda HS1332TAS. Like I use to tell my customers when buying expensive Ski's or Bike .... once the ouch of the cost if forgotten I will be happy with the purchase for long time.

Good-bye JD..... very disappointed with the design and performance.

Thank you for the response.

The dealer called this morning and said it is ready to be picked up.  They said they replaced the belt and loosened the engagement cable and tested it.  Should be interesting if it is really fixed and will the belt now be to loose and slip.  Not very happy with this machine.

Anyone know how to replace the belt?  I guy I work with has an old machine and I overheard him talking this morning saying that he replaced the belt on his old machine in around 5 minutes.  Two bolts the machine splits open on hinges and the shaft disengages, slip the new belt on and good to go.  For some reason I bet the JD is a pain to replace the belt.

Not to happy with my 1130 .... still have the friction wheel slipping problem ..... had the dealer install the seal kit but that seems to fall off every time I open the belt cover to see if I did break another auger belt.  I am going to follow the advise on another thread and use some sealant under the engine and get all the openings and then install my own foam or use some sort of sealing tape/duct tape.

 That aside the real problem is that since the machine ingested a 3 inch rock and broke the auger belt the first time I've broken 2 more since then.  The last was the other night .... after clearing two large driveways I was about to put the 1130 away and I went to clear a 8'' high strip of wet slushy snow which should be no problem at all and that broke a belt.  I suspect it may have already been weak or frayed.

I had the dealer replace the first two and the last time they had to bend the blades/auger as they were slightly rubbing but I still broke another belt yesterday.  There has been lots of snow in Ma. this year and the machine has worked hard and works good when it works but this belt thing and drive slipping is urking me .... especially for an expensive relatively new machine.  This one replaced a Bobcat Snowblower that I had since 1971 and never had a problem at all.... never.  This machine use it a couple times and it breaks a belt.... fix it ... same thing.

So my question is does anyone have any thoughts on why the auger belt may be breaking?  Seems odd the shear pins don't let go first.  Also is it a difficult job to replace the belts?  I don't really have much room in the garage but if easy enough I could try to change the belt myself.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Tate

Sean thanks for the link on the parts manual.  I did find that earlier but the only sites that reference owner manuals seem suspect and want a monthly fee subscription.... not.

Tate