Mowed the lawn for the first time in a while with my L118 last night. First thing I noticed was how loud the deck was. Pulled off the deck and my right side deck spindle has left to right play (i'm talking the whole spindle, not the actual bearings; i'm thinking a couple of the spindle bolts are sheared off). The left side spindle wasn't in much better shape, neither rotate smoothly. Also, one of the idler pulleys has some wobble to it again (replaced that 2 years ago). So it comes down to this, I need to rebuild it again. However I would like to upgrade to better quality components from higher $ deere mowers if at all possible to maximize component life on the ol' L118. Any suggestions on where to start? What I usually do it stop by my local Deere dealer and we compare X300 series parts to L-series parts to determine compatibility. I'd like to compare X300 spindles to L-series spindles as well as the idler pulleys (I do know the X300 has a totally different pulley arrangement but it's worth a shot). Whatever I do I'll keep ya'll posted on the project, I have yet to find a deck upgrade thread online for the Deere L-series machines.
I have attached a picture for reference, also, what's a thread without pictures?!?!
2005 John Deere L118 w/425 hours
I have attached a picture for reference, also, what's a thread without pictures?!?!
2005 John Deere L118 w/425 hours