Justalurker & TomPlum - I promised I'd follow-up with an update. Sure enough, that GX345 fell thru. Turns out it was being packaged up, with another 5 to 10 riding mowers/tractors, to be sold to a Canadian wholesaler. The weird part was that I was taking my 12-year old to a hockey game 100 miles from where I originally saw the GX345. Up the street from the rink was a JD dealer, and it happened to be owned by the same dealer (they have 3 locations)...For kicks, I drove around the back of the building and sitting on a pallet was the GX345! Sitting next to it, on 2 other pallets, where the deck and the blower....I got a chance to inspect more closely. As I said previously, things happen for a reason - I am VERY glad I didn't buy this tractor. But, the story gets better. Short version is that I kept my eyes out for a used x5-- series. I happened to see an x530 go up for sale, but it was about 2.5 hours from the house. After conversing with the seller (who was in FL), turns out the tractor was built late May 2011, sold in late July 2011 but it was not known how many hours were on it. I took a leap of faith and committed to buy it, sight unseen (well, just 1 picture). The best part? It was originally sold by the same dealership that had that GX345 (their 3rd location!). I drove in a snowstorm, a couple of days ago, to pick it up. The tractor has only 37 hours and still has 3 1/2 years of warranty on it! I won't publish what I bought it for - but, you can do the math. I paid 1/2 what was paid for it, last July....A nice deal and a very nice silver lining to the craziness I went thru. Patience - and cash - pay off! x530 is now being outfitted with a 47" blower, grill cover, 4 quiktatch weights and chains. Thanks again for all of your help!

Might be related to this recall. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06577.html

Here is the page from the service manual. Looks like you can just drop the steering shaft enough to get the sector gear out.

I purchased an X-320 new in March. I used it to mow around my house(about 1/3 acre sodded) and down on 3.7 acres of vacant property we have elsewhere. The 3.7 acres is all coastal Bermuda. I cut it about every two weeks, amassing about 60hrs on the machine since March. First, it does a decent enough job on the yard. My biggest complaint is that the side discharge is a real hassle, and I'm going to get a mulch kit for it next spring. My 3.7 acres plot is a little hilly and very rough. In some spots, rougher than a stucco bath tub. So far the X-320 has been for the most part up to the task. Early spring when we were getting lots of water, I had to mow more often, or it would get about impossible. The thing bogged down and shut off more than once. Even taking shallow passes, it just couldn't evacuate the grass fast enough. It was tall grass, in some cases, very tall. When the rains stopped, it was able to handle 2 weeks growth much easier. No surprise there. My only issue is that even when it has plenty of power to cut, it leaves really bad stripes when the grass is taller than about 4". It drives me nuts, and I've thought about getting a tow behind finish mower, just so the grass is all the same height. It looks more like someone brush hogged it, than mowed it with a nice mower. Transmission wise, it seems really solid. I'm a big guy, and it's never had an issue hauling me up and over some of the hills. The tires where a little wimpy for my use, as there are some thorny areas, and for a while I was pumping tires up before every mow. I started using slime, and what a godsend that stuff is. It's nice to not have to inflate tires every few days. The only other issue is that the mower threw belt a few weeks ago. It wasn't getting bogged down or anything, it just popped off and separated. JD replaced it under the warranty, and were very nice about it. And it's worked fine since. Overall, the mower has done what it's designed to do, but I'm not sure I bought the right tool for the job. I'm not jumping up and down thinking this thing is great. I'm not bummed out thinking it was a bad purchase. I'm really neutral on it. If I had it to do over, I think I would have given the cub 2554 more of a look. I had a bad experience at the local cub dealer when I walked in to look at them, and I just walked out, and drove down to the Deere dealership. I might not have done that, if I could do it over. Might still have bought the X-320, but I think I'd like to have given the cub more of a chance. So to sum up: Mowing the yard = acceptable, but get get a bagger or mulch kit. Mowing tall weeds and grass on rough acreage = it's tough enough, but the deck really doesn't do a bang up job on the quality of cut. Many of these things might be common to all riding mowers. I don't know, it's my first one. :) Hope that helps!