Land owners east of me and west one west has 5203 only mows 10 acres with it 509 mower does great job but when new fuel filter stopup about 10 hours on meter. One on east he got it feb. 07 5103 his filter stopup to about 20 hours on meter we changed it then fuel pump silnoid would not turn fuel on sometime at starting but retires and start. Took in for repairs fuel system had loader mounted I toldd that if engage ground needed water in rea tire he did not like water in rear tire because mess when flat but with new loader they put water in rear tires but still to lite in rear so we put my box bade on rear to help and it did have better traction. my best advice would be to get tractor and fuel filter at same time drain fuel tank a few times open the drain cock until just fuel coming out. have in sale to add water to rear tires. Now to spend the money for rear wheel weights if going to engage the ground box blade are scoop stop tractor and spin on top ground tamdeen harrow or turnning plow it want move. They are real nice tractor but lite in butt. In some farm magizines there good deal like 2 axle trailer mower box blade post hole digger in one package. I would take into fact 5103 burns less fuel other than that coin toss on power I can't tell which one has less power are more nice tractors.

There seems to be a homeowner spending threshold of $1499 on lawn tractors and to be honest the average home owner would likely be served fine by anything in the $999 - $1499 range if they take care of their equipment.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> JD made the decision to sell at this price point to increase sales. If truly a lesser quality machine, one would expect more repairs. Why the dealer would not welcome this extra repair revenue escapes me. My guess is that, under warranty, JD does not reimburse them at the same rate they charge regular folk for non-warranty repairs. In either event, they are shooting themselves in the foot by not playing fair with all customers. In fact, if you believe the ‘lesser quality’ $1499 model indeed tarnishes the JD reputation, you’d think the dealers would be going out of their way to treat you right to make up for JD’s ‘foolish mistake’ to sell that model to begin with. Further, the 'cursory' 20 minute inspection vs an hour at the dealer sounds fishy to me to begin with but putting you at the back of the line just further hurts the JD name by creating droves of disgruntled customers who no doubt will be coming on with their ‘lesser quality units’ that were only ‘cursory’ inspected now having to wait weeks for a repair! I really personally think the $1499 model is probably fine for your average homeowner. I t may not last 25 years but so what…your not paying $3000 for it. I think it offends the buyers of the expensive machines more than anyone else. I recently bought a Cub for $1699 after looking at a JD, an Ariens and a Husky. My preference is always to support my local dealer when possible and many times the pricing is the same anyway. The JD dealer pointed out he did not sell the $1499 HD model…’plastic tranny and crappy seat’ he said. I respected him for telling me that. Sadly he really did not want to spend more than 2 to 3 minutes with me to explain why I needed to spend $300 more for his base model…sort of had the attitude…’Bye…gotta go sell some big farm equipment’. I quickly moved on. The Husky dealer was not thrilled that Lowes sold his brand either BUT…he bad mouthed the Husky in general anyway and tried to move me to some $3500 thing I could not afford. Again, I respected that but I moved on. I ended up buying my cub at a dealer. I probably would have been just as well served by the JD or the Husky…

I have the John Deere X320, bought in 2006. It has a 48" 3 blade deck, which I put the mulching kit on, including mulching blades. I live on a hillside, and have some steep hills. I've never had any problems at all, including when I pull around my 48" core aerator and trailor full of who knows what. I did put two of the suitcase weights on the back to help with traction on the hills. I also have many blue spruces to mow around, so I slapped a grill gaurd on the front, which actually does help, even though I wanted it for the cool look. The cut is good, but I follow a pattern, so it looks better. I keep the mowing height at 2.75", which is healthier for the lawn, but is also the lowest I can go before I get too close to scalping on the hill crests. The deck is easy enough to take off and put on, but leveling the deck is a pain, although not hard to do. As for leaving grass clumps with the mulch deck, well, it ONLY happens when I have let the lawn grow too long, and it is wet. In that case, I just drive over it a 2nd time and it goes away. All in all, I am VERY happy with my X320, and really enjoy mowing with it. Oh, and about the 4-wheel steer, I was told by the guy at the dealership to avoid it if you have steep hills, as you risk a rollover if you have to turn on a hill, which I do. Joe

I have a L130 - similar - same front axle. My axle (mowing 2 acres country plot, snow blowing with 48" blower) has snapped 2 times. I tried nickle rods to weld it first time, but at about 50 bucks it was too much work to do and did not hold. I just ordered the 2nd axle, but will probably make my own axle soon from square tube steel. Should not be too hard to do, and probably will cut off the spindles and weld them into the tube. The rest is just drilling. Might line the pivot hole with another steel tube too. Anyway, the cast iron used is pretty close to pot metal, and is about as cheap as it comes. I think Deere only makes the axle and the dealers actually claim their Cast Iron axles are stronger than average lawn tractors. Ha ha ha. My old Sears and Murray had tube steel axles which never had a problem in years of use at the same property. I wont bother talking about eh TuffTorq tranny - another too little and too light thing deere did to make more money on this tractor. This shows what kind of management Deere has, and personally I would never buy another deere. I sure dont want to put 10,000$ into a green lawn mower just because its supposed to be good. For 10k$ I could have a machine shop make me one that is actually good. Sorry about my rant, but this lawn tractor has to go.