John Deere LX188 Project

[j.concepcion54321]

Hey guys,

Picked this up the other day. Its a John Deere lx188 lawn tractor/riding mower. whatever you wanna call it. It currently doesnt run (engine needs some work ), and its missing the mower deck, which is actually something that i didnt notice until i got it home!!! Im getting really mad now because i keep making really oblivious mistakes with my buy's. I had planned to just fix it up and flip it, but no mower deck:toetap05:

Soooo im starting to think about other options for this mower. Im not sure if i wanna do anything too crazy with it though because i think i might have over paid for it. I gave 70 bucks for it as it sits in the pics.... Any ideas?

 

[souperman000]

Do you have pics?

 

[cumminsbayou4x4]

make it a off road lawn mower

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I got my parts mower home before noticing the governor linkage missing. How'd you miss the whole deck? LOL

Yeah, just have some fun with it. Lock the rearend, put some big meats on it, jack it up, stick a winch and some lights on it, and have fun.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Sorry guys, i had my little brother post this for me and i just told him what to write... guess the pics didnt come up. They should be up now in this post and the other one.

@ toystory- well i noticed the engine was burnt if that counts! lol

In One of the pics you can see that the other side of the engine is in mint condition and completely intact... the other side, you can see the valves sticking out.

 

[machinist@large]

.......@ toystory- well i noticed the engine was burnt if that counts! lol.......

.......see the valves sticking out.

:ninja:


What did they do? Sprinkle the thing with thermite and add a match?!? And the tin work appears to be untouched?

Some more info please!!

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Somebody must have pointed a torch at it, from one side with the hood open... Twit. "Engine needs some work"? I'll say!!! Holy cannoli!

EDIT- Sonofagun. That thing was liquid cooled and pressure lubed... What a waste!

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Yeah I know it was a great engine. I was tempted to try and get it running until I saw the valves .sticking out.

The guy I bought it from says that leaves got caught in the deck and the heat along with a leaky fuel line caused the fire. I don't quite believe what he says is true, but its the best ive got right now.

I still have to figure out what I'm
gonna do with it. I'm looking for a new engine on craigslist so il see what I can find. So far theres a 12.5 hp broggs flatty for 75. I'll have to keep looking around before making any final decisions

 

[cumminsbayou4x4]

thats a water cooled kawasaki it is one of the best motors you'll find you should fix it or sell it for parts you cant lock the transmission or pulley swap it because it is a hydro butit will still make a good off roader my first off roader was a hydro it did good

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Actually, many hydrostatic transaxles can be locked. A differential is a differential. While regearing is not an option, it's not as necessary with a hydro (as far as slowing it down), Fluid drives are smooth in high-slip (real slow) settings.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

As far as changing pulleys goes I dont think that's gonna happen for now. Since my dad paid for it he gets to cal the shots. As of now he wants me to strip the frame, paint the chassis black, fix up any rust on the body and then paint it j d green, swap the engine, get it all hooked up and running, maybe make it faster, and then make it a plow. He wants to be able to use it yp do our driveway in the winter so I have to get working. Lol

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Faster? For plowing? No...

 

[j.concepcion54321]

I meant the speed for me. Lol

I'll try and see if I can remove the engine later this week and sell it for profit. That way I can just use that money to buy a new engine for it.

quick question, why do I need so much horsepower if it's connected to a transmission?
in theory the wheels are still getting the same RP M's and torque provided by the transmission so technically wouldn't I get the same performance by using smaller engine??? because I can easily get a 7 horsepower engine from a normal lawn mower and use that instead of spending money on a big engine, will this work?

 

[B man]

I meant the speed for me. Lol

I'll try and see if I can remove the engine later this week and sell it for profit. That way I can just use that money to buy a new engine for it.

quick question, why do I need so much horsepower if it's connected to a transmission?
in theory the wheels are still getting the same RP M's and torque provided by the transmission so technically wouldn't I get the same performance by using smaller engine??? because I can easily get a 7 horsepower engine from a normal lawn mower and use that instead of spending money on a big engine, will this work?

Lack of torque. it would work. but it would be very weak.

 

[landuse]

Needs a bit of engine work!! LOL. You would have kicked yourself even more if you had only seen the good side of the engine and then got home only to see the bad side.

 

[B man]

BTW all your missing is the valve cover from that side. other wise it looks intact. clean it up and get all the melted crap off if you can. it might yet still be fixable!

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Really!?!?!

I never really took tume t notice what was missing. Do you think the engine would run without the valve cover? Like can they run exposed like that?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

They can, but you shouldn't. Might get stuff coming in that ain't supposed to be in, and stuff drooling out that is best left in.

Aside from the nuclear valve cover, closely inspect inside. That much heat was bound to damage something.

 

[j.concepcion54321]

Wait how can it run without the second spark plug that it needs. Its a twin cylinder, so that things not running anytime soon.... you got my hopes up for nothing.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Wait how can it run without the second spark plug that it needs. Its a twin cylinder, so that things not running anytime soon.... you got my hopes up for nothing.

Umm... I would think a napalmed valve cover and resultant damages are a bit more pressing than a spark plug, no?