[oldlumber]

Ok, heres the quickie....I bought a John Deere G110 Lawn tractor from Home Depot and this thing is a cheap piece of crap, but at the time it was all I could afford. Last summer I broke off on of the front tire spindles. I decided to replace both of them and I am assuming that I installed the correct one on the correct side. I have noticed since then that the front tires are no longer parallel to one another, but instead they are tilted outward from one another. I am wondering if anyone else has experience in fixing this type of issue or if I should just take the dumb thing in to be repaired. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[ricksfamilyfood]

Nothing Runs Like A Deere

[automagic]

Yeah, Nothing runs like a Deere ( or smells like a John!) Personally, haven't ran into that Problem, but hey if it is cambered right you could take it raceing! I do know that certain Models do have a little bit of it built in for mowing the ditches and such, I have a poulan that has some like maybe 12 inch (13mm) or so.

[mr. ringo]

does that explain the problem you have

The only sure way to tell if the alignment is correct...is to rev the engine up as fast\high as it will go and pull the spark plug wire off and stick it in your mouth...than lay down in front of the mower and look at both tire's.

If the tire's appear to be pointed outward's...have your wife re-apply the spark plug wire and start the mower...than have her drive over you...this will correct the alignment prob....good luck. ....

PS: ..a good bud will do if you are lucky enough to not have a wife.

[oldlumber]

You guys are right....this thing is the biggest piece of green crap to roll the earth. I bought it right after we built our house a couple of years ago. Money was tight and I planned on replacing it in 4-5 years. This would be year 4 and I really need to get this thing to work for one more year then I can go buy a nice zero turn mower. I talked to the wife about the spark plug idea and she thinks you are wrong, she does not think the spark plug has any thing to do with ture alignment, but she did like the driving over me part. My life insurance will more than buy a new mower, heck it will pay for someone to mow the yard as well. Any other ideas?

[Dragster]

You can try adjusting the steering linkage on the front wheels,some models have inner and outer tie rods too for adjusting,the older john deer mowers with the kohler,kawaski,engines were great units.I have had my hydrostatic for 10 years with the kawaski motor,and the wheels are still straight,the newer jd models all have the briggs engines,they put these cheaper engines in the jd units now to compete with the market,like wally mart,and cdn tire stores,those lawnmowers they sell there are cheaply made.I hope you can get your wheels adjusted.

[lefty]

When you take it in for repair, tell them you bought it that way from some one.

That way you can laugh WITH them ......

[oldlumber]

Good idea lefty....I never thought of that....and if I were to try to adjust the front steering linkage where would I find such an item. I have looked all over this darn thing and cannot see anywhere to adjust it. The only place I can see is where the linkage comes together on the underside of the mower, but I cannot find anywhere to adjust it.

[mr. ringo]

us americans can do anything with a torch and a welder, hell you could put a atlas missle in it if you had the above tools. as far as the alignment set at 18 to 3-16 of an inch and you should be good up to 180 mph without any trouble.

[rg6a]

Originally Posted by oldlumber

Ok, heres the quickie....I bought a John Deere G110 Lawn tractor from Home Depot and this thing is a cheap piece of crap, but at the time it was all I could afford. Last summer I broke off on of the front tire spindles. I decided to replace both of them and I am assuming that I installed the correct one on the correct side. I have noticed since then that the front tires are no longer parallel to one another, but instead they are tilted outward from one another. I am wondering if anyone else has experience in fixing this type of issue or if I should just take the dumb thing in to be repaired. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You just answered your own question, and tires don't have spindles but hubs do. Save yourserlf a lot of grief and take it into an authorized Dealer, as it's clear you shouldn't be working on anything mechanical.

Where I live Home Depot sell 'Yardworks', they're green but not John Deere and low end crap.

[oldlumber]

well after about 6 hours of endless searching on the net I believe that I found what I was looking for. Thanks for the heads up RG6a, but this is not the first time I have had to fix thing and I am sure it will not be the last. You are 100% correct that tires do not have spindles, but at the same time I could have laid it out so that nobody had a clue what I was talking about. Tried to just keep it simple. By the way, there is no adjustment for this particular mower when it comes to the "tierod" or rather Drag Link. The problem from what I have been reading seems to be some cheap japanese steel that bends entirely too easy. I'll call my local dealer in the a.m. and get the parts I need. There is a reason why they don't post this info for everyone to see, it is not exactly rocket science. I like the non-intellectual challenge sometimes.

[fubr]

your right about that, They dont post info on things they dont want you to know.
The internet and forums has really made life hard for these type of assholes.
Gladf you got it figured out.
looks like the japs could make good steel like they use on those swords

[oldlumber]

you know the worst part of it is, I would pay a little bit more for a quality part and a little bit of paper work with it in leu of paying them $30 an hour to change the part. I guess they are more interested in raping people who absolutely cannot do things themselves. When it comes to the motor I would rather let them monkey with it....I know where to draw the line. Maybe someday I will tackle that part of the thing, but for now I will leave it to them. Last time I had to repair this piece of crap a bolt that holds the front axle on broke in half. I called them cause it was 2 weeks out of warranty and they told me to bring it in and they would fix it at $30 an hour. Well when I went to fix it, they changed how it was put together from the diagrams. Mine showed a post off the frame rather than a bolt, but they changed it half way through production to a pass through bolt. After welding on a new plate and reassembling, I found out the hard way that it was a pass through bolt and that I did not need to weld on the plate. Either way the welded plate has made it stronger, and I used a solid bolt that so far is showing no signs of wear.

[rg6a]

Originally Posted by oldlumber

well after about 6 hours of endless searching on the net I believe that I found what I was looking for. Thanks for the heads up RG6a, but this is not the first time I have had to fix thing and I am sure it will not be the last. You are 100% correct that tires do not have spindles, but at the same time I could have laid it out so that nobody had a clue what I was talking about. Tried to just keep it simple. By the way, there is no adjustment for this particular mower when it comes to the "tierod" or rather Drag Link. The problem from what I have been reading seems to be some cheap japanese steel that bends entirely too easy. I'll call my local dealer in the a.m. and get the parts I need. There is a reason why they don't post this info for everyone to see, it is not exactly rocket science. I like the non-intellectual challenge sometimes.

Sorry for sounding so condescending, and it's probably Chinese steel (when sanded were there any remnants left of the Campbell Tomato Soup Label? ;-) )!

The scrap metal market has been decimated by cheap imports, namely Chinese and Russian. Everything has a Price. North America grows a shitload of Wheat, so why are we importing wheat gluten from China?

Price, price and price and look at the pet food fiasco, also most small appliances aren't worth repairing anymore....cheaper to buy something that was shipped from halfway across the World and assembled by slave labour!

I'd hazard a guess your Deere from Home Depot or Lowes isn't sold by a John Deere Dealer/Repair facility!

Anyways glad to hear you got to the bottom of the problem.

[steamboatmickey]

oldlumber for what it`s worth have two lawn tractor wheels lay outward at the top when straight forward hope that helps .

[oldlumber]

Not a problem RG6a, and thanks for the info steamboat. I finally got hold of John Deere to make sure I was on the right track, and what do you know.....I actually got someone who understood where I was coming from and was actully helpful. That right there ay be their saving grace when it comes time next year to buy a new mower. You are right....this is a Home Depot deal. These things are great if you can buy a new mower every other year or only mow about 1/2 an acre. From my disucssion I think that the Drag Link got bent when one of the spindles nearly bent in half and the front tire torqued pretty good. Rather than just replace the one, I am going to replace them both. Hopefully this will get me through the year. Thanks for all the info. And yes.....the recycled steel industry is dilluting the good steel business. What a shame.

[mili]

A diet on your part might help prevent this problem to occure again Is it possible your butt was too heavy and the thing went into splits cause of that?

mili

[automagic]

Mili, that wasnt very nice! But Funny as hell! Now, I do keep my wife off of mine. oh yea, On my avitar, thats not my wife, she is my girl friend. My wife make my girlfriend look skinny!

[oldlumber]

well you hit the nail on the head with that one.....I have been dieting.....I look like a beast out there mowing on that little thing. Lost 35 pounds and still could lose a few more. The problem I really think is that all my kids like to ride with me so I should trade it in for the family model with the 3rd row seat.

[mili]

I knew it!
Poor machine you got to set it to the tallest cut level and it still cuts the grass to 1/2"
Get some upgraded suspension man

mili

[oldlumber]

hxxp://trippingbull.com/pics/hforum.jpg

[mr. ringo]

yep that deere rep conned you into buying another spindle but i am guessing that won,t cure it. if you are going for all out motocrossing you need a real jd diesel and a 8 foot bushhog like me and you can jump anything.

[oldlumber]

I am hoping that between the spindles that I replaced last fall and the new Drag links that I am installing tomorrow that the problem will be fixed. I think that when I broke the spindle of it bent the drag link and that is what is causing the toeing of the front wheels. You are right though.....if I am going to be racing and such I need to upgrade to the larger diesel models.