We purchased a new mower LT166 in 2004 off the floor show. We had to replace the belt on the deck after each mowing of approx. 3 acres of yard. The deck is a 48 C Convertible. We are wanting to know if this is the incorrect deck for this mower or should it be just a 48.

Not good news here.

LT-166: THE NEVERENDING SAGA - John Deere Lt166 Lawn Tractor - Epinions.com

On the other hand there is this:

http://www.epinions.com/review/John_...38935D2E-prod1

Hi,
I worked in L&G for over 30 years, and a Deere dealer for over 7.
I have a few questions. How does the belt fail, specifically? Are you original parts? Does the belt you get have a sheath, usually a white fabric cover?
There are a number of 48C decks, but the attachment weldments differ depending on the frame it is to be mounted on. Incidentally, the first deck used on that model was a 46; not one of my favorites!
Peace,
Clarke

I have an LT166 with a Freedom Mower Deck. I like the tractor, but the mower deck is the worst designed mower in the history of mankind. The Freedom Mower has two blades that overlap. To operate, a timing belt in the mower deck keeps the blades at 90 degree angles from each other. Or at least that's the theory. In reality, if the blades hit something (a pine cone, a mound of dirt, etc.) the blades frequently get out of synch. Eventually the blades start banging together and all hell breaks loose. This happens to me about 2 or 3 times every time I mow. You then have to remove the mower deck, open the belt compartment, realign the blades, etc. At times if you hit something substantial (a rock or a rut) the belt will break (goodbye $60!). Suffice it to say I am looking for a replacement mower deck.

Hope that answered your question about the Freedom Mower Deck.

Clarke with your JD experience can you tell us why a Deere costs as much as it does and they still have design flaws that make buyers regret buying Deere. Seems like a company like Deere would have R&R down pat by now. I had a small rear engine X75 or something like that, I never found it to be worth the money. You know Deere, tell us the pros and cons.

Hi,
It would seem that every manufacturer has its strengths and weaknesses; the engineers often move from one manufacturer to another. With them they take their good ideas, as well as bad, and that is the currency they trade upon.

Deere has been blessed with a number of very good engineers and the wherewithal to risk the money on R&D and innovation. A person who has spent many years working on all sorts of brands, I think Cub Cadet and Bolens are the only brands I have not worked for a dealer of and they belong to MTD which I have worked on at dealers, is immediately struck by some of the innovations made to ease the mechanic gaining access to the various parts of the machines.

Some things like hoods require as much as a wire and two clips to as little as the wire. Other hoods require two bolts out and two loosened. Operator decks (the piece with the seat) comes off with the seat switch wire and four to six bolts. The decks on most can be removed in 30 seconds to one minute. The majority of machines previously used electric clutches which kept the belt going from the engine to the deck under constant tension which reduced the strain of tensioning and loosening of manual engagement systems. The hydro machines kept the motion drive belt under constant tension and used the transaxle for drive characteristics and had neutralizers that moved the control to neutral when the brake pedal was pushed. With the 400 series and X series, the tranaxle was shaft-driven and the deck was shaft-driven off the transaxle.

Deere was the early adopter of Kawasaki engines; arguably the best commercial engine available, only Honda and maybe Robin, now Subaru, could compare. The Kawasaki engines were made custom for Deere and a non-Deere Kawasaki dealer could not look them up. They were extremely expensive engines, costing six times what a comparable Briggs & Stratton engine costs. Their lifespan equaled or exceeded the same factor as well. Yanmar makes custom diesel engines for Deere that easily exceed 6000 hrs. of lifespan with proper maintenance. Kanzaki, under the TuffTorque brand, makes the hydros custom for Deere because Deere was their first customer. Kanzaki makes hydraulically driven printing presses in Japan and looked for another place to use their expertise and Deere took the chance on them. All these suppliers that Deere took early risks by doing business with also worked with Deere to make things "right" when a mistake was made. An example would be the time when Kawasaki made a composite camshaft for their FD series water-cooled V-twin to shave 2 Dbs of noise off, and had them come apart. Deere and Kawasaki paid for at least parts, and sometimes labor, for six to eight years when under 3000 hrs. Warranty was only 2 years. Also, the patented Twin Touch pedal hydro drive system that self-neutralizes.

The other area that surprises many is the fact that the parts are often comparable or less than the price of the same part for a mass merchant machine. Blades are often priced similarly but the blades are much heavier and thicker for the Deere. Electric clutches are where it shows up the most prominently. A clutch may cost $130 - 150 for a Deere and the same clutch purchased through a different dealer will usually exceed $300.
Yes, you pay for the name (the seventh most recognized brand in the world), the engineering, and quality up front. Down the road the labor for maintenance will be about the same, but you can buy more parts for the same amount of dollars or the same parts for fewer dollars.

I must admit to being amazed with the fact that a person would spend the extra money for a machine that is built to last longer with proper maintenance, and think that the extra money means that it should do things that a less expensive machine (read mass merchant) would never be asked to do. For example some twenty some years ago whe working for a Simplicity/Snapper/Lawnboy dealer, A customer bought an expensive Snapper and for some reason thought that the high price meant that it could survive being rolled right off a three foot high wall to the ground. Needless to say, the rear wheels did not last long.

A couple of notes on the original question and the responder with the 42' Freedom deck. Yes, I make it a point to forget those two decks (yes two versions, both nightmares) and have seen only one LT166 with one installed. Most went under LT155s. That rear engine rider was either a RX75 (gear) or SX75 (variable speed) and was a great mower for small, flat yards because it made a very nice cut because of the single blade.

Do not confuse the L series or LA series in Lowe's and Home Depot with true Deeres. They were made to "suck" business away from MTD's brands, Murray and Craftsman (Sears.) In that they have succeeded mostly. Murray and Craftsman are both built by AYP, a division of Husqvarna owned by Electrolux, in Orangeburg, SC.

I hope that presents some of my point of view. I know even more about such brands as MTD, Stihl, Echo, Poulan/WeedEater and AYP.
Peace,
Clarke

I was never sure but thought American Yard products made Sears and Murray. Thanks.