Ztrak 665

[cglservice]

Ok guys lets here it. I started mowing with a craftmans move up to a JD 445 run it for a few years, bought a JD Ztrak 665 this spring. What i seem to be reading that most of the cutters seem to rideing exmark or dixie. Whats the pitfalls on the JD?:)

[awm]

i really dont know the pit falls of the mower . i do know i got sick of the ridiculous markup on pts from my deere dealer.. i recently had a new spindle put on my lazer [not broke but i crossed the threads]. pts an installation 61.00 .
got it in a day and and half..

[longviewlawncare]

the only down fall there is to my M653 is striping. i fixed that with a sriping kit i built. the cut is great and rides good. it will cut 10" grass at full speed. I love the 7 iron deck. good luck with yours

[Mowingman]

I had an M665, a 2000 model. I had a lot of trouble with it and finally forced JD and the dealer to buy it back. Others have had good luck with theirs, so hope you got a good one. Here are some of the problems I had.
1 Numbers on deck adjusting bracket mean nothing. They are not remotely related to the height you are cutting at.
2 Watch about going across a ditch and dragging the rear of the machine. Mule drive pulleys are not well guarded and if tail drags, tensioning pulley will hit ground and throw belt off.
3 Don't fill gas tanks all the way, as gas will slosh out vent holes.
4 Get a mulch kit. The 7 iron deck will cut anything, but it will not chop it up worth a darn. At least it doesn't plug up with wet grass.
5 Bottom 1 inch or so of blade spindle shafts are very thin. If you hit something sticking out of the ground, it is likely that shaft will deform and blade bolt will strip its threads when you change blades. Better keep a spare spindle assembly on hand.
That's about all I can think of right now. Hope you have better luck than I did.:(

[louieb]

I don't know about the 665, but I regret buying my 2 Z-traks. I originally purchased a 717 but after owning it 3 weeks it had been in the shop 3 times for hydraulic problems. I made JD buy it back and I purchased a Z-trak 757 (the only other ZTR they had on the lot). I have now had it 2 weeks and I have broken 2 deck belts.

I do not mow commercially - just my own yard - 3 arces about once a week - I bought a commercial ZTR thinking it would last me forever - that's what I get for thinking.

Good luck with your Deere.

"I could have had an Exmark - and saved 2 grand"!!

[awm]

man this aint sounding good. useful info.

[cglservice]

No it dont sound good. Really makes a guy start thinking.
I have 52 hours on it had it two months no problems yet maybe
Ill get lucky and make it through this summer?

Thanks guys for the information, wish I had found this site a few months ago!

[lee b]

I've got 450+ trouble-free hours on my M665. No problems so far and it cuts bahia grass great. Good luck with yours.

[lee b]

louieb, at what RPMs are you turning your deck on? You shouldn't turn the deck on, except at idle. I've never heard of a new mower {or any mower} breaking new belts like that. The only way to do that is if your repeatedly turning on the deck at high RPMs in tall grass.

[hlgmoney]

I'm runnin a 665 and it's at 80 hours. No problems at all so far. This is our third JD and they've been awesome. Not real impressed with any Z turn. I'd much rather have a front mower. JD makes good equipment. Can't go wrong IMO.

[louieb]

Lee,

I always engage the deck at idle and never in tall grass. I'm having JD check it out (took it in this morning). I'll report back on what they find.

The really funny part is my old 46" cut Murray never failed when cutting the same yard - it just took 5 hours to mow it. I now spend 1.5 hours mowing and 1.5 hours loading and hauling the mower back to JD each weekend. Another 1.5 hours are spent retreiving it once it is repaired.

Net result 5 hours for the Murray, 4.5 hours for the JD.

[longviewlawncare]

a rental place up the road from me that i kow the manager rents JD quiktraks, Z traks, and outfronts. the outfronts and z-traks have over 800 hunderd hours on them little or no problems that are not common on any other mower.