Is the 19'- 22' John Deere Z335 Residental Zero Turn The Worst Mower Ever? 

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I've had mine for 7 years, it's been a beast, never had any problem except the deck cables, ..one of the best mowers I ever had

I own that mower and your right about those front bushings. 20 bucks every other year and tuning up and oil change is eazy. Other than the front caster wheel bushings mows nicely.

Awesome video! I think there is a whole world of residential guys that watch your channel looking for good info on residential mowers. It’s a hot market. I’m currently shopping and wanted a Deere so badly all my life, and good to see this side of owning/maintaining as everything else on RU-vid is the sales people telling us what is great about their mowers. I use consumer reports, but you can’t beat this type of stuff! Thanks again!

For 2023 the Z300 series has a ball bearing in the bottom position of the front caster spindles but they kept a plastic bushing at the top. I removed the bushing and added another ball bearing at the top (same one as the bottom, AM102888). You need to add a thin 3/8" washer (about 0.050" thick & 7/8" OD) between the caster spindle and the black retainer cap to maintain the proper spacing. The new decks (48" and up) are 10ga. steel, the frames are beefed up, no more black plastic panel under the seat for easier access, no more cable for deck height adjustment, foot lift & dial adjustment (1/4" increments) for deck like most good zturns use. Got a $65 boarding step option to mount to the frame so I will never need to step on the deck. The foot panel just lifts off now without bolt for easy access. No more parking brake lever. Kawasaki engines on most "M" & "R" models. In other words, many needed improvements made to the 2023 Z300 lineup.

Really appreciate your videos and agree. It’s all about perspective and philosophy of use. My .46 acre subdivision lot makes this thing more than adequate for the job I think. I’ve done all the things you showed here. Most aggravating think for me was the front tire deflation brand new. Dealer put some sealant all over it, and it’s performed ok for 3 seasons (about to start the 4th now). It’s only got 45 hours on it and a lot of that is idling time from drying it off and keeping it clean like new. My mom had a box store cub cadet that lasted 20 years, and it was neglected. I really take care of mine so for my REALISTIC needs with practical maintenance, I hope mine will last me much longer.

When I went to buy a zero turn I went in looking at a z740r 54” but it was a bit wider than my trailer so I asked if there was something similar. Salesman showed me a z920m 48” and it was only $1k more… it made no sense not to upgrade with all the upgrades for a small difference in price.

For me this is best mower I ever had I bought mine 8 years ago and used daily since then mowing 10to15 yards every single day and still running like a champ

Awesome info! I have this mower. Great tips. Thank you

Nice and thank you. I recently bought one with just under 100 hrs. I have 1/2 acr and love it. But, I have a little chunk on the left front and so I think I need to go ahead and Jack it up and check the stuff andwhat not on the front wheels. Great video and very informational for me and like I said it's just a 1/2 acre and that's not counting my building in my house.

Thank you so much. Showing us what to watch out for. I enjoy your channel.

Awesome video! Thank you!

Thank you for the great info on this model. I love mine. 👍👍

I got 1, and at 400 hrs now I’ve so tired of working on it. The plastic spindle bushings, seat springs, chews belts 3x a year, done replaced both idler pulleys due to bearings, electric pto clutch, ……… it never ends except the engine has been flawless

We have this model at my church where I am the grounds keeper. One of the first springs when we brought it out of storage it started making bad noises. Turns out the mice built a nest between the cylinders and it couldn't get air flow to cool it properly. Smoked the whole engine, scored a cylinder wall. Now we specifically check for that each spring:). We haven't had any other issues. My only beef is no suspension so if takes bumps hard and I am 6'4" and can't comfortably have my knees under the handles even when they're adjusted all the way up.

Saying that this is the worst mower ever might be a little extreme. I have this model and have over 300 hours on it. I’ve had the casters lock up once while out on a property an don’t own a grease gun so I poured bar & chain oil down in there and never had the issue again. So I’ve also never greased the pulleys. Only thing I’ve replaced is the deck belt. Other than that just normal maintenance. It’s a very good mower for the money. Quality of cut with a nice stripe for a residential stamped deck is very surprising.

Good info video for this type mower..👍💯

I've had my John Deere 6yrs, I cut 2 1/2 acres a week has been a great machine for me I do agree with the casters I installed roller bearings and greased, tires I used slime doesn't take much to fix the small problems good information to help others and I remove my belt the same way 😂

Thank you very much for this video. My dad bought one of these lovely machines right before he passed last fall. I'm really wishing he didn't. Now I've inherited extra work. It's still new so I'm hoping I can address these issues now before it becomes more work. Personally I'd rather take it back to the dealer. BTW I've learned from experience that silicone grease is best for plastic on metal wear surfaces like those bushings. For now I'll just keep an eye on those front tires till I decide what to do there. 🙄 I prefer my old 110

How much grease needs to be added for the spindles? Getting ready to replace mine after 275 hours the blades started bumping each other. Nice video.

Great video. I am purchasing a 2017 z335e. I am assuming it will have the same potential problems? Anything to really look at besides the usual when I purchase it?

Grease put into the spindles will sit there and leak oil over time as the thickeners begin to solidiify. The oil does get past the seals. It's not doing anything like pushing out the old contaminated grease, but that stuff is also just sitting there solidifying and leaking oil anyway. The track the balls ride in stays clear of grease generally unless it's over packed.

They make solid tires for the front just have to adapt it

Just FYI in case you find this video in the future, I don't know if they changed this before or after this video was posted, but my Z355e has bearings on those front wheel posts. I ordered replacement plastic bearing inserts and pulled the front tires off only to find bearings on the top and bottom of the post. I bought it 2, maybe 3 years ago from Lowes. So maybe they changed to the plastic ones at some point.

My thoughts are the ideler pulley should have a bit of resistance in their spinning The front caster s in my own thoughts should have grease fittings on them

What's your thoughts on the 2023 Z320R / 21.5HP FR651V Kawasaki / 42" Accel Deep Deck? Thank you

What about the Muary lawn tractors for Biginers thanks Eric Myers

On my d120 it also had sealed bearings in the spindles and when I took them apart they didn’t get any grease that I was pumping into them.

I have the Z345M mower, I assume it's probably pretty much the same mower, at least it looks just like mine. Why couldn't a guy drill a hole in the front where you replaced the bushings and installed a grease fitting so it could be greased? I also read JD had a bad batch of belt tension springs that were continually breaking, mine just broke at 35 hours. You made some points that I will definitely be doing to my Z345M mower, thanks for sharing.

I have the one with the Excell deep deck 48" comercial deck. I have the curved ends for the support frame rails. The only issues I've had with it so far. Is the support frames break at the bolts that hold the deck support. I've broken both sides now. I've got 300hrs so far. They made all kinds of excuses for it.

I mow about 3 acres with a 2013 cub cadet 46" rider and I am in the market for a new mower because that one is a pile of junk as well so I wanted to get a zero turn to speed up the mowing process and try to get something a little better than what I have So I am not working on it all the time. I have been looking at different options including the John Deere Z515E but after watching your videos on John Deere mowers I am now feeling like I need to avoid them. That being said what do you recommend for a good residential zero turn that's not going to cost me an arm and a leg?

There’s reasons I traded my z345m for a z320r. I like the light weight decks when it comes to cutting my Bermuda grass

This is a great video and it addresses some minor issues. One issue I have with my 2016 model Z335E is the drive transmission for each wheel does not engage evenly. I’m thinking this is a hydraulic fluid level issue but I cannot find the fluid reservoirs. Can you relate to that transmission issue

Good work on your video, very informative. I have the Z335E mower and I'm pretty happy with it. Has just over 100 hours and no serious problems. The front tires, especially the left one, loses air, but I just air them up before each use to keep it level. I'm considering getting the extended warranty. I wonder if it's actually worth it though. I can go up to 4 years or 500 hours. I wouldn't put the 500 hours on it before the 4 years ran out. That plan is $622. I can handle the small things that can go wrong, but the transmissions are expensive. What are the chances one those would go out before the four years or 500 hours?

How do you remove the plastic central cover?

I am not a mechanic nor do I play one on TV, so for me to do this detail type of examination and then attempt to take it apart if something is wrong, it isn't going to happen. Let's say I can't get it back together, what do I do then, curse like a son of a gun as I'm sweating on the deck, then call the dealer. Also, I just don't have the knowledge and experience of how the mower should behave. In a perfect world, you expect that when you pay $4-5 Grand on a machine it better work very well. I'd rather pay the Dealer or Mechanical Mind to fix it. It might be worth it to get an extended warranty.

Front tires obviously have a cheap rim that bends easily. Deere should be ashamed for this whole machine. Pathetic

I know the one issue I have is when I cut the grass with the bagger system is that it always gets clogged barely goes into the bags all the time don’t know y…also i removed the red flapper inside the tide don’t know what that did ….and also I no idea how to remove the bagger system all I see is bolts everywhere doesn’t seem no easy way to remove and put back on …when I bought the mower bought it from a guy with zero hours brand new and had the bagger already installed

My blades will not engage. I replaced the pto switch but it did not help. Any ideas to check. I hate my machine it never works when I go to mow.

Why are you running all of that air in the tires? The front tire says 44 psi I think but the owners manual and the quick maintenance guide under the seat says 15 psi in the front and 10 psi in the rear So which is correct??????

The deck lift cabel tends to break on this model. Any tips?

Thanks for the informative video, but maybe the reason they come in with "low" front tire pressure is because the manual says 15psi and you say 40-44psi. Which one is correct???

I have an issue with mine. In full reverse mode, the right tire barely reverses compared to the left one. Any suggestions?

How do you put this model in nuetral

Is there any difference on a JD zero purchased at Lowes and at a John Deere dealership?

A little help please. At a John Deer dealer the Z320R is $4,690.88 out the door. At Home Depot it's 3,96718 out the door. Why should I buy it at a dealer? Thank you

My promblem with JD is the deck falls apart after three to four years.

Wow you out to sell parts good luck there buddy not I. My area

Its not the worst EVER but it might be bad

its a lawn mower not a lamborghini.

John Deere Z335, Overpriced, over rated, and cheap on quality. Not just this particular mower, but a lot of John Deere products.