JD Tractor Upgrades
About Us
I am Dan Gorman of Plymouth MA and this is a new venture I have started. I am relatively new to John Deere Tractors.
During the last few years, I have bought an X320, then an X530 and now have an X738. I live on a mile long dirt road that my Town does not maintain and during the first snow storm of the season I could not even make it up the first hill in my X320 without the rear wheels slipping.
So next I bought the X530 with the Locking Differential Pedal and that made a big difference but I really liked the idea of having a tractor with a snowblower that runs from a PTO rather than a Belt and has 4 wheel drive so I got an X738 with a Cab and like it very much.
I upgraded from the 47” to the 54” Quick Hitch Snowblower but always thought the Chute Rotation mechanism was kind of ancient in the approach to rotating the chute.
I was reading Online on the X700 Series Tractor Forums about how the two cables rust out over time and the replacement cylinder is very expensive if it fails. It looked complicated to even deal with the cables.
I ended up buying a nice upgrade that uses a chain drive and a hydraulic pump to run the Chute Rotation System using the same hydraulic hoses that would turn a plow left and right.
I was reading on the Forums before I bought it that many buyers were making their own modifications to improve the assembly. So, when I got mine I copied many of the upgrade changes others had made or suggested.
I liked the product so much that I have produced my own version. The main difference between my version and the version I bought is mine, the CHUTE MASTER, has a Housing Cover that completely encloses the mechanism from the top and sides. I also supply Stainless Steel fasteners for all the components. Mine does not utilize a large Base Plate that all the components attach to. My components attach directly to the Factory holes in the chassis.
If anyone has a suggestion for a potential JD Tractor component or assembly upgrade I would always be interested in evaluating additional projects.