John Deere 318

[Rob R.]

Many of you know I inherited my grandmothers 1997 Suburban and have been putting it back to work with some minor repairs. Well, I also ended up with her 1984 John Deere 318. This machine was purchased new, dealer serviced, and always parked inside. You would never guess it has almost 2000 hrs on it.

I had the boys start mowing with it and have had some minor problems with it. I will follow up with some updates as I work through the issues.

[oros35]

They are amazing machines. Durable as they come. My dad has 4 of them and I have a 420, larger brother to the 318.

[Rob R.]

First issue I had was a misfire. Cured that by tightening a loose screw on the condenser. Adjusted the points and replaced the original plug wires for good measure.

Next issue, excessive oil consumption. Read through service records and see that last change was the first time the engine ever saw 10w-30 instead of straight 30. Manual recommends straight 40 or 15w-40 for hot weather, so I made good use of the 1/2 gallon of 15w-40 I had on hand. Mowed 4 hrs, no oil consumption - great.

Got some heavy rains and grass got a bit tall, mowed for 1/2 hour in 90 degree weather and started to see blue smoke blowing out front grill. By the time I got back to the shop the smoke was unreal. Diagnosis is loose bolts on the oil filter adaptor and a blown gasket. Oil was spraying on the cylinder head, lucky it did not catch on fire.

Parts on order, and cleaning the cooling fins in the meantime. I will also adjust the valves since there is no evidence it has ever been done.

[freetown fred]

Yep---thanx grandmom!!!!

[Rob R.]

Torn down for a valve adjustment. Need to get specs from book and tackle it tomorrow morning.

[lincolnmania]

Nice garden tractor!
I have a collection of narrow frame cub cadets. one was my pop pops.

[Rob R.]

Valves adjusted and engine mostly reassembled. The valves were definitely overdue for adjustment. The intakes were loose and the exhaust was too tight. The engine is spotless inside with minimal carbon buildup.

Still waiting for one part, but should have it back in action soon.

[Rob R.]

I just finished a “qualifying run” in the orchard with the freshly assembled 318. Prior to mowing I degreased the engine and frame, and treated the gas with a fuel additive to help remove any carbon from the combustion chambers.

I ran it hard and so far everything sounds good and I don’t see any leaks. The exhaust fumes are another story. After about 5 minutes of mowing the fumes really started to stink, and by the end the muffler and side panel were black with soot. I think I will have to mow perpendicular to the wind for this tank of gas.

[Hoytman]

Always wanted a 318. The 214 isn’t bad though. Just put all new deck bearings in and other minor engine work my son did, and did a nice job too. We should probably run a tank or two of some type of fuel system cleaner as well.

Never seen that kind before. Any other suggestions?

[freetown fred]

Marvel Mystery Oil has been workin fo eons Billy!!!

[Rob R.]

Marvel Mystery Oil has been workin fo eons Billy!!!

Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO) is a good choice to keep things clean, but I think the Schaeffer product is more aggressive at removing old carbon deposits. I had already run a few tanks of gas treated with MMO through this 318 before I used the Schaeffer product.

One other note on MMO - another member reported good results with MMO eliminating off-season corrosion issues from poor quality gasoline in antique carburetors. I treat all of the gas that goes in my zero turn with MMO (have been doing it since it was new).

[Hoytman]

I use this https://www.google.com/search?q=starbrite+fuel+st ... e&ie=UTF-8 in gas cans already, so maybe it is ok to use as well. I quit the Sta-bil product but will use the Marine Sta-bil when I can't find the Starbrite brand stuff. http://www.starbrite.com/category/fuel-additives

It's a fuel stabilizer, but I don't know how well it cleans the inside of the fuel system compared to others.

I may have some MMO on hand as well. Just wasn't sure if I needed to use something else. Like I said, never seen the Schaffer stuff around here. Maybe I have checked the auto parts stores well enough around here.

[TFL]

if you have any interest, I have a 318 that I used up until a couple of years ago
not in too bad of shape, currently doesn't run, bad gas, it has sat for some time

if you need it for parts let me know
has a 52" deck and an onan motor 18hp

[Rob R.]

if you have any interest, I have a 318 that I used up until a couple of years ago
not in too bad of shape, currently doesn't run, bad gas, it has sat for some time

if you need it for parts let me know
has a 52" deck and an onan motor 18hp

Thanks for the offer, but I am hopeful I won't need many parts for a long time. Plus you are quite a distance away from me. You should have no problem at all selling that machine locally, people are always looking for parts. The 52" deck in particular is a hot item if it is in good shape.

[Rob R.]

Today the 318 joined the Suburban and got left on ramps waiting for parts. It started with changing the transmission fluid, but turned into a bigger job.

I don’t think anyone had cleaned the belly screen or changed the fluid in 20 years, despite my grandmother asking the dealer to “do whatever it needs”. I got the fluid changed and cleaned everything up, but the deck needs a bit of work. The belt tensioner was seized in place, and there is a bad bearing in the “mule drive” at the front of the tractor. Since I am in no hurry to mow with it I will get these things addressed.

For those curious, these tractors originally came through with Type F transmission fluid. At some point JD started recommending their Hy-Gard fluid, so I refilled it with some fluid I had on hand that meets the JD spec.