Opinions on the John Deere Easy Oil Change system?
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At $40 for the filter the easy change is crazy expensive for what it does. The easy change only changes out around 60% of the oil in the engine.
2 Quarts of JD oil and 1 filter costs about $15. You get a full oil change out.
The easy change is a waste of money. But if it gets people to at least change the oil once in a blue moon than it's better than no oil change at all.
2 Quarts of JD oil and 1 filter costs about $15. You get a full oil change out.
The easy change is a waste of money. But if it gets people to at least change the oil once in a blue moon than it's better than no oil change at all.
If you change your own oil it is expensive. If you would otherwise send it to a dealer for an oil change it saves lots of money.
Partial changes with filters is something that’s pretty standard on larger more expensive machines so I don’t think there’s any real negative from that process.
Partial changes with filters is something that’s pretty standard on larger more expensive machines so I don’t think there’s any real negative from that process.
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The good part about the Easy Change system is that you can get a kit for around $23 to convert the engine back to using a standard oil filter. The kit includes an oil filter. Otherwise all you need for the conversion is an adapter fitting ($1.46) and a drain tube ($9.76).
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265 Posts
I myself enjoy doing a regular oil change. I actually let it drain for an hour and sometimes longer while I work on something else. Prefer to get as much of the old oil out as possible before filling with fresh oil. So this "30 second OC" would not be for me. But I'm glad that it works for others - hate to see old oil in engines.
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Personally, if I owned a mower with the quick change system I would get the conversion kit. I get why they offer the quick change system. I bet your average joe rarely even checks the oil, let alone change it. Less mess ( I guess), and is a selling point.
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Yes all things being equal you will mostly likely get better engine life doing full oil changes on an engine with an oil sump this small.
You will also save a significant amount of money over the life of the engine.
Honestly I doubt it. This type of partial change is what you’d see on a million dollar engine. Allison transmissions don’t have the means to do a full fluid change unless you disassemble them.
I’d probably change it a bit more frequently, 30hrs instead of 50 but you remove acidic deposits with the filter, and introduce fresh additives in the new oil.
It’s about a 50% change. The others I referred to above do less then 40% change, and if it has 2/3 of a new fluid by 2 changes it’s considered swapped and acceptable.
If you do changes on schedule, keep mice out and fix the eventual valve cover leak they will outrun the sheet metal holding it in place.
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I'm the same way. It usually sits there draining, until the stream is so thin or becomes just drops, that the wind picks up and scatters it all around the under carriage of what ever I happen to be changing the oil on. Really helps keep things from rusting out, with that coating of oil.
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I'd agree with that. Just having decent oil in there is better than none and if you think about it, just changing half-2/3 of the oil each time is less change in oil quality each cycle. Unless the oil gets REALLY bad, dirty oil works pretty well still as long as the particulates are caught in the filter.
No, it's not for those that count pennies and maintain their machinery to the utmost but as an alternative to no oil changes or a trip to the dealership or machinery shop for the average joe they're great.
LOL I thought my X500 was Easy Change but after Googling "JD Easy Change" I find it's not, it's just easy to change. Of all my vehicles this has to be the easiest one to change the oil and filter. Elevating the right side a little allows it to drain more thoroughly. I'm in the camp of the less old oil remaining in the engine the better.
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I have a X500 also. Even easier is using an oil sucker. It sucks the sump bone dry. Of course there is still potential for a mess with the filter but I've pretty much eliminated that by using a Form-A-Funnel.
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462 Posts
I have an E150 riding mower that was included with our recent home purchase by the previous owner.
She was a city girl who never mowed a lawn until she owned this house, and given her lack if experience did pretty well with this 13 acre property. But wow she abused the mower. She didnt adjust the deck height, and it was 2" too low. She left the deck on all the time, even while using the thing as a tow vehicle for a garden cart, which caused the deck to get beat up pretty bad. At 50 hours the blades are barely salvageable; I spent 45 min on them with a grinder and they're usable but still need more work, so I'm just going to get new blades.
But I have to say the easy change oil setup really is easy. I swapped in a new filter and oil in about 30 seconds. To recycle the oil (and look at it) I poked a hole in the canister, and the oil didnt look too bad. The oil easily had another 50 hours of good run time left in it before needing a change. Since most users of these box store machines will only change oil annually, at less than 50 hours between changes, its okay IMO. Would I choose this over a conventional filter and full change? Nope. But in the long run, other than being more expensive, it probably doesn't make a significant enough difference to matter. I may eventually convert it back to a regular system, but have higher priority things in the near future.
She was a city girl who never mowed a lawn until she owned this house, and given her lack if experience did pretty well with this 13 acre property. But wow she abused the mower. She didnt adjust the deck height, and it was 2" too low. She left the deck on all the time, even while using the thing as a tow vehicle for a garden cart, which caused the deck to get beat up pretty bad. At 50 hours the blades are barely salvageable; I spent 45 min on them with a grinder and they're usable but still need more work, so I'm just going to get new blades.
But I have to say the easy change oil setup really is easy. I swapped in a new filter and oil in about 30 seconds. To recycle the oil (and look at it) I poked a hole in the canister, and the oil didnt look too bad. The oil easily had another 50 hours of good run time left in it before needing a change. Since most users of these box store machines will only change oil annually, at less than 50 hours between changes, its okay IMO. Would I choose this over a conventional filter and full change? Nope. But in the long run, other than being more expensive, it probably doesn't make a significant enough difference to matter. I may eventually convert it back to a regular system, but have higher priority things in the near future.
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881 Posts
Wow does JD have people just sitting around thinking up "what is the stupidest thing gullible people will fall for"?
$40 for an oil filter kit.
I put this one up there with the hose washout on the decks. I removed the one on my X758 and welded the deck solid.
$40 for an oil filter kit.
I put this one up there with the hose washout on the decks. I removed the one on my X758 and welded the deck solid.
It’s probably the failure analysis unit which collects the data to say these people do walk among us and are more prevalent then you could imagine.Wow does JD have people just sitting around thinking up "what is the stupidest thing gullible people will fall for"?
$40 for an oil filter kit.
I put this one up there with the hose washout on the decks. I removed the one on my X758 and welded the deck solid.
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1,531 Posts
It never stops surprising me how little the general population knows about how the world works around them. Or what it takes to get something built and delivered.
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