# 260sl picked up



## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

After waiting patiently for two weeks she's finally here. Purchased from Weeks on 2/19, shipped with Uship using Central Transport on 2/26 and picked up today at their transport hub. This was my first time shipping anything larger than a suitcase so I was concerned about logistics and cost but the process was very simple and relatively inexpensive compared to what I thought I would be paying for something 4x4x5, 350lbs, 1000 miles away. The people at Weeks we're great to work with especially Andy who palletized the mower himself and Samantha who is definitely on top of her email game. Would definitely work with them again.

For anyone looking to save on shipping costs I highly recommend choosing pickup at hub option if you have a truck or suv. To give you an idea of cost difference, GA to NY cost me $215, if I had it delivered to my door it would have cost $450... that's $235 extra they wanted to charge for residential plus lift service. Going to put that savings into a new 7 blade reel and bed knife.


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## gb043075 (Feb 25, 2019)

If you don't mind me asking, what did you pay at auction for it? Were there pictures posted or did you purchase sight unseen? I picked up the Weeks Auction tip on this forum, and see they have one coming up with some greens mowers, but no pictures? Thanks.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

Don't mind at all. This site is how I found out about Weeks also. I paid $625 it's a 2011 model sl260 with transport wheels, grass catcher and conditioner, 11blade reel and light. I don't know how many hours used, no timer on it but the machine is in decent condition. It starts on first pull but kind of stuttering and blows white smoke out the exhaust, might have to change the carburetor and needs oil change.

You can definitely get good deals from them but they charge a premium for online bidding and cc fees and a fee to put it on a pallet for shipping. Good thing is no sales tax if you're shipping with a Bill of Lading.

Pictures of lot items show up closer to auction date. Once they are up go through them pick the ones you like then give them a call and ask for Andy and he'll tell you what kind of condition it's in.


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## mantnyh (Aug 12, 2018)

Nice piece. Mine blew white smoke as well and I ended up changing the carburator. Good luck with it.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

Thanks @mantnyh For your carburetor replacement did you go with oem or aftermarket? Oem is $150 but I might chance it and get a $20 aftermarket from amazon but not sure if it would fit. Are all gx120 carbs the same spec?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I would wait on the carb. White smoke normally means burnt oil. You had the machine horizontal, so oil could move to spots it is not supposed to.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

+1


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

Good call. I'll let it sit until the weekend and see if that helps before I start fiddling.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Actually do the opposite. Check the oil levels and the filters, then let it run for 20-30 min.


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## mantnyh (Aug 12, 2018)

If it is just white smoke and not throttling wierd maybe oil related, but mine was white and never idled right. I bought a China Honda knock off from Amazon and it works fine.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

Mine is definitely struggling while idle full throttled and just dies if it's anything less. I'll do what g-man suggested and if that doesn't work I'll start messing with the carb.

Funny story. When I brought this home today it wouldn't start. Pulled the cord, checked choke, gas, oil level, fuel cut off everything seemed okay just wouldn't turnover. Andy at Weeks said it started first pull when he tried. Humm. So here I am on my driveway, freezing my *** off in 20degree weather trying to start this thing for 45mins with no luck. Annnnnd that's when I notice this little red stop sticker staring at me  you know the one that's next to the "on" switch. Lol.


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## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

Shoulda gone Toro &#128513;&#128513;&#129338;&#129338;

For real though congrats on the new machine you will love reel mowing!


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

The carbs on these engines are about as simple as they get. Go to a Honda dealer and buy a new set of gaskets. Shoot some carb cleaner in every hole you can and follow it with a little compressed air and she'll be good as new.

If I leave my mower tilted back for more than 5-10 minutes it'll blow smoke and run kinda rough till it burns it off


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## Pete1313 (May 3, 2017)

Congrats on the new mower! It's a beauty! I loved the 220SL I had a few years ago, it was so much fun to mow with.


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## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

SantiCazorla said:


> Funny story. When I brought this home today it wouldn't start. Pulled the cord, checked choke, gas, oil level, fuel cut off everything seemed okay just wouldn't turnover. Andy at Weeks said it started first pull when he tried. Humm. So here I am on my driveway, freezing my @ss off in 20degree weather trying to start this thing for 45mins with no luck. Annnnnd that's when I notice this little red stop sticker staring at me  you know the one that's next to the "on" switch. Lol.


I did the exact same thing. Checked everything and gave it a couple pulls with nothing happening... noticed and flipped that same switch and cranked up next pull like a champ haha.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

@HoosierLawnGnome I originally planned on purchasing a Toro 1600 but for some reason they seem to command a higher price than jd260s. I'm guessing it's because of that ward guy and his magical lawn vids. Not hating tho because that's how I found this site.

@J_nick Thanks for the tips. I would rather do that than having to replace the entire carb.

@Pete1313 Not going to lie. Your 220sl rebuild post is what convinced me to do my own servicing. The amount of detail you went into each and every step was awesome especially the pics with the screwdriver pointing to each part you were referencing. Way better than the jd manual I found online.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

@Brackin4au My neighbors already think I'm crazy but now they know I'm an idiot. Lol


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

Hi, any update on your 260? I purchased one from weeks as well and am looking to replace the reel. It looks like yours has the same showturf sticker as mine, which makes me think both yours and mine came from the same golf course. Mine also has same peeling paint on the left side. I wonder if they stored them in a shed or something all facing the same direction and the sun only beat down on that side? ha


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## Reddog90 (Aug 30, 2018)

SantiCazorla said:


> Pictures of lot items show up closer to auction date. Once they are up go through them pick the ones you like then give them a call and ask for Andy and he'll tell you what kind of condition it's in.


They have an Auction this Friday but I can't find pictures of what they're auctioning off. Am I looking in the wrong spot?

https://weeksauction.com/auctions/

I click view more info and it takes me to a page where I can sign up for their email list.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

Reddog90 said:


> SantiCazorla said:
> 
> 
> > Pictures of lot items show up closer to auction date. Once they are up go through them pick the ones you like then give them a call and ask for Andy and he'll tell you what kind of condition it's in.
> ...


It's usually the Weeks Auction in GA that people buy from. This one is in fla. the next GA one is in December I believe.


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## magoodall65 (Jul 19, 2018)

@Reddog90, this is the Weeks site you need:
https://www.weeksfarmmachinery.com/


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## Reddog90 (Aug 30, 2018)

magoodall65 said:


> @Reddog90, this is the Weeks site you need:
> https://www.weeksfarmmachinery.com/


Thanks. Don't see any greensmowers right now.


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## magoodall65 (Jul 19, 2018)

@Reddog90 They have a big turf one in December


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

ZachUA said:


> Hi, any update on your 260? I purchased one from weeks as well and am looking to replace the reel. It looks like yours has the same showturf sticker as mine, which makes me think both yours and mine came from the same golf course. Mine also has same peeling paint on the left side. I wonder if they stored them in a shed or something all facing the same direction and the sun only beat down on that side? ha


Hiya @ZachUA. I'm guessing from the 3/12 Showturf sticker on my mower the distributer sent 12 of these machines to auction early this year. If yours is in the same condition as mine im sure you're happy with your purchase. Only thing that bothered me was the paint like you pointed out. I planned a thorough cosmetic rebuild like some others here have done, like stripping all paintable parts down to bare metal then 2 coast of primer, 3 coast of paint, get new plastic side and handlebar covers... the whole shebang. Then i mowed with it for the first time. Banged into the sidewalk, the fence, a few trees, two marble benches annnd got stuck in a mulch bed.... oh not to mention i hit a tree root and bent a brand new reel and bedknife. So as of now, as long as she cuts paper and starts on first pull she could gain 150lbs and ill still love her.

The reel replacement was super easy btw. The write up @Pete1313 has on here detailing his 220 rebuild was key. I followed that post step by step and had mine up and running in a weekend. Would have been a day but i didn't have access to a bearing puller. As long as you have all the parts and know right is tight you'll be fine. If you get stuck make a post and someone here will point you in the rigth direction.


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## NeVs (Aug 17, 2018)

@SantiCazorla curious, have you measured the reel to determine the reel life?


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

NeVs said:


> @SantiCazorla curious, have you measured the reel to determine the reel life?


The one it came with was in great shape and had plenty of life left but it's an 11 blade. For my HOC 7/8" i wanted the 7 blade for higher FOC. Not sure if it makes that much of a difference since i never mowed with the 11 blade but im happy with how shes cutting with this setup.

Edit: just measured it. 4.85" diameter on stock 11 blade reel.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

SantiCazorla said:


> ZachUA said:
> 
> 
> > Hi, any update on your 260? I purchased one from weeks as well and am looking to replace the reel. It looks like yours has the same showturf sticker as mine, which makes me think both yours and mine came from the same golf course. Mine also has same peeling paint on the left side. I wonder if they stored them in a shed or something all facing the same direction and the sun only beat down on that side? ha
> ...


Really happy to hear the reel replacement was easy. I am a little intimidated by it. I'v done a lot of work on cars but not small engines/mowers. There seems be a learning curve to all the little parts that hold these together. Like the groomer, I'm having a hard time figuring ng our how to remove it to start work on where Pete began his tutorial.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

Sorry for the funky formatting. Was responding on mobile and it went awry.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

@ZachUA

To remove the GTC

Unscrew the 4 bolts from GTC cover

Remove cover

Unscrew bolt from largest diameter gear on reel shaft

Remove largest diameter gear

Remove snap ring


Unscrew nut and bolt the holds the adjuster to the housing

Same for the other side. Unscrew nut and bolt that holds adjuster to arm (no housing on this side)

Groomer should slide right out of housing and arm

Pull entire housing out and set aside
And thats all you have to do. There's no need to disassemble anything else from inside the GTC since you're removing not replacing any parts in there. Hope this helps.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@ZachUA @SantiCazorla here is the 220E GTC when I took it apart. The hardest part was getting the bearing off the shaft. I rented a flat bearing tool at a autopart.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

g-man said:


> @ZachUA @SantiCazorla here is the 220E GTC when I took it apart. The hardest part was getting the bearing off the shaft. I rented a flat bearing tool at a autopart.


Nice thanks for sharing! You guys are saving me a lot of money. Thank you for helping. That grease looks like chocolate syrup!


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

SantiCazorla said:


> @ZachUA
> 
> To remove the GTC
> 
> ...


That seems pretty straight forward! Thank you for the list! I am going to tackle that part tonight.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

g-man said:


> @ZachUA @SantiCazorla here is the 220E GTC when I took it apart. The hardest part was getting the bearing off the shaft. I rented a flat bearing tool at a autopart.


Your 220E and @pete1313's 220sl post should be required reading for anyone looking to do their own maintenance. Maybe have them stickied on the first page of John Deere Questions Thread?


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

g-man said:


> @ZachUA @SantiCazorla here is the 220E GTC when I took it apart. The hardest part was getting the bearing off the shaft. I rented a flat bearing tool at a autopart.


Hi @g-man renting the tool is a great idea. is it just called a flat bearing puller? I'm looking at oreillys https://www.oreillyauto.com/rental-tools


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

This is exactly what I used. Called a bearing separator. I think it was AutoZone. Orielly did not had this one.

By the way I have tons of more pictures than those posted.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

g-man said:


> This is exactly what I used. Called a bearing separator. I think it was AutoZone. Orielly did not had this one.
> 
> By the way I have tons of more pictures than those posted.


Nice! The zone always has the hookup. Thank you sir!


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