John Deere 185

JL Ray

Member
Can any one comment on the Kawasaki engine used in the 185?
I believe it 17 HP. Were these good engines?
Are there any issues I should be aware of before buying an engine?
 
Those Kawasaki engines were very good engines. I'm thinking that was either an FB or FC series engine. They are getting to be 25 or more years old, however.

One thing you should know: Kawasaki said that they were going to phase out parts support for the non-Deere versions of that engine. (The FB, I think) You may be o.k. for a while, I have not heard about any problems getting parts for the Deere versions of those engines yet.
 
I am sorry, I cannot. As far as I know, Kawasaki has never given out that info to the non-Deere dealers.

When I say non-Deere dealer, Kawasaki makes a large distinction between engines sold through Deere as opposed to most other OEMS. Their contract says that Deere will be the servicing dealer for Kawasaki engines sold on Deere products and the non-Deere dealers do not have access to even those parts books.

I bet the right Deere collector could tell you how old the tractor is by the serial number. If its like the 160 I am currently working on, the tractor serial tag is on the frame by the left front tire.
There is a good Deere website called WeekendFreedomMachines.com or something close. They may be able to help you there.
 
i went ahead and purchased the motor or the front half of the tractor for 100.00. I desided I wasn't goning to get hurt too bad. I see when the serial number was and it appears to have been recently removed. It runs great with no smoke at all. It should do fine for my bank mower project.
 
They only made the JD 185 1986-1990. So it is getting some age on it. The motor is just about the same one as the JD 260.265,325. So there are a lot of models out there. They are dependable. Just keep the oil changed and use 10-30 oil in it. Too thick of oil or go too long on changes and you can have a balancer guide/pin fail. Usually ruins the block if that happens.
 

I have the FC540V in my GT275, 1997 model year. In the short time I've had it, it has been very good. Surprising amount of power for that size engine, nothing I've thrown at it has bogged it down, including mowing some weedy pastures (48" deck).
 

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