A X495 is a much larger machine. Deck will be shaft drive on the big Xs. There is a 3pt hitch kit (cat 0-1) for the big Xs. I had serious doubts about the X4xx doing much with a back blade but was surprised. My current machine is an X485 which is fuel injected gasoline powered. Mine has hydraulic outlets... I think all of that size do. Yet to install the pto kit... $800 last time I priced. I've had a 345 (gas version). Nice lawnmower! Bit smaller deck and everything is belt drive. Actually I liked the belt driven deck... very easy to remove. I had a snowblower attachment so removing the deck was something I did yearly. There is a power bar under the tractor that provides hydraulic deck/blower lift but no output ports. Snowthrower set me back $1400 with chains!... fully up to every bit of snow Michigan could dump in my 400' driveway. I like my X485 better then the 345 for most things. The little 345 made a better snowthrower because the smaller size was easy to get in tight spots.. plenty of snow throwing power. The x485 wins hands down on ride comfort... those larger tires and a better seat really take some bumps out of the ride. I like the fender well tool box... place to keep my hitch pins. It still pulls a wagon with the 3pt but you have to be careful with turns. Lights on the X485 are wonderful... love the back work lights as I often push snow in the dark. With the X485 I use tire chains and a 5' back blade for snow... don't know what they cost as they came with the tractor. Not as nice as the 345/thrower combo. Back blade works well enough I've not spent money on a thrower for the X485. I buried my Blazer 4x4 truck in the drive last winter and the X485 had no problem plowing all the way around the truck. It will even move light snow without tire chains. I have a cultivator attachment that digs up my garden fairly well... a whole slew of attachments opens up with the 3pt hitch. With the smaller 300 size you only have what fits that tractor. I don't care for the shaft drive deck on the X485... have to get down with an allen wrench to unhook it. Not a huge deal but I'm getting old to be on my knees reaching under a tractor. Issue is more my old body then any defect of the JD system.

Well, one way to determine if the head gasket is leaking compression/combustion into the cooling system is to connect a common radiator pressure tester to the radiator filler port before starting the engine when cold. DO NOT pump any pressure into the radiator with the tester pump, you are only going to use the pressure gauge to see how soon, and how much pressure, registers on the pressure gauge. If the pressure gauge shows a rise of pressure up to or near the pressure rating of the cap within a minute or so after starting, that indicates the system is being pressurized by something other than normal thermal expansion. Another way to test for compression/combustion leakage into the cooling system is very "old school" but still valid, however, it requires caution and a stop watch or timer. For this test, begin with a cold engine. Remove the fan belt from the pulleys and get the belt away from the crank pulley. Removing the belt disables the water pump and this is necessary because the swirl of the pump could spoil the "quiet stillness" needed to observe the escaping gases (if they are present). Remove the radiator cap. Top off the radiator with coolant so that there is no empty space below the inner radiator cap seat flange. Start the engine and your timer (or note the time on your watch). DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE MORE THAN 2 MINUTES without a fan belt. With the engine at idle RPM, watch the coolant in the radiator filler opening. If you see what look like "air bubbles" begin to burb out of the radiator opening within a few seconds after starting the cold engine, that is "compression/combustion gases" escaping from the cooling system. Be advised that on some engines and depending on how bad the compression/combustion leak actually is..........what you might see instead of a few bubbles............could be a geyser of coolant shooting up from the radiator filler opening, so don't stick your face too close to the opening, or directly above it, and you would be wise to wear some kind of approved eye safety goggles or face shield. If you see gas bubbles or a geyser within 2 minutes, you definitely have compression/combustion leaking into the cooling system. Now, about the tendency for the "grass screen" to clog quickly. That is unusual unless there are some other circumstances or conditions that are promoting a "cloud of debris" in front of the radiator while you are mowing. Have you looked really close at what the screen is catching? How tall is the grass or weeds (as I don't know what you normally are cutting) that you are mowing? Does the grass or weeds usually have "seed heads" or dandelion fluff? What about other types of plants such as milkweed (that also have airborne seeds connected to "fluff parasails")? If the grass/weeds you are mowing is fairly tall, has seed heads (or both) and you are mowing with the front bucket down low enough to "skim" the plants.......when the plants rebound after the bucket passes them, they are flinging fluff and seeds into the radiator air inflow zone where the screen can capture them. If that scenario does not match what you are doing, then you need to look closely at the exact circumstances that ARE taking place when you mow. Something is causing the tractor to draw debris filled air into the radiator and something is causing that debris cloud to be present. If you are cutting at a higher level in sparsely vegetated turf, it's likely that all this "chaff" is escaping all around the edges of the deck instead of being neatly discharged out the directional discharge chute. If that is what is happening, you (or someone) might need to engineer some sort of skirt in front of the deck to stop the chaff and clippings from escaping toward the front of the tractor.

When I was shopping for a tractor I made a list of the things it was suggested I look for. See the link Here is a link that might be useful: Guide

Rusty is right. JD dumped many small dealers and now you have to drive for parts. They don't follow the successful Walmart program of many little profits making a huge profit. Bad move in my mind. As a part time job, I service, on average, one machine every day of the year. 90% are Sears, or MTD. I really have to do almost no repair on the bodies, mostly routine stuff on the engines. I always loved my Wheelhorse 312A, non-Toro, but when I bought a used JD316, I have to honestly say that JD has it all over my Wheelhorse. Neither one has nickeled and dimed me, but my Eaton hydro pump did fail on the Horse after about 1000 hours. That set me back $800 for the part.