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 | Steve
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 179 UK 
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2000-06-13 17158
Help! Expert advice needed! I have a JD 318 garden tractor and want to use it for both light grading/dirt work and snowplowing. Which would be better for each of these applications: a JD 54" front blade or a rear scraper blade on a 3pt hitch (if I can find a 3 pt hitch)? Any advice would be appreciated!
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| Brent Pepper
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 58 Athens Alabama
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2000-06-13 17159
Steve,
E-mail me at tractors4u@hotmail.com. I found a design for a 3 pt hitch for a 318 on a web page. I will send it to you. I also have a 318, it is a great mower.
Brent Pepper ....
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| DanaT
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 138 Clay Center,Ks
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2000-06-13 17162
When I had a 318 the best for light work was the front blade, you could lock it in position so it would not trip the springs. with hyd power down the front end would raise off the ground, that much more weight on the blade, but weights & chains are sometimes needed. The 3 point blade doesn't have power down. I still have a set of chains if you need some. ....
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| Big Eddy
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2000-06-14 17174
I would suggest the front blade is much better, at least for snow removal. I have a 322, same blade. Advice - weight is important. I built a ballast box for the rear of my tractor (mounts in the same channel as my rear bagger) that I fill with sand, wet and let freeze. Adds about 200 lbs and makes a huge difference. Chains on the tires are required if using turf tires and adjust pressure to maximum suggested. The problem with all garden tractors and ground engaging implements is traction. They just don't have the weight to be effective. For snow, the best solution is to angle the blade and keep moving. Plow uphill if possible, as backing uphill with the weight of the blade on the front is difficult at best. Use your differential brakes to help when one wheel starts to slip. I have cleared 2' of snow from my 300' drive no problem. For gravel drives, do not use the float setting. You will dig in!! For pavement, float works fine, but traction is even worse.
For gravel and dirt, the blade will effectively spread loose gravel, and will dig soft dirt, but don't expect to cut through sod, or into hard packed dirt. The secret is to go slow and take little bites. I wouldn't want to be trying to do a large project, but I have backfilled around foundations, levelled gravel, and smoothed out a new lawn effectively. For dirt use, unlock the blade to save the tractor! Again, you will find that the wheels will spin and dig a hole if you try to push too much at once. I find that levelling is best accomplished in reverse. Set the blade to float and back up, pulling the material with you.
IMO 3 pt blades do a better job of levelling, but are not as effective for pushing dirt, or for snow. For snow, you essentially need to drive over the snow first, and about 4" is enough to stop a 318 with turfs, chains or not. Going in reverse is just hard to do!
Hope this helps
Big Eddy ....
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| Steve
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 179 UK
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2000-07-10 17853
Thanks Brent, Dana, and Big Eddy for your helpful advice!
Dana, when you get the chance, would you please email me with info about the chains you have?
While I was away my JD dealer was able to locate a used 54" front blade for me. Using it over the weekend I noticed that they hydraulic angle would tend to drift a few degrees as I was pushing some loose dirt around. When I lifted the blade and tried to push it by hand, I also noticed that (say) if the blade was at 20 degrees to the right, I could push it back (compressing the piston) to about 15 degrees before the hydraulics prevented me from moving it farther. The same is true when the blade is angled to the left (extending the piston). Occassionally when back grading the blade seemed to drift even more that 5 degrees or so from where I had set it before I angled it back into place.
Does any of this sound like normal functioning for this type of blade? If not, what could be the problem??
Thanks!
....
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