The team at Pape Machinery in Woodland, CA did all of the work, and were great to deal with. JD stood behind their product, replacing the destroyed engine, with the understanding that I would cover the labor costs for the installation. Had I been the original owner of the tractor, I probably would have taken issue with that. But that isn’t the case, and as difficult as it is to spend a few grand on a failure that should have never happened, I agreed to it.
For anyone that goes through this situation, here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Take a lot of photos and make note of the other situations I’ve linked to here on this site, especially the situations that show people like me, who have had their engines replaced due to this failure.
2. Contact John Deere Global Support and give them all of the information about the failure and your tractor’s serial number. They will likely give you a case number and direct you to take the tractor to a JD-licensed repair partner.
3. Find the nearest JD tractor repair facility and reach out to them, giving them the case number you were assigned by Global Support. Be sure to share the situations outlined on this website, as not all repair partners or regional JD reps are aware that JD corporate is still agreeing to replace engines. Making my rep aware that I found someone who just had their engine replaced 6 months ago seemed to help my case. Be good to your rep, as they will be your advocate with JD.
4. Cross your fingers that JD does the right thing.
If you have gone through this situation yourself, please make your situation known on GreenTractorTalk so that others can be more informed about the extent of this failure.