OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Finding and Swapping Idle Chatter Deutscher 360 Ride-on

hi guys, starting to clean up my new property and found a deutscher 360 tucked under a tree with a tarp over it, has a 12.5 ic quiet briggs on it, just wondering roughly how old it would be and if its worth dragging out and fixing up? ill try get some pictures tommorow in the daylight

Hi billyj,
Welcome here and to the Deutscher world. Good machines, probably the most rugged machines ever built.The go to man on these is Terry Scanlon in NSW. He was keeping a register of all the machines, who has them and where they are located and their build dates etc, plus he has mountains of parts. I haven't spoken to him for some time, hope he is still ok and keeping these machines running. The model number is on the brass plate on the steering tiller, from that he can tell you where it slots in as these were built for a long period of time without change. You can see if you can contact Terry at
tscanlon@webone.com.au

Heres a couple of pics i took today.

Looks like it is number 2743, Terry will be able to tell you when it was built. Bit of work on it and it has years of life left in it, they are so repairable compared to the newer plastic fantastic, made of the thinnest sheetmetal they can get away with and usually just last long enough to be out of warranty. If you have grass to cut on the new property, this machine is worth every cent you spend on it to get it mowing again, as long as you can turn a spanner and do the basic maintenance on it

Hello billyj and ST NormK
I've said many times Deutscher has long gone unrecognised in Australia.
This annoys me, because they were such an early maker of rotary lawnmowers here!

However, I struggle with the dating ...
We know Deutscher made the R model from May, 1966, to November, 1993.
Is this Australia's longest running ride-on model ... 27 years?


The best bet - for dating - must be the maker ... Deutscher Mowers: -

https://www.deutschermowers.com.au/

The attachments, some no longer available from Deutsher, are most telling ...

Well that confirms my suspicion that the motor is not original with its code being 9605307a

Guess ill have a proper look and try get it going. That will make 3 ride ons to mow 8acres thats half bush.

I brought the rover originally just to be up and running. Then scored the murray last weekend for $50 "needing work" a cutter belt, blades and releveled dexk later and its working perfect and now got the deutscher to play with

Just had a look at your photos. The mower is around mid seventies vintage. Rust may be a nuisance in some areas as gear levers, nuts and bolts and rear wheels are affected. Looks like you have a spare transmission belt, $70 worth if it is unused. The battery box is a non standard fitting for the B&S which has replaced an earlier B&S
It would be good if you could get your Deutscher going and compare its performance to the other machines you have. I get lots of feedback from Deutscher owners who have tried different modern mowers and found them unsatisfactory with both quality of cut on good lawns and inability to handle the real rough stuff.
If you are planning to get the Deutscher going I can send you heaps of info that expands on what is in the very basic Deutscher manual plus includes a lot of my ideas on how to get the best out of your machine and how to tackle some of the problem repair operations.
It is quite possible that some well intentioned previous owner has done some work on your machine and taken a short cut repair of made adjustments without understanding the way the machine works.
Please email me tscanlon@webone.com.au for this free information and you're welcome to call 04074 13028 to discuss any problems.
Terry Scanlon
Tahmoor. NSW

Here's an example of the info you will get

I do plan on trying to get it going but probly wont happen for a few months at least while i build my new shed.

had a bit of spare time on my hands today so decided to have a look at the old girl, after a bit of lube to free up the jammed pull starter and a tank of fresh fuel it actually started pretty easily just hot wiring the stater with jump leads, will give it a good wash tomorrow and start looking into the issues,

1. wiring is a mess but shouldnt be too hard
2 can engage drive in reverse but cant get forward drive
3 cutter deck seems to be not quite disengaging completely

hopefully a good wash and some lube will help alot

well bugger me a bit of lube and work the levers back and forth and she works, got drive in both directions and cuts, even leavs a pretty neat cut in long grass with old blades.

might have to bite the bullet and give it a proper clean and repaint the rust, ive never laughed or smiled so much when mowing the lawn as when i was driving it just before

next job battery, wiring and clean/repaint the rust spots

Tough old machines aren't they, makes the current plastic covered shiney ones look second rate in the longevity stakes and you can repair everything yourself without having to get it dealer serviced every time something gets pushed out of shape on them

gave it a good run today mowing a far bit of high grass and slashing down some blackberrys, definetly love it, will cut its way through anything i pint it at and leaves a nice neat cut in the process, id rate the cut as about equal to my rover rancher 1866 twin disc 38" mower which has 4 blades per disc, and it shits all over my early 2000's murray 40" with bar blades

Anything with a disc type blade carrier will always be a 100 times better machine than anything with that dumb assed bar blade idea, even the baby little 16 inch Sprinters are completely transformed from a joke into a good mower just by fitting a round blade carrier with a bit of weight in it. How any idiot could think that a bar blade weighing 300 grams was ever going to be suitable to cut grass just beggars belief

Havent had much time to play with the old 360 lately. Trying to get a shed built to give me room to work

Noticed last time i tried to use it that there is something weong with the transmission. Feels like there is a tooth missing off a gear in both forward and reverse so no doubt will have to be stripped down when i get a chance. Anyone got an idea pf the most likely culprit

Yep, that is what it will be, pain in the butt, but not a big job to pull the box and split it. I think Terry had one on ebay for $180, not sure if it is still there. It is probably the only weak point in those Deutschers

yer saw that gear on ebay and suspected it might be the one i need, was really hoping to have my shed done by now but bloody council permits are taking forever. shed isnt that big only a lazy 200 square meters.

might just bite the bullet and grab the gear and pull it down one weekend

Just check with Terry just to be sure, pretty sure I need one of those gears as well for one of mine. Councils are a real pain at times, I thought they would have been a bit easier to get on with in the Bush.

sadly we come undere the same council as bacchus marsh and also have too many greenie morons in council. bit of a pain needing a full blown town planning permit but ill get there eventually

Having repaired or dismantled scores of Deutscher gearboxes I have found that it is rarely the bronze gear that is the cause of the problem. This was very surprising as the bronze gear will get stripped very quickly if the gearbox is run without oil.
Often transmission problems are simple fixes
1, Loose wheel nuts - axle does not engage wheel properly
2. Prolonged use with slightly loose wheel nuts causes damage to mating parts of wheel hub and axle end. May give slippage prior to stripping ot completely
3. Incorrect assembly of external For-Rev gear change mechanism on gearbox eventually causes gearbox lockup
My notes address these and other potential problems and are available free of charge just phone me 0407413028