Jerry,

Scroll down a few threads to,

John deere 318 serial#

Bob

 

Jerry,

Welcome to the WFM forums and to owning a classic and desirable 318 tractor.

Since you are asking about the year model and not a replacement serial number tag, I presume that your inquiry has to do with getting the right parts for your tractor, correct?

Let's begin with the serial number tag on the engine if that is present...the Onan serial numbers start with a single letter followed by a series of numerals. The first two numbers after the letter represent the last two digits of the year of engine manufacture, the letter is the month (A=January, B=February, etc.) If your tractor has its original engine , you can be fairly certain that the tractor itself was made just a few months after that engine date code.

There were several major running changes in the 318 model during production and you can bracket the serial number range/model year by carefully matching your tractor to these changes.

For instance, the hydro lever dampener linkage had four 'revisions' and the serial number ranges of each are clearly shown in the PC1924 parts catalog (viewable for free on the JDParts web site.) I will send you an excerpt via e-mail to make it easier to do the comparisons. Another very major change occurred in the mid 1980's when the B43G series engines were updated to the P218G series. A somewhat later change added the parking brake safety switch at SN 600,305 which is mid 1989 model year run. You get the idea...

Let us know some particulars about our tractor and we can help narrow it down.

Chuck

 

any info would help on year model the orginal motor was a onan the person i bought it from said it was broke and he replaced it with a linamar.the 318 has 3 point lift and hyd connections in the front on the rear axle there are # H85069 ON THE FRONT AXLE #2050002.

 

Jerry,

One area that you can look into to narrow your serial # range would be Hydrostatic Control Linkages. You can access JD Parts through this link:

http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com.deere.u90490.partscatalog.view.servlets.HomePageServlet_Alt?search=model&model=318

You can go to the Sectional Index and then select PowerTrain and then select the different listings for the Hydrostatic Controls. Compare the illustrations to your tractor and this way you will be able to narrow down your serial # range which would then allow you to narrow down the year.

There are other areas that other members will post where there are known differences in serial # ranges this is just one.

Bob

 

Jerry,

I agree with Bob and gave some examples of what items to look for in my prior post above. I just sent you a PDF of the PC1924 which will help you study the details, but here is an example:

The fuel tank on the 318 was changed as noted in the figure below, beginning at SN475,001 which is the start of the 1988 model year. When you take the fender deck off the tractor and look down on the tank -- check to see if the fuel pickup hoses are as shown below (pre-1988) or as described for the non-illustrated one that was supplied for 1988 and newer tractors.

Just look through the PC1924 and find other instances of serial number breaks that can be clues to narrowing your tractor's date of manufacture.

Chuck

 

Thanks for all the help it looks as if it maybe 1983 to 1984 with the info provided it will be easier to pick the right parts. Again thanks to all