Bought the service manual but it's wrong!

[sblg43]

I picked up a 1984 John Deere 116. It's in good shape but needs a little TLC.

I bought a service manual (TM1206 May 85) that says it applies to 108, 111, 111H, 112L and 116 lawn tractors.

A vast majority of the 600+ pages are about the engines in each tractor. I don't need that so much because I have specific engine repair manuals for that stuff. It's cool though, because I like service manuals and having a little extra information is a good thing.

However,

As I look in the book to find out how to adjust the clutch, the procedure in the book, for a 116 (Not the 116H) doesn't work with my 116. The photos in the book show a different layout than my tractor.

I was able to figure it out on my own, but why did I buy the book if I can't use it?

What else might I find that's not going to jive with my tractor?

[bgsengine]

I picked up a 1984 John Deere 116. It's in good shape but needs a little TLC.

I bought a service manual (TM1206 May 85) that says it applies to 108, 111, 111H, 112L and 116 lawn tractors.

A vast majority of the 600+ pages are about the engines in each tractor. I don't need that so much because I have specific engine repair manuals for that stuff. It's cool though, because I like service manuals and having a little extra information is a good thing.

However,

As I look in the book to find out how to adjust the clutch, the procedure in the book, for a 116 (Not the 116H) doesn't work with my 116. The photos in the book show a different layout than my tractor.

I was able to figure it out on my own, but why did I buy the book if I can't use it?

What else might I find that's not going to jive with my tractor?

Manual may be older and your tractor may be a newer model year or perhaps they had a service bulletin to update the clutch to a newer better version or perhaps someone swapped out a clutch that should not be on a 116.. (or maybe someone swapped out a hood and you don't actually HAVE a 116 ? does your VIN number match the rest of the machine? check JD's online parts lookups? ) - in other words, the older a machine is, the more likely that something is not gonna "match up" to a manual of the same vintage.

[KE4AVB]

That's good point as when I looked at the IPL for 116 drive belt clutch is not really adjustable; just the Warner PTO Clutch. Be carefully though as there are 2 different drive belts, an 1/2 x 87 and an 1/2 x 88. Supposedly the serial break is at 28500 but I have seen this to off on some mowers. The short belt was use on the newer models

[KE4AVB]

What on the serial number tag?

[sblg43]

According to the hood and the id tag - it is a 116 with a 46" deck.

But according to info found at tractordata.com, this unit was built in 1985. The service manual is from "May 95". So I think it's possible that changes were made in 1985 that didn't make it to the book.