John Deere Z335E 655cc Zero Turn Mower Starter Motor | 12V 0.9kW 10T CCW | OE MIA12919

Zero-turn mowers get started and stopped far more often than a lawn tractor, and the Z335E is the machine that introduced a lot of owners to the category. That start-stop rhythm is hard on a starter. This is the replacement motor for the ones that finally give up.

The Z335E carries a V-twin in the 20 to 22 hp class, depending on the model year, and turns a 42-inch Accel Deep deck. Its starter is a 10-tooth counter-clockwise unit. The number on the motor you take off is the one to match; if it is a 9-tooth, this is not the part.

The motor is a permanent-magnet direct-drive design. There is no planetary set behind the pinion, so there is nothing inside to strip. The stator and rotor are copper wound, the barrel is plated, and the drive end runs a sealed bearing.

Mounting is the two-bolt flange pattern with 8 mm holes and a pilot spigot. The spigot does the centring, which is why you can swap the motor on a driveway without measuring pinion depth.

If the mower clicks once when you turn the key and nothing else happens, stop and test the solenoid before you buy a motor. A single click with a good battery is the relay, not the starter. A motor that spins slowly, smells hot, or draws the battery down in a few seconds is the motor.

Clean the ground path while you are in there. On a zero-turn the engine sits on rubber mounts and the ground strap does the whole job; a frayed strap makes a healthy starter look like a dead one.

Keep cranking bursts short. Fifteen seconds on, a couple of minutes off. The motor is intermittent duty and the pinion does not need to be spun against a flywheel that is not going to catch.

John Deere has sold the Z335E since 2016 and still lists it. The deck and the engine changed across that run, but the starter pattern did not. Fitment here is for the Z335E only, not for the Z335M or the Z345M, which use a different engine package.

We list no torque, no current draw and no no-load speed for this unit. Those numbers would have to come off a bench test we have not run, and an invented figure is worse than no figure. Voltage, power class, teeth, rotation and flange are what we can stand behind.

Sold as the motor alone. Reuse the original bolts, keep your solenoid, and check the ring gear teeth for burring while the motor is off. A new starter on a chewed ring gear will sound bad from the first crank.

Stock ships in 15 to 30 days. Twelve-month replacement warranty on windings and bearings. Minimum order one piece, so a single repair shop can buy single units.