# TLC for an Aging Hydro



## nyoder (Feb 9, 2004)

Folks,
help me out here if you can. My brother has an aging MTD machine with an 18 hp Briggs Intek and a hydro. The hydro whines and is getting slow -- barely pulls steep hills and whines quite a bit. It's a sealed unit, although it has a little breather hose of some sort. I remember reading about some guys topping off their fluid thru this breather and I think the performance improved. Has anyone tried this? Any advice on what fluid to use, assuming we're unable to determine exactly what should go in there?

Thanks,
NY


----------



## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

He should be able to drain it out of the vent by a small pump and hose or by taking it off and turning it upside down. And how ever much comes out put the same back in. I don't know what kind it takes but my Cub 1525s takes 20w-50 1gal or 78.8oz. That what my parts manual says. Does he have a parts manual if he does it should tell him what kind of oil it takes.
Jody


----------



## nyoder (Feb 9, 2004)

He doesn't have a parts manual--this one was a roadside bargain a couple of years ago. I wonder what would happen if we overfilled it; would it do any damage?


----------



## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

I would drain it because the oil has more then likely gotten hot and is bad. Plus you can see how much oil it has in it it may be low but you would at least get new oil in it. If you can find out what brand hydro it is then maybe you can find out how much and what kind of oil it takes. Over filling isn't good on the seals not to mention it'll make a mess if it starts coming out the vent.
Jody


----------



## nyoder (Feb 9, 2004)

Well, we'll see what we can do. Hopefully we can get a model # or at least a make off of the transmission so we can get a better feel for what we need.


----------

