# Seven Iron John Deere mover



## cnovak (May 1, 2014)

The other day I was mowing with my JD tractor. I have a 60" belly mount Seven Iron mower from JD. About 15 years old. I noticed that oil was leaking from the PTO shaft where it entered the gear box on top of the mower. I assume the gasket is damaged and needs to be replaced. I stopped mowing so I would not damage the unit. 

1) How much oil can leak before the gear box is damaged?
2) Is this a repair that a weekend warrior without a lot or repair experience should attempt? Or is this a major thing for the technician. 
3) Is this something I could have avoided?
4) Should I expect this to happen again 10 years from now?
Thanks 


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Howdy cnovak,

Nobody can tell you how much oil can leak before the gearbox is damaged. You will have to make repairs and see if the gearbox is noisy afterwards.

I'm not familiar with the 7 iron deck gearbox, but normally a shaft seal can be accessed from the outside. Pretty simple job. Buy a new seal (so you know what you are looking for), and see if you can spot the old seal up front. If so, drive a sharp screwdriver (or maybe an ice pick) into the old seal and pry it out. Tap the new seal into place to get it started square and then use a piece of pipe over the shaft to drive it into final position. Keep it square...don't allow it to get going in crooked. Don't drive it too far. 

Seals fail over time. And yes, it will fail again...just a matter of time.


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## z445guy (Mar 10, 2017)

Novak like sixbales nobody can tell you how much oil can leak out , 1 is it actually gear oil, motor oil ,hydraulic oil , a light oil , a tranny oil , or is there grease fittings on the gear box and it's packed with grease . These are things you have to find out so when you fix the seal that's leaking you use the right kind of lube for it . If you use the the wrong lube in the gearbox your talking about over time and how much time it can burn up the gear box of your belly mower 


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