# Peerless 184956 was never filled with oil, was it supposed to?



## philtman (Jul 6, 2013)

Cracked this transmission open and was surprised to find it bone dry inside, some grease on the bearings, but that's it. There was no seal where the two halves bolt together, so I'm wondering, does this thing just use grease? Or did someone at the factory really screw up? 

If it does just use grease, it's a really stupid idea. The bottom is covered with metal shavings and several gears are ground down or missing teeth...


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Welcome to the Forum!..philtman.. Pretty sure its supposed to have oil 20w50 some use synthetic but some use conventional oil. How old is this tractor?


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## philtman (Jul 6, 2013)

Thanks for the response and warm welcome! It's my friend's tractor and at his place so I'd have to call, but it's at least 5 years old.

I think I agree with you. It's even got drain and fill plugs on the shell. Even if it was supposed to be grease packed, the factory didn't do that either. The gears have never seen lube. Metal dust and teeth everywhere. Poor thing... 

You sure the oil is 20w50 though? The last one I worked on was 80w90.


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

philtman said:


> Thanks for the response and warm welcome! It's my friend's tractor and at his place so I'd have to call, but it's at least 5 years old.
> 
> I think I agree with you. It's even got drain and fill plugs on the shell. Even if it was supposed to be grease packed, the factory didn't do that either. The gears have never seen lube. Metal dust and teeth everywhere. Poor thing...
> 
> You sure the oil is 20w50 though? The last one I worked on was 80w90.




Use 80W90 weight oil in the transmission and use a light coat of silicone sealant to seal it. I found this on a sears tech site so it should be correct.


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## Bill Kapaun (May 8, 2007)

"Remove filler plug from transaxle.
Oillevel must be even with plug threads.
If necessary, fill with SAE 30 motor oil, API SF, SG or SH.


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## philtman (Jul 6, 2013)

Is that from the manual, Bill? 

BTW, reverse idler gear got so hot it literally welded itself to the shaft! Never seen anything like it. Guess that explains why reverse went out.


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## Bill Kapaun (May 8, 2007)

That number is a replacement number for an earlier? version.
A bit of Google and I found a Sears 917.xxxxxx number that used the earlier vesion.
I got the instructions from that owners manual.
You might look in yours or post the 917.xxxxxx number for this tractor.


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## Ed_GT5000 (Sep 30, 2003)

I heard of this years ago on a forum (maybe this one) when I bought my GT5000. I wonder if Peerless is at fault or AYP if they built the tractor? In any case it is a good idea to check this on any new equipment. And don't forget to check engine oil before first start up!


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## Bill Kapaun (May 8, 2007)

Since Part # 184956 Replaces # 161823, maybe whoever replaced the original didn't fill the replacement? 
Which begs the question of what happened to the 1st one?


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## philtman (Jul 6, 2013)

Bill Kapaun said:


> Since Part # 184956 Replaces # 161823, maybe whoever replaced the original didn't fill the replacement?
> Which begs the question of what happened to the 1st one?


Good detective work! I talked to the owner last night and this is exactly what happened. The first one developed some kind of shifting issue and Sears sent someone out to replace the tranny under warranty. The tech obviously forgot to fill it with oil after he was done...


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

philtman said:


> Good detective work! I talked to the owner last night and this is exactly what happened. The first one developed some kind of shifting issue and Sears sent someone out to replace the tranny under warranty. The tech obviously forgot to fill it with oil after he was done...




Any chance they will replace it?


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## Brutus (Oct 6, 2012)

wjjones said:


> Any chance they will replace it?


Good luck with that! :lmao:


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

Yep they would never admit to fault would they.


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