# Z445 Hydro fan replace



## CraigDavis (6 mo ago)

Can you change the fans on a john deer Z445 without pulling the pumps. Both Hydro fans are broken
Has 54" deck 27 horse.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Good Morning Craig, welcome to the tractor forum. 

If you can get to the fans without pulling the pumps, I think you can get the job done. The fans are plastic and should come out with relative ease. And if you break them trying to pull - no harm done!

I have a John Deere 777 Z-Trac mower and it has only one pump. I have done this job before, and I do have a spare fan in stock, but I have no recollection of the job (I'm old, and loss of memory goes with the territory). Good Luck.


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## Bob Driver (Nov 1, 2017)

CraigDavis said:


> Can you change the fans on a john deer Z445 without pulling the pumps. Both Hydro fans are broken
> Has 54" deck 27 horse.


Just rebuilt the R/S Tuff Torq on Z525, they use the same size transaxles, and basically the same chassis. Bad news is...... There's just not enough clearance to change the fans without dropping the transaxles down at least a few inches to get at the mounting nuts. It's a PITA just to get the drive belt to go back over the fan blades and into the pulleys on the reinstall.... It's just a very tight fit up under there. I'm fortunate to have table lifts. That's going to be a bear of a job if you're working through the wheel well, with the tire off, and laying on the ground. I had the machine 33" in the air and was sitting in a rolling office chair and still said more than a few bad words that would have made my Granny sad

One trick I can tell you is to hook one end of a ratcheting strap on the drive belt tensioner arm and hook the other end to the frame with the rear engine guard off to get a straight line pull. Once you tighten the strap up as far as it will go, you'll have both hands free to work the drive belt off of the pulley. You'll fight the left side more than the right, because the tensioner pulley spring is in the way of the belt dropping completely down.

I would *STRONGLY* suggest dropping both transaxles completely out and doing an oil/filter change.... Without the fans working right, they been running really hot. Tuff Torq in all their brilliance, doesn't have a drain plug and it's an internal filter. You have to drop the pan to get at the filter and it's really tough to get the pan to line back up if the axle is still on the machine, rather than re-assemblying with it upside down on a bench. Tuff Torq is also really proud of that internal filter.
Tuff Torq Filter

You're probably thinking to hell with that ordeal, but here's a picture of the pan on the 525 transaxle with a 180 hours on it. The 30W had absolutely cooked and all the fan blades were intact. Your oil may be as bad or worse..... Rebuild kit is $350 each side, New Transaxle is $800 each side, Straight 30W @ Wally World runs about $15 per side, Filter is $18.50 per side. Good luck finding a Tuff Torq Service manual on-line. The torque spec on the pan bolts is 18 inch lbs and that's on the parts diagram. Search Tuff Torq transaxle # 187Q0899510-7R parts diagram as a reference for what's inside.....


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