# transmission advice please!



## dMd_Yankee48 (Sep 29, 2012)

I joined this great forum recently as I was looking for information on repairing or replacing the transmission for my (2002 purchased) Scotts JD L2048 lawn tractor.

I used this machine, and did most repairs myself over its10 years, to mow about half our 5.3 acre property, half in lawns and a great bowl of an old hayfield which has giant old trees and protruding roots big as the amazing hulk's thighs, and the entire amount of time to do all the mowing at once can be about 9 hours (lots of cutting aound the antique homesteads antique monster trees and shrubs), plus the voyage of the field, which is about 40 degree slope on all 3 sides up to the tree line where it folds into a 'hollar' ( and in the woods becomes a stream). 

I just went over 1000 hours (wonder how many miles it equates to??), and finally the transmission started to slip. There was no noise, except when letting it coast backward (I was mowing up the field's sloping wall) and then tried to engae it in the reverse. It has a mild metal on metal sound, but no massive gear eating sound, and it went away on flat surface and the foward and reverse worked normally on flat surface, the first time this happened. The follwoing day I tried again and the transmission performance was getting worse so I parked it and shopped for the Husky.
I Never, ever had a transmission problem, which was pretty amazing. This past weekend I moved up to a beefier Husqvarna 26HP, 54" deck garden tractor. But I want to keep the Scotts because it still works great, has a 2 year old Briggs 26 HP engine in it and it has been well care for by me. 
So, I know the JD part # Am131580 and that its a Tuff Torque K46 hydrostatic transaxle. I understand there are repair kits Tuff Torque sells. My issue is, I'm not sure if it can just be repaired or if it needs to be replaced. Two days ago I was moving the machine to a temporary storage area for winterizing and cleaning. The transmission slowly got me there (about 20 yards). Then when I tried to back it up for storage there was no movement in forward or reverse. There was no grip at all with the pedal in forward or reverse, so ahd to disengage then push it.
I'm not a mechanic but i can read schematics and instructions and do lots of repairs, including PC hardware and software (self-taught), but I have NO, Nada, zilch, bupkas knowledge about whether this tranny is ok for surgery or is in hospice.
Any help will be really appreciated.
richard aka dMd_Yankee48
richard :what101:


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Can you see if there's a way to check/add fluid to the transaxle ? It may only be low . If in doubt ,ask your JD dealer. He can also tell you what type of fluid to use.


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## dMd_Yankee48 (Sep 29, 2012)

*I see said the blind man to his deaf dog...*



jhngardner367 said:


> Can you see if there's a way to check/add fluid to the transaxle ? It may only be low . If in doubt ,ask your JD dealer. He can also tell you what type of fluid to use.


Thanks jhn,

I'd wondered about that but since these are described as "sealed transmissions" I was not aware the fluid could be added (or even replaced). I will call the 2 JD places nearby and see what they say. Unfortunately, so far, I can't find a schematic with enough detail to see it there are drain and fill ports, but the one from the JD site I downloaded may show this. I just have to look harder.

My guess is if this doesn't have a way to fill I'll eventually consider the repair kit since the failure happened without warning and there have been no grinding, smoking, etc. signs. It's quiet when I engage in forward and reverse. That, to my relatively ignorant (of transmissions like this) brain seems to support the low fluid possibility?

BTW, I will upload the pix of the Scotts JD and my new Husqvarna I took Tuesday. And I think someone asked for pix of the home/addition and workshop which is still a work in progress. I'll try to do this in a few days, but will call the dealers tomorrow.

thanks again jhn,

Richard


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## mowerguru (Oct 24, 2012)

There is a plug on top of the transmission in front of vent cap. Oil level should be 1.5 inches below cap when cold and use John Deere hygard low viscosity fluid to fill if needed


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Welcome to the forum,mowerguru ! Thanks for the info on dmd yankee48's unit,and I hope you will enjoy it here !


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## dMd_Yankee48 (Sep 29, 2012)

*thanks for this piece of info mowerguru.*



mowerguru said:


> There is a plug on top of the transmission in front of vent cap. Oil level should be 1.5 inches below cap when cold and use John Deere hygard low viscosity fluid to fill if needed


due to work/family demands and lousy weather here i have not found time to look at this more since i first came on board. i had to put the Scotts JD under tarp since the lean-to bay is now (just) able to accept the Husky (whew!!!). As i was pushing the JD to where I wanted to store it I noticed the left rear wheel was flat. Both are OEM and badly need replacing. I keep them going with fix-a-flat every month or two in mow season. So I filled up the tire with fix-a-flat and saw the goop was coming out of the darned tire valve stem! It was cracked and of course I just can't easily replace it. And the prices of new replacement tires are sinful. It's not a common size (22 x 9.5 -12). The online places have high prices, when I can find any. If they were just slightly smaller I could find a good replacement price.
Anyway, to keep both back and front tires from going flat over the winter I jacked them up and put cement blocks under to keep the weight off, but I can't fool with the tranny since I can't reach it now.
But, if I can get the downstairs bath re-done and get some more work on the new workshop construction during the non-mow months, I'll tackle this in the Spring -- hopefully with the workshop (to work on this) somewhat finished. Appreciate everyone's comments. And thanks for the tranny fluid information, too. 
Richard


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## MBTRAC (May 28, 2012)

Your hydro tranny woes could be the result belt slippage, the fan/pulley shearing or more likely degraded oil:- 

Even in a sealed unit changing the hydro oil shouldn't be too difficult, just maybe a little time consuming as it's best to remove the transmission & invert to drain- no matter what brand the transmission is, there'll be a filler threaded "plug" or push "cap" that was used at the factory to initially fill the unit (& can also be used to drain the unit as a invariably a socalled sealed unit doesn't unfortunately by design have a drain bolt/plug ) - as alternative to removing/inverting the unit you can use a hand powered oil suction gun/pump (usually found in auto or marine shops) to remove the oil via the filler plug/cap however this method is as effective as it doesn't always remove all oil/gunge. 

It's good maintenance practice to change hydro oil & one of my JD LT155's has now done close on 1180hrs ( the tranny performs as new) every 100hrs I replace the oil in the Tuff Torq with premium synthetic product (this TuffTorque tranny supposedly too is sealed for life too but the way I see it : oil breaks down, & all hydrostatics hate heat & degraded/dirty oil so it's cheap insurance & relatively easy to do on this so called sealed unit) & ditto for a sealed Peerless tranny I have in a homebuilt GT - the trouble is by the time you notice diminished performance in a hydro due to oil breakdown it's may be too late to recover the unit by an oil change.

When changing Hydro oil:- 
- clean the unit thoroughly with compressed air or wash externally with low pressure water/dry prior to removing any filler plugs/caps, with hydro's any dirt/water ingress can quickly kill the unit 
- the oil level is critical, so measure/mark & replace exactly how much you remove (there may be a fill level marked just inside the filler housing but it's not always there)
- there may be a small filter mesh screen & possbly a small spring just inside the filler housing which can be cleaned too is it drop out. 
- take time to let the oil drain slowly to empty as much as possible
- also take time to fill with oil to allow the oil to distribute evenly in transmision & fill slowly to minimise any air bubbles/air locks forming in the oil, & also occassionally whilst filling rotate the axles slowly by hand to distribute the oil evenly in the hydro unit 
- depending on the filler plug/cap fitment, once you replace firmly it may be prudent to use a small bead of silcon externally around plug/cap to exluded all possibility of dust ingress. 

For hydro fluid I use Mobil 1 5w50 Engine oil.

Good luck & let us know how you get on


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

JD recommends Hygard,low viscosity oil,as stated by Mowerguru,and the level is correct,according to our local JD dealer.


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## dMd_Yankee48 (Sep 29, 2012)

Again my apologies if I answered your posts before, so thanks again to mowerguru, jhn, and MBTRAC for the great information. I may have told you I have the tractor jacked up on the rear end because the tire valve stem on the left rear tire tore and will need to get some new/cheap replacements on both sides. Once I put some tires on I can run it up backwards on stands and get a good look at the tranny. 

Richard


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