# John Deere STX38 Transaxle cracking



## BigBlockTony (Apr 6, 2011)

I have a John Deere STX38 and well mowing last season my transaxle cracked right in half. Upon removal I found that the housing for the left axle had shattered, making the left axle housing be a seperate piece. First off, is this a common problem? And does anyone know where or has a good transaxle that I can get for $100 including shipping?
Thanks in advance!
Anthony


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

It depends- couldve been a factory casting issue/flaw that was missed or from straining the trans too much ( pulling a heavy load) .

Is your trans an oil filled or sealed unit? If its an oil filled an was low on oil ( or never been changed) - it could heat up and break the trans. Bennonite transmissions are the sealed units- those usually whine alot tho .

I have a 85 LT11 craftsman, after 18 years of tinkering it was the only one ive had with a broken trans housing when i picked it up ( used) - i did however mod another craftsman- i left the stock bennonite in it and promptly broke the pinion gears locking it up.

The $100 price might be hard to get- ive seen transmissions on EBAY go for $300 and up and those are just peerless transmissions. It might almost pay to search for a cheep parts tractor to replace the trans.


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## BigBlockTony (Apr 6, 2011)

I have been reading that water gets into these transmissions and freezes promoting it to crack. Living up north and buying this tractor used from an unheated shed i would not be surprised at all if that had happened. As for my transmission it is a sealed grease filled unit. I did do some pulling with this tractor but not enough to abuse it, let alone crack the housing. I take the advice with getting a parts tractor unless I find a cheap transmission.


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## tractors2repair (Apr 5, 2011)

I cannot help you with the transaxle since I just purchase STX 38 with a bad transaxle. Not sure what is the problem since I have not had time to check it out. I bought the tractor in great shape for $100 with the grass catcher and a good deck.
The engine runs and the only other problem is the hood needs replaced. I guess I am trying to decide if it is worth fixing up or just selling the parts. Maybe you have a idea about the worth of this tractor to see if it is worth the $300-$400 to get it back to normal????


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

For the $100 purchase price - depends how much you want to sink into it - the trans would be a first fix, the hood is just cosmetic.

If the hood isnt that bad- id get some fibreglass, bondo and paint and fix it. Hoods are notorious for being seriously expensive ( specially those JD hoods).

If it comes down to finding a replacement trans- pick up a clunker tractor with the JD types trans in it- then if it comes down to it, you could sell it for more money.


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## tractors2repair (Apr 5, 2011)

Yes, I have come to the conclusion I need to find another tractor for parts. Thanks


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## tractors2repair (Apr 5, 2011)

You are just the person I need to ask a question. I have a transaxle where the belt pulley turns free and will not engage the gears. When I turn the brake wheel the axles turn and there seems to be no problem with the gears. My question:
Is there a pin or something that holds the shaft of the pulley wheel into the gears? Is it worth opening up and repairing the problem????


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## rsmith335 (Jun 2, 2010)

I think I responed to your thraed in another area. Yes It will be worth it if you can to your own work. I spent $ 150.00 in parts.And about 5 hrs in labor (MINE) JD wanted $ 1,500.00 to fix it.I made $ 300.00 an hour , my wife wouldn't pay me in cash, so I took it out in her hide. I can talk really big here hugh?


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## dangeroustoys56 (Jul 26, 2010)

Its always cheeper to fix things yourself - repair mechanics get a ton of money to repair stuff, hopefully its fixed right the first time by them . 

Most times i find its cheeper and easier to just find a clunker tractor that has the needed parts ( ie: I bot a $25 MTD with a running 12HP and fully rebuilt deck with new blades - motor and deck went on 2 other tractors- saved well over $1000) . 

Id definitly try to see what the problem is first - its already broken, so might as well see if it can be fixed- i did that with a trans that locked on me- turned out just to be rust on the indexer shaft, cleaned it up- slapped it back together, runs like new- cost $0- just a couple hours of my own time.


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## tractors2repair (Apr 5, 2011)

Thanks for all the input and time to help me. I will let you know what I did to fix the problem. It will be sitting for a while since I am off going to pick up another tractor.


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