'94 Troy-Bilt Crankshaft Seal

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First cut of the season with our new-to-us last season GTX-18. I cut around three acres today and noticed a peculiar odor....was trying to identify it and then the engine just cut off....no dash lights, no crank...just dead. Walked back to the garage and got a volt meter and when checked, the battery was good. I did a little more checking (before towing back to the garage) and found a 30amp fuse blown....further checking shows the fuse blows when the PTO is engaged and I then discovered the front seal is leaking heavily so I'm assuming the clutch is oil soaked and shorted.

This is a '94 Troy-Bilt with a Kohler Magnum 18HP and front mounted clutch assembly. I'll be searching the 'net for parts but does anyone have a good source for parts off the top of their head?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!
 
I pulled the clutch off this morning, cleaned the front cover and ran the engine to verify the front seal was in fact leaking....it is (fresh oil and no gas dilution).

While it was running I checked the crankcase breather hose and it appeared to have a normal amount of blow-by....I then removed the oil filler cap and it is blowing extremely hard through the filler tube....actually blows out driplets of oil along with the blow-by. Is this blow-by normal via the filler tube? As said, I'm getting blow-by out of the crankcase ventilation tube and it feels normal. The engine will use about 1/8 quart of oil after mowing about 3 acres while at full throttle.

I appreciate any feedback since I don't want to replace the seal and clutch and have it fail again.
 
Can you replace the seal easy enough with the clutch off?

If not and you don't want to mess with it, I'd run 15w40 or 20w50 oil in it to see if that helps. With the stick or cap off, these engines do puff a bit out the oil filler/dipstick, even when in perfect condition, so I'd say if it runs good and powerful and doesn't belch smoke, the rings and whatnot are good.

This one has a Magnum opposed twin correct? I'd hate to throw too much into this engine. Command V-twins are a better engine in pretty much every way IMO. Any of the TB GTX garden tractors I've ever seen had Command V-twins in them.
 
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I ordered the seal today (actually ordered two so I'll have a spare when I screw up the first one!). I was running Rotella straight 30.....when the carb float failed and filled the crankcase with gas I'm wondering if that finished off the seal.....been leaking ever since.

Ran into a brick wall with the clutch though....can't find anywhere....my last effort is with SonnysBolens....I'm hopeful. Do you have any ldeas?
 
I have no idea off hand. That's the problem with these electric PTO clutches. They change part numbers so often, they can really be hard to track down. Can you retrieve any p/n off the original? Other than that, call a shop that sells/services Troy-Bilt. Maybe they can dig it up.

MyTractorForum or TractorByNet are great sites for everything OPE too. Lots of good info there, including GardenWay Troy-Bilts like this.

Be sure to bench test what you've got to make sure it's bad. Seen lots of chaffed wires cause blown fuses on OPE.
 
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Yeah, I checked for numbers but no joy. The OPE engine guy I was dealing with seems pretty knowledgable. He doesn't seem to concerned with the blowby either.

I've got other tractors so it's not imperative I get this one going anytime soon. The worst part I suppose is I bought it from a neighbor last summer and my wife is convinced it's a lemon....she doesn't understand that carb floats can fail and clutches are a consumable part.

I'll update this thread if I come up with anything and I appreciate your input. Worst case is I remove the mower deck and make it a get-around-the-property vehicle.
 
Thanks for the suggestion but they don't recognize the model number....this tractor is too old for most listings. Finding a clutch for this is going to be very difficult I'm afraid. My guy yesterday spent over an hour looking for one and we looked at many he had in stock to try to match up but this one is way different than what he had in stock.
 
I finally had luck finding the clutch through Bob's Lawn and Garden Tractor out of Ohio....replaced the crankshaft seal and installed the clutch and all was well....ran without leaks, clutch engages, birds are singing....until the starter failed. Ordered one from Amazon (very pleased with the price!) and it should arrive Wed so I'll finish putting it together this weekend. The starter is NO joy to replace on this thing!
 
New starter did the trick and after bolting all the body panels back on, cut a little over 5 acres today and never missed a beat. I would not wish this starter job on anyone though.
 
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